Two developments from the Devonian era were an abundance of fish and the incredibly durable Caithness flagstone.
Formed over 370 million years ago as layers of material in an area known as the Lake Orcadie, it was first used to build stone age tombs before Viking settlers used it to build their impressive forts, castles and harbours. Fast forward to the 19th century, when Sherriff James Traill commercialised the use and production of Caithness flagstone at his Castlehill quarries importing it all over the world from a small harbour he built nearby.
His ingenuity caused a chain reaction within the local area which literally paved the way for the Caithness flagstone industry. During this time, the different flagstone ‘beds’ were defined with the ‘Spittal Beds’ being recognised to contain the finest grade material for both its strength and durability. At its peak, there were eleven major working quarries in Caithness producing and sending stone all over the UK and abroad. Even the streets of Boston, which were commonly said to be paved with Gold, were in fact paved with Caithness flagstone.
Norse Stone began in 2015, re-opening our first quarry and working from a shipping container which housed a saw, a polisher and just three men. Now, nine years later, we extract Caithness flagstone from two quarries, processing the stone on site in specially built production facilities with a team of fifteen highly skilled workers.
Our first was Lieurary Quarry which is still our main base and features a fully equipped production workshop, paving line and our office. Less than 10 miles away, is Banniskirk Quarry which has the earliest recording of commercial activity in a Caithness flagstone quarry, an order for roof slates. Along with its supply of Caithness flagstone, it also was famed in the 19th century for being the first quarry to uncover Scottish Middle Devonian fish fossils.
The natural layers in the stone provided the perfect preservation conditions for these fossils and were also the reason it is so versatile as a building material. Each layer in a Caithness flagstone quarry is determined by a plane of water which has been compressed between two layers of solid rock. In our quarries, we extract blocks by first using our state-of-the-art excavator saw attachment to cut into the flagbed floor before then lifting it at the depth where the water plane has formed. Using this method, the newly lifted layer of stone is extracted at its natural thickness and also has a lesser impact on local wildlife inhabitants in comparison to other methods such as blasting.
Although each layer contains similar properties, they all have their own code on how it splits and the thicknesses that can be achieved. Modern advances in mechanical and plant technology has provided invaluable developments during the extraction process both in efficiency and health and safety however an important skill that has never been replaced within the Caithness flagstone industry is the ability to split by hand. Our highly skilled splitters are equipped with a hammer in one hand, a chisel in the other and the incredible knowledge which has been developed over years to not only know how each layer splits but to identify which layer a stone is just by looking at the surface pattern. An experienced secondary splitter is able to read the edge of a stone like a barcode, instantly recognising which layer they have in front of them and their splitting code. The knowledge of the layers of Caithness flagstone are the result of years of hard work and dedication, this knowledge is applied to other areas in the quarry including our production operations. 
The natural splitting, strength and durability of Caithness flagstone, makes it incredibly versatile as it can withstand different production processes and still be used for it’s intended end purpose for many years. At any point during production, the Norse Stone team has to be able to identify which layer they are using so they know which can be split thin enough to make floor tiles or are thick enough for use as heavy duty paving. The optimum layer of stone is specifically chosen for each individual order based on the layers characteristics to not only provide a high-quality product but also improve production efficiency whilst reducing material waste.
From humble beginnings at the bottom of a lake, Caithness flagstone can now be found all over the world from flooring in a French villa, roof slates on historic castles and buildings as well as residential projects all over the UK and overseas. Each of our products encompasses the traditions, knowledge and values for which Norse Stone itself was built on. Durable, versatile and sustainable, Caithness flagstone provides a natural and indigenous material suitable for many residential and commercial projects alike.
