THOMAS SOPWITH’S LARGE GEOLOGICAL MODELS

Abstract

SUMMARY The Sopwith hand-models, representations of simple geological structures in laminated woods, were first issued in 1841 and until quite recently were used for demonstration purposes in University geology departments and other establishments. Less well known are the large models particularly of coal and iron-ore mining areas that were made from about 1838 onwards to illustrate the three-dimensional structures, with the distribution of workings, in economically important mining areas. For practical purposes, Sopwith designed a model of the Ebbw Vale and Sirhowy area of South Wales where sedimentary iron ores in the Coal Measures were extensively worked in the early part of the nineteenth century. Models were also made to illustrate the structure and distribution of coal seams in the Forest of Dean. Four models are known to survive, and these are masterpieces of the cabinet-maker’s art, with carved topography masking successive removable trays, each revealing an individual seam and the extent of the workings in it. A model of Ebbw Vale, two models of the Forest of Dean, and an indication of what the model of Nentsberry near Alston must have been, are described and illustrated.