Excursion to Herne Bay, 6th June, 1870 - Geologists' Association excursion: Difference between revisions

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'''Director: Prof. J. Morris, F.G.S. (Proc. Vol. ii. p. 38.)'''
'''Director: Prof. J. Morris, F.G.S. (Proc. Vol. ii. p. 38.)'''



Latest revision as of 19:46, 6 February 2022

From: A record of excursions made between 1860 and 1890. Edited by Thomas Vincent Holmes , F.G.S. and C. Davies Sherborn, F.G.S. London: Edward Stanford [For the Geologists’ Association], 1891. Source: Cornell University copy on the Internet Archive (Public domain work)

Director: Prof. J. Morris, F.G.S. (Proc. Vol. ii. p. 38.)

Note: [Herne Bay and Reculver were first visited on June 26th, 1863.]

Excursion to Herne Bay, 6th June, 1870

On arriving at Herne Bay the party proceeded eastward along the shore, and examined the Lower Eocene strata, which are so well exposed in the fine coast section between Herne Bay and the Reculvers.

These strata consist, in ascending order, of the following groups:

1st—Thanet Sands.
2nd—The lowermost beds of the Woolwich Series.
3rd—The Oldhaven Beds.
4th—The lower beds of the London Clay.

Of these the Oldhaven Beds are perhaps the most interesting, since here is seen the section at Oldhaven Gap, from which the beds are named, little more than a mile east of the Reculvers.

The "Oldhaven Beds" were so named- by Whitaker; and in his paper "On the Lower London Tertiaries," in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. xxii. p. 404, is a list of organic remains obtained' from them. (Repeated in Proc. Geol. Assoc., vol. ii. p. 39). A still fuller list may be seen in his Memoir on "The Geology of the London Basin," 1872, p. 579.

From Grove Ferry these beds continue along the Valley of the Stour westward for a considerable distance. But about five miles west of Canterbury their outcrop takes a northerly direction, and extends to the marshes south of Whitstable Bay. Outliers are also found to the west of the mouth of the Swale; and in the Western Division of Kent a sandy pebble-bed, seen at Blackheath, Abbey Wood, Shottenden Hill, and Sundridge, is considered the equivalent of the Oldhaven Beds. At Oldhaven Gap, however, the beds consist chiefly of a fine light-buff sand, from 15 to 20 feet thick, under which lies a sandy pebble-bed, about two feet in thickness.

[At Easter, 1875, at the conclusion of an excursion to the Isle of Thanet, the party left Margate by the midday train for Herne Bay on the Tuesday, in order to inspect the coast sections between Berne Bay and Reculver before returning to London. The following details are -taken from the Report of the Thanet excursion (Proc., vol. iv. p. 260; see p. 61)].

From Herne Bay the party proceeded in carriages to Oldhaven Gap.

Here Mr. Dowker, the Director, pointed out the beds in ascending order, from the base of the cliff looking towards Herne Bay; first the Woolwich Beds, resting at or near a junction with the Thanet Sands (for the division was very obscure); these were here capped with a thin band of pebbles which marked the junction of the Oldhaven Beds of Whitaker, and the top of this series was shown by the coming on of the London Clay, here very unfossiliferous. Proceeding towards Herne Bay a short distance the excursionists followed the Oldhaven Beds descending- to the beach, where their presence was marked by the layer of lenticular sandstone stretching out into the sea. Retracing their steps, they proceeded beneath the cliff towards Reculver, Mr. Dowker pointing out the Thanet Sands and the Woolwich Beds, and the excursionists making hasty attacks on the tempting fossils exposed in great profusion beneath their feet.

Towards Reculver the tabular masses of sandstone are most' abundant at the base of the cliff, and form a floor to the beach; they constitute the horizon in the Thanet Beds seen towards the top of the cliff at Pegwell Bay; this and the Reculver section representing the entire series of the Thanet Beds. A short walk brought the party to Reculver Church, where the position of the Roman Castrum, the Regulbium of the Romans, was pointed out, and a few remarks on the antiquity of the original church, its probable Saxon if not Roman origin, its connection with Rich-borough and its historical interest, were dwelt upon by the Director. Reculver is given by Sir Charles Lyell as an instance of the ravages of the sea; but Mr. Dowker pointed out that the parish authorities need not have been in such a hurry to dismantle their beautiful church, for the sea had certainly not gained on the shore lately, and a deposit of sand appeared to show that it did not attack so fiercely the present shore.

[Herne Bay was again visited on April 6th, 1885, W. Whitaker and G. Dowker being the Directors. A full report of this excursion will be found in the Proc., vol. ix. pp. 168-177. On, that occasion Canterbury was the headquarters of the Association, Easter Monday being devoted to Herne Bay and Reculver, and Easter Tuesday to Pegwell Bay and Richborough. Those members who arrived at Canterbury on the previous Saturday were met by Mr. Whitaker at Selling Station, and were thence led southward along the flank of the wooded Tertiary escarpment to the high road (Watling Street) seeing Woolwich Sands and Old-haven Beds on their way, and walking along the Watling Street to Canterbury.]

References

Maps

Ordnance Survey. Geological, Sheet 3. 8s. 6d. New Ordnance Survey. Sheets 273, 274. is. each.

Books

W. Whitaker, The Geology of the London Basin, 8vo, London (Geol. Survey), 187 2, 135. [For literature.]

W. Whitaker, Geology of London, 8vo, London (Geol. Survey), 1889, vol. i. pp. 95, 96. 11s.

G. Dowker, Changes in East Kent in the Coast and River-Valley since the Roman Occupation. 23 Rep. E. Kent N. H. Soc., 1881, pp. 41-56.

J. S. Gardner, The Lower Eocene Section between Reculvers and Herne Bay. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.; vol. xxxix., 1883, pp. 197-210.