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Fundamental Bench Mark is a bench mark located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 16433. The monument sits upon bedrock of the Mercia Mudstone Group, geological deposits formed during the Rhaetian period and comprising mudstone, sandstone and limestone strata. This stable foundation provided the reliable geological basis necessary for the accurate establishment of the benchmark.
Bench marks are permanent reference points established to provide standardised height measurements across the landscape. They form part of the systematic survey infrastructure developed to map Britain and Ireland with precision, particularly following the introduction of the Ordnance Survey's coordinated levelling networks in the nineteenth century. Such marks are typically set into solid rock or masonry to ensure their permanence and stability.
As a fundamental bench mark, this monument represents a primary control point within the hierarchical levelling system. These principal marks were established at carefully selected locations to provide the foundational data from which secondary and tertiary bench marks could be accurately set at regular intervals across the terrain. The Belfast site's position on stable Mercia Mudstone bedrock exemplifies the geological considerations that determined the location of such crucial survey infrastructure.
Fundamental bench mark is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 16433. View the official record →
Fundamental Bench Mark is a bench mark located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, protected by the Historic Environment Division under reference 16433.
Fundamental bench mark is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 16433.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cranmore house. 17th century house (6.1 km), Belvoir park mound. motte (7 km), Barrow (7.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Fundamental bench mark's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Fundamental bench mark stands on Mercia Mudstone Group, bedrock that formed in the Rhaetian. The rock here is mudstone, sandstone and limestone.