Building Stones of County Hall – A Trail Through Geological Time

Use the links below to access a guide which explains the interesting building stones which were used in the construction of County Hall, which is the headquarters of Devon County Council in Exeter. In 1998, County Hall was listed Grade II* and in the listing notice it was highlighted that the building was constructed with quality materials. This guide, in the form of a trail, leads you to some of the best examples of the attractive buildings stones on site and explains the geology behind the materials. Evidence of environments which are millions of years old can be seen in the stones which construct County Hall and using this guide you can find fossils and clues which indicate the setting which the rocks were formed in.

The guide to the building stones of County Hall comes in two formats:

1.	A leaflet version of this guide provides an introduction to the building stones with an explanation of any geological terms used.

Leaflet on the Building Stones of County Hall (362KB - pdf help)

2.	A more expanded version of the guide has also been produced, which contains more technical detail for those with a particular interest in geology.

Technical Guide to the Building Stones of County Hall (260KB - pdf help)

Access to County Hall and around the Trail

The trail is suitable for all staff at County Hall and for visitors with planned visits. In summary, the trail route starts at main reception, goes along the main corridor, out to the Great Gateway and then inside to the Council Chamber and on to the boundary walls. For a specific visit to County Hall to follow the trail or to look at a particular building stone, arrangements can be made for access by contacting nature@devon.gov.uk.

The trail around County Hall is all on the first floor except at stage 9, at the Grand Stairs. To access this point there is a lift available, which can be found behind the large granite commemorative stone highlighted in stage 8 of the trail.