No. 01 - Haslingden Noir
Haslingden Noir begins in the flag beds of the Haslingden hills. It is a northern sandstone with a darker register than most buff grounds, moving through ferruginous buff, umber, smoke grey and near-black mineral markings. The tone is not applied or forced. It belongs to the bed itself: the result of pressure, water, iron and time. Riven by hand, the surface keeps the quiet irregularity of the stone. It is not polished flat or made overly clean. Each flag holds the trace of its own making, with natural movement, weathered variation and a close-grained weight underfoot. Selected by Assheton for its depth, restraint and character, Haslingden Noir is a ground material with presence. Dark without being severe. Weathered without feeling tired. A sandstone made for courtyards, paths and approaches that should feel settled from the day they are laid. Buff to noir, riven by hand, Haslingden Noir carries the weight of weather, iron and water through a dark northern ground.
Of a Lancashire fell
Drawn from the flag beds of the Haslingden hills, where pressure, iron and water have left a sandstone of unusual depth. The colour moves from warm buff into umber, smoke and near-noir markings, giving each flag a weathered character before it is ever laid.
Close-grained, ferruginous and substantial underfoot.
From Ground
No. 04 — Fallow Sandstone
Fallow Sandstone is drawn from Fletcher Bank, above Ramsbottom. It is a northern millstone grit, coarse in grain and quietly varied in colour. The stone moves through fallow buff, pale umber and stone-washed mineral tones, with natural marbling held within the bed rather than placed upon the surface. Its warmth is restrained. Its movement is quiet, mineral and entirely its own. The name Fallow belongs to that character: dry, softened, weathered and naturally uneven in tone. It is not a flat buff sandstone. It carries depth, grain and occasional ferruginous markings, with the close texture of a stone formed for strength. Cut for ground, walling and worked elements, Fallow keeps the feeling of the bank it came from. It sits easily in gardens, terraces, paths, approaches and masonry where the stone should feel settled, honest and long-lived. A fallow northern ground, warm in body, cooled by mineral shadow and quiet marbling.
Pale Holt
Of pale gold, and a garden wall in June.
No.24 - Ecru Limestone
Of costal warmth, fossils and occasional veining beneath a beige-ivory surface.