Thornhill Sandstone was sourced from quarries around the villages of Thornhill and Gatelawbridge, in Dumfriesshire. The stone consisted originally of wind-blown sand that was deposited as sand dunes in a desert environment during the early part of the Permian Period (c. 285 million years ago), when Scotland was at roughly the same latitude as southern Ethiopia is today. A tiny proportion of iron, which is in an oxidised (‘rusted’) state, gives the stone a rich orange colour. Thornhill Sandstone was used locally, regionally and possibly nationally, mainly to form masonry. Thornhill Sandstone is not quarried for building stone today.

Building Stone ID 10,018