ABSTRACT
The use of colored stone, including locally sourced and imported marbles, has long been an important if not peculiar aspect of architectural tradition in Britain. In the new architectonic regime, natural stone such as marble would play an important role. As early as the twelfth century in England, polychromatic effect through the use of colored stone was still in vogue in the construction of Christ Church Cathedral, Canterbury, when it had all but disappeared from modern French practice. In the domestic arena, marble was used extensively, primarily as a marker of wealth and prestige. The use of local and Mediterranean marbles for architectural purposes continued apace in Britain through the late nineteenth and into the early twentieth century. Italian marbles found their way across the world owing to Britain's imperial reach. Marble, as a building material, has often been associated with opulence, grandeur, and even ostentation.
