Although one wouldn’t normally think of the stone as glamorous, it’s interesting that one of the main selling points of a behind-the-scenes walking tour of the Harry Potter film sets is that it includes the chance to step foot on the Yorkstone floor of the Great Hall itself.

Yorkstone has an interesting history and has been quarried in Yorkshire since medieval times. If you can’t make a trip to Warner Brothers studios, an alternative is Lincoln Cathedral in England, known as one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe and often cited as a prime example of Yorkstone flooring. The cathedral is also no stranger to the film scene, having doubled twice for Westminster Abbey, first in The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks and second in Young Victoria for the coronation scenes.

Yorkstone has been used extensively in building, construction and landscaping applications as it is strong and durable. Yorkstone is a type of sandstone and is a traditional paver used in London, although it was initially used for roofing and was known as gray slate or thackstone in Yorkshire. Today it is prized for its naturally weathered surfaces and is used in both new and vintage building restoration projects and is one of the reclaimed stones recovered for reuse from demolished sites. Due to its character and age, reclaimed stone paving can be more expensive to purchase than new Yorkstone paving.

Reclaiming stone and specifically Yorkstone can be challenging as it is difficult to find in good condition with the correct thickness as well as a clean, smooth face. If the stone has been outdoors, both frost and age damage could cause it to crack (laminate), making the stone unsuitable for salvage and reuse. On the other hand, even if the stone has been indoors, if it has been used for the floor of the house and covered with asphalt, the surface is also damaged and is no longer smooth.

Yorkstone has a bit of a magic of its own as it displays color variations depending on its mineral content which differs in the quarries from which it is mined. Paving slabs, pavers and wall stones make up the shapes of freshly quarried Yorkstone. Prior to the 1870s, before the advent of modern mining machinery, “huggers” were used to transport Yorkstone from shallow quarries and while it must have been back-breaking work, the idea of ​​someone being employed as a hugger sounds good.