GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND OF NORTH AND SOUTH WALES. BY W. JEROME HARRISON, F.G.S., SCIENCE DEMONSTRATOR FOR THE BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL-BOARD; LATE CURATOR AUTHOR OF A MANUAL OF PRACTICAL GEOLOGY," ETC., ETC. KELLY & CO., 51, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, W.C.; AND SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO., STATIONERS' HALL COURT, E.C. MDCCCLXXXII. 188. e. 109. KELLY & CO., PRINTERS, 28, LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, LONDON, W.C.; AND MIDDLE MILL, KINGSTON-ON-THAMES. PREFACE. In this book I have endeavoured to give, with as much detail as was consistent with clearness, a description of the geological structure of England and Wales. The main object at which I have aimed, has been to enable any person, albeit little skilled in the science of geology, to readily ascertain the nature of the rocks of any part of the country in which he may dwell, through which he may be travelling, or respecting which he may need information. I have, accordingly, made this book a geographical geology. Considering that every Englishman knows fairly well the position of the counties generally, while with his own county he is usually very familiar, I have written a separate account of the geology of each county. Taking the principal rock-masses, or geological formations in turn, I have traced the strata more or less minutely through each county, indicating the position and direction of the beds. by naming the towns and villages situated upon the respective divisions of the rocks. An account of the nature, thickness, and characteristic fossils of each stratum is given, together with its economic products, its influence on the scenery of the district, and its value (if any) as a water-bearing bed. By the use of the Index each geological formation may be tracked throughout England, and its development and nature in one county compared with the conditions under which it occurs in any other as a rule, each rock-bed has been described most fully in the county in which it occupies the largest area and is best displayed. : I have prefixed to the geological description of each county lists of (1) its scientific societies, (2) its museums, (3) the maps and books of the Geological Survey referring to the county, (4) the more important books and papers written respecting its rocks by private workers. Altogether, I have given in this way the names of about 190 societies, 140 museums, and about 700 titles of books, papers, &c. It will give some idea of the quantity of geological work which has been done by private individuals in England, when I state that I have consulted in the preparation of this book more than 4,000 papers, memoirs and pamphlets, mostly published in the transactions, journals, &c., of the various learned and local societies during the present century. Although, as (late) Curator of the Leicester Town Museum, and as Secretary to the Midland Union of Scientific Societies, I have had special facilities for the compilation of the above lists, I feel that they must necessarily be incomplete, and I would earnestly ask for correction and assistance from all who are interested in the progress of geology. Many of the articles in this book have already appeared in print as part of the local topographies in the Post Office Directories of the Counties, published by Messrs. Kelly & Co., who are also the publishers of this work. It was, indeed, the interest excited by the articles in this form, as shown by the very numerous letters of enquiry on geological subjects, which were received after the publication of the Directory for any single county, that led to the completion of the work, and its issue in its present form. To Mr. E. R. Kelly I would tender my sincere thanks for the personal interest which he has shown in this book, and for the great pains which he has taken to help me in its preparation. A preliminary list of text-books, &c., on geology will be found at p. xxv., including such as should, at least, be possessed by every public library; few provincial libraries, however, contain even those here enumerated, and the want of books of reference is a great hindrance to country workers. I have received help from many quarters, which it is my duty gratefully to acknowledge. Having had occasion to consult every map which has been drawn, and every line that has been written by the officers of the Geological Survey of England, I wish to bear special testimony to the high value, thorough accuracy, and the immense painstaking, evinced by their work; to the Director-General of the Survey-Professor Ramsay I am indebted for the kind permission to copy from the published memoirs of the Survey nearly all the sections which illustrate this book; sections which are especially valuable since they have in all cases been drawn and measured on the spot, and are records of facts and not of theories. The cuts of flint implements are copied from Mr. John Evans's great work-"The Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain," and those of fossils from Professor Nicholson's equally unique book on Palæontology. Many geologists have personally aided me, and I would heartily thank Messrs. W. Whitaker, H. B. Woodward, T. Davidson, W. Adams (of Cardiff), E. B. Marten (of Stourbridge), C. Moore, S. Allport, John Evans, Grenville Cole, E. Wilson (of Nottingham), Professors Judd, Rupert Jones and Lebour, the Rev. P. B. Brodie, and the Rev. H. W. Crosskey, for the readiness with which they have at all times afforded me help and information. I would also thank the hundreds of local geologists whose papers I have read, and whose labours I have utilized; their individual work is, I trust, in each case recognized in connection with the county to which their discoveries refer. To the Council of the Geological Society I am indebted for the loan of the blocks for Figs. 55 and 56, originally |