Cobblestones vs Setts. These two types of traditional road surfaces are often confused, but they're easy to tell apart. In this photo from the Applecross Basin on the Forth and Clyde Canal in the north of Glasgow, there are cobblestones on the left and setts on the right. Cobblestones are natural, rounded, irregularly-sized rocks, while setts are quarried and shaped stones, usually made from granite, of a uniform size and shape.
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@thisismyglasgow
Hmmm.. Interesting, here (Austria) granite wasn't really widely used until relatively modern times.
I realize Scotland has a fair few granites (esp Aaron if youare near Glasgow) but I really didn't they were widely used until much later. A little surprised you have never heard the wrong usage of granite, in countertops etc they just really mean a nice polished stone, which really gets my geologists goat.
In England as well (esp in the south) limestone and other carbonate rocks were nich more widely used until well into the last century. Not only more widely available but also easier and cheaper to work.
I teach a course geo building materials so genuinely interested (also used to teach field geology in Scotland when I lived in the UK).
Generally granite is not preferable for modern road surfaces because it has a tendency to crack during heavy usage (the downside of being hard) and eats up the machine parts (crushers drills etc) much faster.
Granite was also used widely for centuries in Devon and Cornwall. It can be beautifully worked, given the patience and skill. Here is a great example in Cornwall, at Launceston St Mary, where the whole of the exterior is highly carved, including this figure of Mary Magdalene.
@FaithfullJohn @thisismyglasgow @PhilGopon
Yes, very hard work indeed. This was paid for by a very wealthy man and I dare say it cost him a penny or two to get all that hard work done. A saying goes that only a Cornishman would attempt to carve intractable granite. In fact, that may have been John Betjeman, if I remember rightly.
@thisismyglasgow @FaithfullJohn @PhilGopon
Maybe Betjeman was right!
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