About
Caithness Flagstone
Caithness Flagstone is a natural construction material, formed by nature over hundreds of millions of years. In global terms it is a rare and exclusive stone, only available from a small region in the north of Scotland. There are only two companies extracting this prized stone from local quarries.
Caithness Flagstone (sometimes referred to as Caithness Stone) has been exported all over the world for centuries. It was originally used as ballast in ships. These globetrotting ships would leave the stone at their destination, to make room for various cargo for the return journeys. (Cargo examples included cotton, silk, tea, sugar, butter and rice).
Strength and Beauty
The first overseas recorded delivery of Caithness Flagstone was 1793, when the construction material was used at Boston Docks in the United States of America. The paving stone is still there to this day!
For a very brief history of Caithness Flagstone see our Timeline.
Why is Caithness Flagstone so popular? There are many reasons. The considerable history and heritage is very impressive. The fact that it is a natural product created by nature. The durability benefits – the stone’s flexural strength is considerable and can last in situation for many decades, even centuries. It performs well in all weathers and extreme temperatures. The aesthetic qualities – every stone is unique and is available in different natural colours. Caithness Flagstone continues to slowly change colour over the passage of time, due to oxidisation. The product is non-porous which means that air, water, salt and other compounds cannot pass through it and damage the structure of the stone. Quite simply, this is a natural, high quality, high performance construction material.
A & D Sutherland
A & D Sutherland is the market leader and the world’s largest supplier of Caithness Flagstone with over 90% of quarry capacity. The company has operated from the main quarry in Spittal since 1966 and owns or has extraction rights to many other quarries. At current production levels the company has many centuries of stone supply available. For more information on our company please see History.
Our long serving workforce have benefitted from time honoured skills passed from generation to generation, coupled with major investment in state-of-the-art processing equipment. Watch our Video to witness the artisan hand skills that have not changed for decades and appreciate where technology and machinery has been introduced to complement these labour skills.
Bespoke work
Every job we do is tailor-made to suit the requirements of the project, in terms of application, size and colour ranges. We do not warehouse stock products. We extract the stone from the quarry for each new project once specifications are known. The timings from ordering through to delivery is normally around two weeks. We are always more than happy to provide technical expertise and assistance to the trade prior to any order. We work regularly with interior designers, landscape architects, building contractors and local authorities.
Caithness Flagstone is mostly used for commercial paving purposes and can be found in prestigious builds like the Scottish Parliament, The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, The Cutty Sark in London, and the Queen Elizabeth II (9/11) Memorial Garden in New York. For project examples and images, please click Projects.
A & D Sutherland has ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certifications.
Contact
+44 (0)1847 841 239
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri, 9am – 5pm
General Enquiries
mark@caithnessflagstone.co.uk