Purbeck is noted for its heritage coast and countryside. Within this area are diverse mineral reserves which have been extracted over the centuries. Most well known of these is Purbeck stone, a hard limestone which occurs in varying types from Swanage,  Langton, Acton and Worth Matravers. Stone was also extracted as far west as  Blashenwell Farm in the parish of Corfe Castle.

Over the years Purbeck has supplied stone for many fine buildings including the castle at Corfe. Purbeck stone is not simply a good building material as it can be polished to provide decorative panels and columns. When thus worked, the multitude of fossilised creatures which formed it can be clearly seen.

Stone was mainly won by underground quarrying and hauled to the surface by horse or donkey powering a large capstan winch. Modern methods generally employ open cast  methods - often recovering the stone which was left as the ceiling for the old workings.  Click here for a very good article on the underground workings by Jill Phillips

Purbeck Marble is not a true marble but is a limestone that polishes very well.

If you are visiting the area, then a visit to the Stone Museum in Langton Matravers is a must. It is a small, but excellent Museum. http://www.users.waitrose.com/~langtonmatravers/The%20Museum.html

Nearby is Crack Lane Quarry which was last used in the 1980's http://www.dorsetrigs.org.uk/southeastrigs/cracklane.htm

The geological levels of the different types of Purbeck Stone are shown on Lovell Purbeck website
http://www.lovellpurbeck.com/information/geology.aspx

The Suttles website for a very good summary of the history of Purbeck Stone - http://www.stone.uk.com/history/index.html  

and another link to Purbeck Stone http://www.purbeckstone.co.uk/welcome.htm

And yet another link to show the different colours of the stone when polished http://www.tonyviney.co.uk/core/stone.htm