Re the current enquiry regarding the sources of hearthstone.
This was also called "holystone". My 1950s dictionary defines
it as "a sandstone used by seamen for cleaning the decks, said
to be named from cleaning the decks on Sunday, or from
kneeling in using it". It thus sounds to go back well into sailing
ship days. I guess any light coloured soft sandstone would
do the job.
I too remember it being widely used for front doorsteps and
window sills in south-east Lancashire. It was supplied by the
rag-and-bone man, who had handy-sized blocks of it on his
horse-drawn cart. In return for a suitable quantity of old
clothes, you got a piece of holystone.
Tony Brewis
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