Cotswold stone grave cross headstone, covered in lichens
This limestone is rich in fossils, particularly of fossilised sea urchins. In the Middle Ages the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous. Some of this money was put into the building of churches so the area has a number of large and handsome Cotswold stone "wool churches". When weathered, the colour of buildings made or faced with this stone is often described as honey or golden. The stone varies in colour from north to south, being honey coloured in the north and north east of the region, as shown in Cotswold villages such as Stanton and Broadway; golden coloured in the central and southern areas, as shown in Dursley and Cirencester; and pearly white in Bath. The rock outcrops at places on the Cotswold Edge; small quarries are common. The exposures are rarely sufficiently compact to be good for rock-climbing. However, an exception is Castle Rock, on Cleeve Hill, above Bishop's Cleeve, near Cheltenham.
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Photo credit: © Scenics & Science / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: cotswold, covered, cross, ecology, fossil, grave, headstone, jurassic, lichens, limestone, oolitic, stone
