The principal building material used in the Bradford consular district is stone. Indeed, the whole district is characterized by stone buildings, brick buildings being rarely seen. The reason for this is the geological structure of the district, the beds of rock whose outcroppings form such striking features in the scenery of the hills and moors of the West Riding of Yorkshire consisting of the well-known millstone grit, Elland flagstone, and other sandstones, all valuable building stones. Buildings in the district were formerly almost universally roofed with stone, the solid slabs of stone so used on old buildings as roofing slates being a characteristic feature of the whole countryside.
Stone quarries abound in the district and are even now in operation within the city limits of Bradford. The stone trade was at one time an important industry, consignments being made to all parts of the country and even to Australia.
