a higher yield thereby saving valuable reserves for future generations. The environmental benefits are substantial as mining significantly reduces the impact on wildlife and the local community with reduced noise and dust. Portland stone buildings Portland's freestone has almost certainly been used as a building material since Roman times. The many well crafted Roman sarcophagi (stone coffins and matching lids, hewn from single large blocks of Portland stone) that have been unearthed locally over the years, testify to the skill of their makers. The earliest known building to be constructed using Portland stone is Rufus Castle at Church Ope Cove, Portland. The original structure was probably built around 1080, rebuilt around 1259 and rebuilt yet again around 1450, which is the likely date of the walls seen today. The first known Portland stone quarries were situated on the northeastern coast of the Isle, close to Rufus Castle, where huge landslips made the stone more easily accessible, and the proximity of the sea allowed the quarried stone blocks to be moved over relatively large distances by barge. Portland stone was used to build the Palace of Westminster in 1347, the Tower of London in 1349 and the first stone London Bridge in 1350. Exeter Cathedral and Christchurch Priory, also constructed during the 14th Century are built of Portland stone. Its superb characteristics have ensured a popularity amongst masons and architects that has endured ever since. The East side of Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of King Charles III, including the balcony, was faced with Portland stone, first in 1854 and again in 1913. The Victoria Memorial (unveiled 1911) is also made of it. Inigo Jones (1573–1652) used Portland stone to build the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall in 1620. Sir Christopher Wren used nearly one million cubic feet to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral and many other minor churches after the Great Fire of London in 1666. All of the stone used by Wren was transported by sailing barge from Portland to the centre of London via the sea and then up the Thames. Wren's widespread use of Portland stone firmly established it as London's "local stone" and as one of the best-loved British building stones. Other famous London buildings constructed of Portland stone are The British Museum (1753) with the new WCEC extension in Portland Roach which was short-listed for the Stirling Prize in 2017, Somerset House (1792), the General Post