Forest Marble has been extensively used since Roman times. Its main qualities are its strength, versatility and attractive colour. The success of the stone has meant that it is still much in evidence in the towns, villages and countryside where it has been quarried.

Forest Marble stone has been quarried from the existing site since the Napoleonic era, leaving many fine examples of its use in the surrounding area - from South West Dorset through to Bradford-Upon-Avon and up to Burford in Gloucestershire.

It is a hard, weather-resistant, gritty, oolitic limestone that was formed under the sea some 160 million years ago - a member of the Jurassic Limestone series. Composed of the remnants of the Jurassic seabed, the stone has within it many fossilised features of the seabed including rippled sand, crushed shells, worm tracks and remnants of plant material. It is a is creamy grey-buff colour which weathers to fawn. 

Traditionally the thicker layers of stone have been used for building and the thinner ones for drystone walls, external paving and roofing.