Excursion to Hythe, the N.E. corner of Romney Marsh, Sandgate and Folkestone. March 26th and 27th, 1883 - Geologists' Association excursion

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)

Figure 31 Sections illustrating the geology of Hythe and Folkestone.

(Directors: H. B. Mackeson, F.G.S., and W. Topley, F.R.S.) (Report by W. Topley). (Proc., Vol. viii. p. 92.)

Note: Folkestone, Sandgate and Hythe. [At the conclusion of the Easter Excursion of 1885 the members of the Association who were present returned to London from Sandwich. Deal, however, remains unvisited, and though Dover was the scene of an excursion on August 10th, 1863, no record appears to exist of the sections then seen. But Folkestone seems to have been the very first place ever visited by the Association, the date of this first Excursion having been April 9th, 1860. In Proc., vol. i., p. 47, it is stated that the party "proceeded at once to the shore, and spent several hours in examining the Chalk, Greensand, and Gault, as exhibited in East Wear Bay, the Warren,. and Copt Point, and procured several specimens of the characteristic fossils." The succeeding excursions to Hythe and Folkestone took place in 1864, 1865, and 1866, during the period when no Proceedings were issued; their details consequently remain unrecorded. Excursions to Folkestone and the neighbourhood are, however, chronicled in the Proceedings, one in 1870, another in 1876, and a third in 1883. As the account of the last of these is best adapted to serve as an introduction to this district it is here given first.]

Monday

The party assembled at Westenhanger Station and walked thence southward to Lymne, which stands on the brow of an old cliff overlooking Romney Marsh. The summit is capped by Hythe Beds, the slopes are formed of Atherfield Clay and Weald Clay. Landslips are frequent along the face of this cliff, and to these the destruction of the old Roman Castle has been attributed.

From Lymne the old shingle "fulls" at the north-east corner of Romney Marsh can well be seen. As each "full" marks the high-water line at the time of its formation, the history of a shingle beach can sometimes be easily read. The oldest "full" here are those furthest west; these run nearly at right angles to the existing coast-line, pointing towards Lymne. They must once have stretched well out to sea, and probably they then curved round to the south and south-west, protecting this part of the Marsh from the sea. The sea has since worn away the S.E. part of this old shingle bank, and the Marsh would be under water at every high tide but for Dymchurch Wall. The ancient Portus Lemanis is by some antiquaries placed at Lymne, and here some also place the outlet of the Rother (Limen). But there is no evidence of any old river along the northern side of the Marsh; the "fulls" previously mentioned mark an inlet of the sea, .but not necessarily a river-mouth. The Limen probably ran out towards Romney.

Passing through Pedling Green, and over the hill to the N.E. of this, on which is a fine British Camp, the party reached the cuttings of the new branch railway to Hythe. The dark sandy clays of the Sandgate Beds are well seen, and also the sands of the Folkestone Beds. The exact position of some buff-coloured sands which come between them is not evident. Probably they mostly belong to the Folkestone Beds, but the beds differ somewhat in character from those of the coast, which are represented on the accompanying section. (Fig. 31.) After inspecting Saltwood Castle the walk was continued to the quarries N.E. of Hythe, where numerous fossils from the Kentish Rag were obtained. The Atherfield Clay was seen in place at the bottom of the quarries, and on the slope of the hill a slipped junction of the Wealden and Atherfield could be observed since a cutting to show it had been prepared by Mr. Mackeson.

A visit to Hythe Church brought the first day's excursion to an end. In the crypt of the church there is a large collection of bones and skulls, the history of which is unknown. The Vicar (Rev. P. G. Hall, M.A.) explained these, pointing out the peculiarities of some typical examples of skulls.

Tuesday

This day was devoted to an examination of the cliffs between Hythe and East Wear Bay. A detailed section, compiled chiefly from the descriptions of F. G. H. Price, is given in Figure 32, and therefore need not be repeated here. The various divisions were pointed out by John Griffith, of Folkestone.

In front of Shorncliffe the junction of the Atherfield and Wealden can be seen at the lowest tides. The general dip of the strata here is a little to the east of north; as the coast line runs a little north of east, higher beds successively come to sea-level as we pass eastward. In this way all the members of the Lower Greensand Series are crossed. West of Folkestone the cliff is much slipped, and natural sections in place are not numerous.

After a break for luncheon at Folkestone the walk was resumed eastward to Copt Point. The Junction Bed of the Gault and Folkestone Beds is here well seen, with its phosphate-nodules, and peculiar Ammonites. The various divisions of the Upper Gault were also examined. A stormy afternoon somewhat interfered with the remainder of the programme; but a few walked along the undercliff, and, under the direction of Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, examined the Chalk brought out of the Channel Tunnel.