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First Rough

[annotated diagram of bed of Severn]

A consists of rather three beds of bright red loose sand, such as would result from degradation of new Red Sandstone. – Strata waving and irregular, often including all the irregulating of current cleavage. – rarely ever a single scattered pebble, slight alternations in character of sand, apparently from mixture of small portions of clay. Height of cliff perhaps 100 feet [within] more at height of about eighty a bed of shingle irregular sometimes dividing into them with sand between.

Covered by bed about three feet thick of dark substance sandy clay. These beds only exceptions to uniform character of cliff. Pebbles consist of compact slates passing into porphyry trap rocks, porphyry and especially new Red Sandstone a good deal of quantity, limestone with [illeg] granitic rocks. There are fragments of early matter disseminated in them, as well as in

[B24]

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sand beds. In this gravel along whole face of cliff for about one hundred and fifty yards, sand & gravel full of minute rounded fragments of shells (? animals matter?: mem stalactitic tubes in upper parts): chiefly consisted of [illeg] part of univalve fragments of I should think carduum fragments of De[illeg] , & numerous bits of turritella three or four whorls of one of them being the largest fragment. I searched all the lower beds but could not find a fragment in situ though by very careful examination whole cliff sprinkled, washed down bits. – This exclusive occurrence may be attributed to two causes preservation from percolation from clayey superincumbent beds, & less power of currents in the lower sandy beds. The cliff is almost every where covered by a bed of a two or three great thick of mouldy earth with scattered irregular fragments of rock, this formation thicken out on the right hand: it is when well see of a pale mud colour; consist of sandy clayey earth, & is contrasted with bright red looser sand. - The pebbles are chiefly slate & altered slates, with few such as greater,quartz ore as in shelly gravel bed; no new red sandstone pebbles, - blocks more angular then in gravel beds, & often of larger size. From great preponderance of slate, the pebbles would naturally be more angular, but this not

 

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only cause. These no doubt the pebbles in this covering & in shelly pebble bed have rather different origin. – The former might originate from latter so as obliterate the new red sandstone & some of the softer granite, but this would not account for greater number and larger size of slate blocks.

It overlies the red loose sand at great angle, yet the junction is conformable & though abrupt, yet signs of alternation, & cannot be accounted for by subsequent deluge, which I first felt inclined to invoke in that would have cut the red sand unconformably it must have change in nature of matter transported by currents of sea.

To proceed to (B), the upper part mayalmost be considered as continuation of this bed overlying the loose red sand, against which it seems to about unconformably but junction not visible. As general rule no stratification; yet most surely a line can be traced in smaller pebbles as in this part where all mouldy earth it splits in very even horizontal laminæ which certainly seen – the bespeak quite deposition. I could never see ever so minute fragment of contained shell – in about 20 ft thick? Overlies

 

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beds 10 or 15 feet thick of stratified shingle, junction, very fine substance now consolidated beautifully conformable. This first convinced me mass work of quiet deposition. These pebbles same as in mass above (NG mass above just such as [illeg] would bring) but smaller, pebbles alone & better rounded. No new red sandstone, & this led me to examine shelly bed for seeing change on bank of river as I walked along. – NB not absolutely certain, that this slate pebble bed does not pass under red sandstone but highly improbable from junction (slower by dotted line) & from its passage into overgrowing rubbish, which contains same kind of pebbles.

Sandy stands upon stuff like this in part overgrowing the red loose sand which in argument on same scale as last paragraph.

? at first though cliff (B) continuation of (C) the escarpment being work of river after it had first deposited it. River might deposit, as it left foot of any cliff, and as it deepened its channel, bed of gravel covered by earthy matter. (which earthy matter

 

[sketch of cliff] sandy mud gravel

 

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however, when I have seen section does not contain large pebbles. Such explanation will scarcely explain difference of pebbles, & especially conformably of mud to loose red sand in some section. We must look as loose red beds as elevated & as the strands between fresh shingle brought some of the old beds destroyed, have gravel pebbles shingle in bottoms & rubbish on the tops and flanks of sand beds, hence partly conformable. From roundly nature if deposit & perhaps estuary no shells; perhaps all this substance would not have preserved them.

Between the first and second rough or great quarry; the red sand is seen in several places to alternate with thin irregular waving pebbles of same kinds as in shelly bed. and in several places there were minute fragments of shells.

Near the great quarry about half a mile from first station, many sandy beds with minute pebbles exactly like sand on beach (all these beds with pebbles of new R. Sandstone) generally [illeg] a bed or beds of clayey sand near top of quarry, this order seems very common; but in some other quarries fragments of shells occurred near level of river. – Shell in great

 

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[B28]

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quarry consisted of Turritella, cardium, [illeg] & murex. NB the clayey nature of overlying rubbish in accordance with preponderance of clay-slate pebbles.

At this great quarry a quadrangle section show a cone or section of steep sided ridge of red sand strata, with [anticlinal] dip, covered up nearly on a level with the rubbish (as before) conformable & slight alternating. In some sand beds within 20 1/2 feet of surface white specks, at last discovered stria a fragment of cardium & joint of minute turritellæ – Carduum almost rotted away.

[insertion:] efferences strongly, nearly pure calcareous matter, like mortar, friable joint held together rough extremes with [2 words illeg] out.

[illeg] white straws. Here we see fragments preserved without any covering; for the 20 1/2 feet [clayey] sand slightly discoloured by turf here sea-bank covered with turf. Country in newly structured the shells were undulating at A hollows leading to Severn but apparently not caused by drainage.

[sketch] B A Severn

[sketch] B A shells (B) Red Sand

Enclosing shorl of red sandstone. Strata perhaps very broad filled up with mud & new kinds of pebbles. I believe the junctions in all cases not quite conformable. --- that is in first rough.

 

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Top of Montford Hill, red sand nearly pure, wavy strata alternating slightly muddy – in parts deposits of highly inclined this lagess of well rounded pebbles, rather a slaty look but much crystalline & greenstone rocks. – Workmen have seen shells.

Cliff near peninsula of isle pure red sand, overlayed conforming (but not particularly so with muddy rubbish with slate fragment. Here contrast great because no pebbles in sand prove two distinct actions. Centre of isle, this remarking current cleavage old pebbles some times slate & only one red sandstone, no shells.

In cliff (B) of Shelton Rough, I doubt, whether shingle though containing more slaty [stars]  any I have seen (a good deal of quartz & 2 or 3 new Red Sandstone) whether it does not belong to old strata for it overlies red loose sand, as likewise it appears to do at Berwick Sandy. However at the latter cliffs this rubbish is clearly seen to contain structure of shingle, so (B) may at least belong to more modern, whilst I yet think. The conformableness between the deposits tells nothing

 

[B29]

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Quarry on hill just above Turnpike on Coleham Road. – Nothing but gravel purelyregular

strata some current cleavage fine gravel nearly sand red clay lagess irregular – a good deal of quartz little granite greenstone & much slate several boulders encrusted with calcareous matter.

Fragment of turritella (3 whorl of) & numerous bits of bivalves but nearly all decayed away; part of a hinge yet distinguishable – Pretty facts, obliteration of Calcareous particles – [….lization] all probably rubbish has sometimes shells – a good deal of coarsely matter in [illeg] pieces of wood. Much new Red sandstone. (No covering. NB thus beds sometimes passes into clay)

Quarry (01) Same as last one fragment of toothed edge of Carduum.

[annotated sketch]

 

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