Carved Totternhoe Clunch Block

Social History (Museum of St Albans)

Carved Totternhoe clunch block. Clunch is a type of chalkstone commonly used as a building stone across eastern England and in northern France. The soft chalkstone known as Totternhoe clunch has been quarried at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire since the 13th Century. Totternhoe clunch is so soft it can be cut with a saw and was used to build many important buildings in the area of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Because it is so soft and easy to work it was often used for windows and decorative carvings such as this block.

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Digital Camera

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27/06/2007