Hopetoun Sandstone was sourced from quarries in Edinburgh, Lanarkshire and West Lothian. The stone consisted originally of sand that was deposited on river floodplains in a tropical environment during the early part of the Carboniferous Period (c. 333 million years ago), when Scotland was at roughly the same latitude as the Horn of Africa is today. Hopetoun Sandstone was used locally and regionally, mainly to form masonry. 'Binny Sandstone', which is brown due to tiny particles of hydrocarbon residue scattered within the stone, is a distinctive variant of Hopetoun Sandstone. Hopetoun Sandstone is not quarried for building stone today.

Building Stone ID 10,030