Armagh Marble Quarry

Notes:

The limestone quarry situated SSW of Armagh city and to the NW of Red Barn produced high quality building stone and decorative stone ranging in colour from grey, yellow, red, purple through to brown, which was highly susceptible to polishing. The principal bed was pinkish-grey and when polished was a warm yellow colour. This quarry was famous for red marble beds, which were alternating with whitish-grey beds. The beds were of varying thickness from 1 to 5 ft, the upper ones containing the thickest. The light-coloured limestone was situated in the upper beds while the lower beds were stained with purple, red and brown. The lower beds were also more crystalline than the upper beds. Corals, crinoids, shells and fish remains are common. Higher quality, larger blocks of marble was obtained from the upper beds than the lower beds.

Columns, chimney-pieces and other decorative works were wrought from this variably coloured stone (note the red and white beds were not used for ornamental work). Towards the end of the nineteenth century Armagh marble was considered unsatisfactory due to its lightness in colour and it was thought that higher quality stone was raised earlier in the century. It was replaced in architectural and decorative work with richly coloured Cork and Belgian reds.