Chapter 6 Edward Walker, Robert Rastall, Frederick Green, John Hartley, George Mitchell and their work on Lakeland volcanics and structure

Abstract

Abstract Following the work of the first Surveyors, and the Cambridge geologists Marr and Harker, a number of amateurs such as John Postlethwaite 1 and Matthew Stables of Barrow were active in the second half of he nineteenth century and around the turn of the centruy, the amateurs concentrating particularly on mineral and fossil collection and studies of glacial phenomena (see Chapter 18). There were also visits to the Lakes by members of the Geologists' Association in 1881 (Hudleston 1881 a, b ) and in 1900 (Marr 1990 b ). It was made known his ideas on lag faulting and the general structure of the Lakes. Postlethwaite acted as an 'unofficial' excursion leader before and after Marr took over guidance of the party. One of the places visited by the Geologists' Association in 1900 was Langstrath (see Figs 2.3 and 16.1), the eastern branch of Borrowdale, and specifically a locality called Blea Crag, where Marr (1990 a , p. 530) reported that 'Mr E. E. Walker, B.A., who is occupied with their study, explained what he had learnt about' the intrusive garnet-bearing rocks that formed the Crag. Such rocks had been noticed as far back as the time of Otley and Sedgwick, but were only now becoming a source of particular interest. Edward Eaton Walker (1878-1903) was a product of Bradford Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took up a major scholarship in 1897. A student of Harker and Marr, Walker graduated with first-class honours in both parts of the Natural Science Tripos, with a distinction