Reclaimed Stone for various uses
Reclaimed stone is a fantastic idea. Whether it is to be used in your garden, your house, or your driveway, this easily sourced and high quality building material is the perfect addition to your home; it looks great, lasts forever, and never goes out of style. Not only that, but it is economical and environmentally friendly, since it is taken from older buildings and would otherwise be destroyed.
Much of the best quality reclaimed stone can be found in old mills. These are especially prevalent in Yorkshire, where mills are dotted across the county’s landscape, and many are now abandoned, or due to be sold and made into housing. The stone that is found within is a true treasure, and it is wonderful that it is being reclaimed, reused, and recycled to create wonderful paved driveways, flooring, and garden paths.
Reclaimed stone from old Yorkshire mills has been quarried for centuries, and there is a reason for that – it has lasted for decades, and will go on for many more, ensuring that wherever you use it, it will never degrade, decay, or fall into disrepair. After all, it is from Yorkshire, and it is often said that the weather in that northern county is a harsh and forbidding as it gets. Wind, ice, sleet, snow, baking sun, these stones have seen it all and still come out looking as though they have just come out of a factory.
Yorkshire stone is unique, and is easily told apart from other types of paving and stone. Is it the colour (different each time, depending on the minerals that make up the stone – this can be quartz, clay, feldspar, iron oxide, or mica)? Is it the history (how many people have trodden on these wonderful paving stones over the hundreds of years they have existed?)? Is it the value for money they represent (they will never need replacing once they are in situ)? Whatever it is, Yorkshire stone, Yorkstone, or Mill Stone (whatever you choose to call it), is something special, a new-yet-old way of creating interest in your own home.
Yorkstone is made from sandstone, and it was first used in Roman times to build houses and roads. Tradition states that it was even used to build the foundations of York itself, and it is unclear whether the city (and county) gained its name from the stone, or whether it is the other way round. It hardly matters – the two are inextricably linked now.
Reclaimed stone from Yorkshire mills is between three and six inches thick, hard wearing and sustainably sourced. From weaving mills, flour mills, and cotton mills, these Yorkstone slabs are saved from the wrecking ball and given a new lease of life in homes, gardens, and on driveways.
Reclaimed Yorkstone is found all over the world now, as it is so popular that is it exported internationally. Yorkstone can be seen in Europe, America, and beyond, and it never looks out of place. These slabs have the unique ability to blend in with their surroundings, even as they bring out their own beauty, whatever the weather or situation. Is it any surprise that everyone loves reclaimed stone from mills? Fantastic quality and great looks aside make this the ideal building material for any job.
Yorkstone can be bought new, freshly quarried and made to look good. And it does look good. But reclaimed stones, with the weathered look of history, of years and weather and people passing, have a different, more interesting, more satisfying look about them. Reclaimed Yorkstone tells a story. Let your home or garden tell it too.
