Henry De La Beche Research Articles

Lost & Found: 1. S.R. Pattison

The main interest of S. R. Pattison's collection of fossils is that both Sir Henry de la Beche and John Phillips used it when writing up their "Geology of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset 1839" and the latter when writing "Figures and Descriptions of the Palaeozoic fossils of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset, 1841". Pattison early on drew attention to the fossils of the Petherwin limestone, S.W. of Launceston, Devon of the Upper Devonian. He placed his collections at the disposal of de la Beche (1839, p.59-60) and Phillips (1841, p.vi and 196). Presumably the repeated searches Sherborn (1940, p.105) made were to locate Pattison specimens figured by Phillips...

Unconformity—An Historical Study

It may be assumed that all present-day geologists realise the importance of ‘unconformity’ in its structural and genetic aspects. Although angular unconformity was sketched by Nicolaus Steno in 1669, by John Strachey in 1719 and by Jean Etienne Guettard in 1766, its true significance was not realised until the end of the eighteenth century. The discovery of the real -import of unconformity in geology was made by James Hutton, who ‘needed’ it to substantiate his idea of the cycle of changes in the Earth, the ‘geostrophic cycle’, consisting of a series of processes—denudation, transportation, deposition, consolidation, folding, uplift and so on. Hutton postulated unconformity before observing it, as it was only in 1787 that he discovered a splendid example of angular unconformity on the Isle of Arran, later followed by similar discoveries at Jedburgh and Siccar Point. But Hutton never used the term ‘unconformity’, using instead long descriptive phrases in which the expression ‘conjunction of vertical and horizontal strata’ was widely used. Strange to relate it was the antagonist of Hutton, the celebrated Wernerian, Robert Jameson, who applied the term ‘unconformity’ to the feature discovered by Hutton. This he did in 1805 in his book on the geology of Dumfriesshire, in which he translated the German term proposed by Werner ‘abweichende Lagerung’ (‘deviating bedding’) by an old English ecclesiastical term—‘unconformity’, which originally had the same meaning as ‘nonconformity’. Launched in such a way, the term ‘unconformity’ took a long time to penetrate into the geological vocabulary and it was only after the heroic effort of Charles Lyell and Henry De la Beche in the second quarter of the nineteenth century that the term was universally accepted and understood. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the term ‘unconformity’ meant only ‘angular unconformity’. In 1905 Grabau proposed the term ‘disconformity’, for what was later called ‘parallel unconformity’. In 1909 Blackwelder suggested that ‘the contact between rocks of wholly unlike origin’, such as granite and clay, should also be classed as an unconformity. For this type I would like to suggest the name ‘heterolithic unconformity’. Finally in 1910 Willis proposed that a gap in deposition of sediments should also be considered to represent an unconformity of a type which may be best named ‘non-depositional unconformity’. Thus these four types of unconformity both in their structural aspect and their geochronological aspects are now firmly embedded in the science of geology, as representing a process which played such an important part in the shaping of the visible part of the Earth.

Wave-Action and Shore-Lines

AN article by Mr. W. V. Lewis on the “Evolution of Shore-line Curves” (Proc. Qeol. Ass., 49, Pt. 2; 1938) is a valuable contribution to a well-worn subject. The author's position is fundamentally that of Sir Henry de la Beche, founder of the Geological Survey, who a hundred years ago stressed the importance both of the longshore drift of material by prevalent waves and the independent action of storm or dominant waves in piling up embankments of detritus in the direction of the greatest force, sometimes at right angles to the shore. In later years opinions changed, and explanation of the evolution of coastal outline was purely on the action of longshore and eddy currents. Latterly, however, there has been a revival of the wave-action hypothesis due largely to the findings of the Boyal Commission on Coast Erosion and Afforestation and the work of Steers, Johnson, and others. Mr. Lewis proceeds to examine in detail various sections of coastline in Britain on the Moray Firth, Cardigan Bay, Bristol Channel, Isle of Purbeck and Chesil Bank, and suggests that shore curves, far from being explicable only by reference to longshore currents, yield in certain cases readily to analysis in terms of the direction of approach of both dominant and prevalent waves, especially the former.

Contributions to Vertebrate Palæontology

IN his brief autobiography (1893) Huxley mentions that in 1854, when Sir Henry de la Beche, the Director-General of the Geological Survey, offered him the posts of palleontologist and lecturer on natural history, he refused the former and accepted the latter only provisionally because he “did not care for fossils.” He was much more interested in physiology, and did not at that time appreciate the purely morphological facts of pakeontology. In a lecture at the Royal Institution in the following year, he even expressed the opinion that the study of fossils had not made any real contribution to the philosophy of zoology.

Shales-with-‘beef,’ a Sequence in the Lower Lias of the Dorset Coast.

Shales-with-‘beef’ was the name given to some 70 feet of Lias on the Dorset coast, lying above (53) Table Ledge and below (76 a) the Birchi-Tabular. The beds consist of paper-shales, marls, indurated bands, and limestone nodule-beds, with numerous, more or less impersistent, interbedded seams of fibrous calcite, called ‘Beef’ by the Officers of the Geological Survey. Descending to the beach at Charmouth, and there forming reefs on the foreshore, the Shales-with-Beef are the most accessible Lias of that place. Yet they are, perhaps, the least known of all the beds. This is doubtless because of the generally unsatisfactory condition of the fossils found in them, and their consequent worthlessness on the one hand to the native, who finds no sale for such fragmentary and friable remains as the fossils present; while, on the other hand, the geologist seldom finds specimens more than approximately identifiable, and generally obtains completely satisfactory examples from but three or four horizons. Sir Henry De la Beche described the Lias of this coast nearly a century ago; and, although he generally under-estimated their thickness, the subdivisions that he then made can be approximately correlated as follows, at any rate those five which lie above the Blue Lias limestones:— (5) Irregular bed of Limestone, with nodular concretions, frequently containing ammonites; 2 feet=Stellaris beds (87–89). (4) Slaty marls, with several thin beds of indurated marl; 67 feet = Black Marl series above Birchi-Tabular and below Stellaris beds (77–88). (3) Slaty marls containing small crystals of selenite; 32 feet Shales-with-Beef (54–76).

The Inferior Oolite and Contiguous Deposits of the Doulting-Milborne-Port District (Somerset)

I. Introduction. In a paper communicated to the Society in 1907, I gave an account of the Inferior Oolite and contiguous deposits of the district between Bath and Doulting. In another paper, also communicated to this Society, but fourteen years earlier, Mr. S. S. Buckman described the same series as developed in the neighbourhood of Sherborne. Between these two districts, however, is one concerning the Inferior Oolite and contiguous deposits of which comparatively little has been published. The object of the present paper is to make good this deficiency. (i) Previous Literature.—The earliest reference to the Inferior Oolite and contiguous deposits of this district is contained in Conybeare & Phillips, ‘Outlines of the Geology of England & Wales’ 1822. These authors, however, only note (p. 255) that ‘Doulting hill is celebrated for its quarries of the Inferior Oolite, which here affords a valuable freestone,’ and describe the course of the main escarpment to the south—past Bruton, Castle Cary, and the Cadburys to Yeovil. Sir Henry De la Beche gave a generalized section of the Jurassic rocks at Scale Hill, near Batcombe, a village between Doulting and Bruton (see map, fig. 1, p. 488). He estimated the thickness of the Inferior Oolite there at 55 feet, remarking that the upper part was ‘rubbly limestone’ and the lower part ‘oolitic [limestone].’ It is interesting to notice, in view of the occurrence of a clay-bed immediately below the Inferior Oolite in the railway-cutting at Doulting, that De la Beche also observed ‘thin seams

Reminiscences of a Strenuous Life

THOUGH nothing appears in this simple record to justify the adjective in the title, it will afford to many a pleasant reminder of a life still keen and active, yet bridging the years between Thomas Oldham's lectures in Dublin and the Darwin celebration of 1909. Dr. Hull originally studied at Trinity College, Dublin, with the view of becoming a clergyman of the Church of Ireland, and it is interesting to note that a course in the Irish language then formed a part of the recognised curriculum. Having, however, been attracted by engineering, he came under Old-ham's influence, and, with his aid, began work on the staff of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. His chief was Sir Henry de la Beche; his first instructor in the field was J. Beete Jukes; and during the next fifty years he became acquainted with all the prominent geologists in our islands. His principal official work was in connection with the Irish branch of the Survey, of which he became director in 1869. Some of the controversies of the next twenty years may have been “strenuous”; but Dr. Hull gives only a bare hint of this. In a kindly spirit he dwells on the many friends he made, a large number of whom are fortunately still amongst us. There is an engaging naïveté about some of his anecdotes, as when he confesses (p. 27) that he was shocked to find that one of these friends was a Liberal; or when he mentions that he lectured on a biblical subject with an archbishop in the chair. But his reminiscences of scientific societies in Dublin will come home to all those who remember the old friendly gatherings, which have already grown a shade more formal, partly through the spread of suburban homes, and partly through the development of more “strenuous” and specialised activities.

On the Igneous Rocks occurring between St. David's Head and Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire)

I. I ntroduction . T he area with which this paper deals adjoins the strip of coast lying between St. David's Head and Strumble Head in Pembrokeshire. No detailed account appears to have been given hitherto of the igneous rocks of the greater part of this district, but the Strumble-Head rocks have been described by Mr. F. R. Cowper Reed in his paper on the geology of the Fishguard District. Adjoining parts of the county have also received attention: Mr. John Parkinson has discussed the Prescelly area, and the district south of St. David's, including Skomer Island, has been described by various writers in considerable detail. The granitic rock of St. David's, of classic interest by reason of its disputed igneous origin, has been the subject of exhaustive discussion by Henry Hicks, and has been described petrographically by Thomas Davies, E. B. Tawney, Prof. Bonney, Sir Archibald Geikie, the Rev. J. F. Blake, and Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan. Murchison made some reference to the trap-rocks of Pembrokeshire in his well-known memoir, and these rocks were mapped on the 1-inch scale by the Geological Survey in 1845, under the superintendence of Sir Henry de la Beche, the igneous rocks being re-surveyed in 1855-56 by W. T. Aveline. Of the stratigraphy of this portion of Pembrokeshire there is still much to learn. Hicks mapped the outcrops between St. David's and Abereiddy Bay, and Mr. Cowper Reed has done the same for the neighbourhood of Fishguard. These lines are approximately shown in the accompanying sketch-map (P1.

The Geology of the Tintagel and Davidstow District (Northern Cornwall)

Introduction. Since the publication in 1839 of the far-famed Memoir by Sir Henry de la Beche on the ‘Geology of Cornwall, Devon & West Somerset,’ a large part of the first-named county has been left comparatively unmolested, alike by the hammer and by the theories of the geologist. Thus the district which lies to the west-ward of the fossiliferous Upper Devonian Beds of South Petherwin and Landlake, from St. Clether, in a westerly direction, via Davidstow and the North Cornwall branch of the London & South-Western Railway to the coast, has been almost untouched, except for four papers, since the date above mentioned. My sincere thanks are due to Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., for kind suggestions in the course of the preparation of this paper; to Lieut.-Gen. C. A. MacMahon, F.R.S., for the loan of slides of the Cock's Tor rock; to Miss Raisin, D.Sc., for specimens and slides from the Ardennes; to Mr. G. T. Prior and Dr. J. S. Flett, for invaluable aid in determining some of the minerals; and to Mr. E. T. Newton, F.R.S., for kind help with the fossils. These are, from the coast east of Tintagel Head (between Barras Gug and Smiths Cliff) forms comparable with Atrypa flabellata and with Posidonomya ; and Spirifera Verneuilii from Lanterdan Quarry. A list of fossils from Tintagel was given by Holl. In regard to the general structure of the country, two points are of great importance. First, ly, from St. Clether on the east to the Rocky

II.—On the Revision of South Wales and Monmouthshire by the Geological Survey

The Original geological survey of South Wales was made under the direction of Sir Henry de la Beche. The exact date of its commencement is uncertain, but I am informed by Mr. Aveline that in 1840, when he joined, the staff was engaged in the neighbourhood of Cardiff, and in 1841 Bamsay on his appointment found that the survey had progressed westwards into Pembrokeshire, and was at work at Tenby and St. David's. By the end of 1815 the maps had all been published. A complete list of the names which appear on them consists of H. T. de la Beche, J. Phillips, D. H. Williams, A. C Bamsay, W. T. Aveline, J. Bees, T. E. James, W. E. Logan, H. W. Bristow, and H. B. Woodward.

The late Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay LL.D., F.R.S., etc.

The subject of this notice was born in Glasgow in 1814, being the son of William Ramsay, a manufacturing chemist of considerable originality, who distinguished himself by the invention of several processes for the manufacture, on a large scale, of various chemical products. Andrew was educated in his native city, and for some years was engaged in uncongenial commercial pursuits. Eventually, however, he was induced, by a perusal of such works as Scrope’s ‶Volcanoes of Central France″ and Lyell’s ‶Principles of Geology,″ to devote his attention to the stony science. The opportune meeting of the British Association at Glasgow in 1840 was the means of introducing him to the leading geologists of the day. In preparation for that meeting he had completed a geological map and model of the island of Arran, which were much admired, and particularly arrested the attention of Mr (afterwards Sir) Roderick Murchison. In 1841, at Murchison’s invitation, Ramsay went to London, where he was introduced to Mr (afterwards Sir) Henry de la Beche, director of the Geological Survey, then in its infancy, from whom he accepted the post of Assistant-Geologist. In the same year he published his first work, ‶The Geology of Arran,″ which at once gained for him a great reputation. Geology advances at such a rapid pace, that a work now fifty years old must necessarily seem crude if judged by the standard of our present knowledge. But those who are acquainted with the geological literature of half a century ago can well

The Huxley Laboratory for Biological Research, and the Marshall Scholarship

SCIENTIFIC friends and former pupils of Prof. Huxley will alike be gratified to learn that an appropriate method has been devised for establishing a permanent memorial of his great services to the institution with which his name has been so long identified. The late Sir Warington Smyth, whose loss we had to deplore rather more than a year ago, was the last surviving member of the original staff of the School of Mines, as founded by Sir Henry de la Beche in 1851. Prof. Huxley, who, as long ago as 1854, succeeded Edward Forbes in the Chair of Natural History, continues to hold the post of Honorary Dean of the Royal College of Science, with which the School of Mines is now incorporated; and although, since 1885, compelled by ill-health to discontinue the work of lecturing, he is still, we are happy to say, able to take a kindly interest in, and to exercise a general supervision over, the biological studies carried on in the school.

Notes on the Hornblende-schists and Banded Crystalline Rocks of the Lizard

I have visited the Lizard on three occasions, namely, in 1887 in company with several Members of the Geologists' Association under the able guidance of Messrs. Howard Fox, F.G.S., and E. A. Wiinsch, F.G.S.; in 1888 by myself; and in February of the present year in company with Mr. Howard Fox, to whom I feel under the greatest obligation, his intimate acquaintance with the Lizard rocks and his local knowledge rendering his aid in the field extremely valuable. On each occasion I collected numerous specimens of the rocks, and studied thin slices of them under the microscope during the intervals between my visits, so that I have had an opportunity of correcting the impressions made in the field by microscopic work in the study, and of again testing ideas formed in the study by fresh observations in the field. I have examined under the microscope over ninety thin slices of my own specimens, nearly fifty have been lent me by Mr. Howard Fox, and Mr. J. J. Harris Teall kindly placed those of his own collection at my disposal. Before stating the results of my own investigations I think it desirable to refer briefly to the views expressed by previous observers. Sir Henry De la beche's opinion may be gathered from the following extract from his ‚Report on the Geology of Cornwall and Devon ‚∗:— "if it were not for the occurrence of the hornblende slate in the conglomerate of the Nare Point, we might suppose that it [the hornblende

On the Ashprington Volcanic Series of South Devon

There exists in South Devon an extensive series of igneous and quasi-igneous rocks occupying a considerable area, mainly east of the River Avon, which have as yet received scarcely more than passing notice, and the study of which is attended with much perplexity Sir Henry De la Beche noticed the Yalberton trappean rocks south-west of Paignton, which are included in our subject, and spoke of them as interposed between the Yalberton limestone and that of Watton, which forms the western termination of the Berry Head mass. The relations of the igneous rocks to the Devonian limestones will be considered de novo as we proceed. Dr. Holl mentions the rocks of this series in the neighbourhood of Totnes, Ashprington, &c, as “thick slates, in which much volcanic matter is disseminated.” He observes that“volcanic rocks are frequent,” and that “beds which are light-coloured often yield a red soil.” This was written with reference to rocks which occupy the ground between Harberton and the Dart. Though we might reasonably take exception to the term “slates” as not strictly applicable to any portion of these rocks with which we are acquainted, yet as it is quite certain that Dr. Holl well appreciated the importance of the group, and as no spot could be pointed out where they attain a greater development than [at] Ashprington and its neighbourhood, the provisional term “Ashprington volcanic series” has been here retained.

The Cornish Blown Sands

IN the description of the raised sea beach at Newquay, which Sir Henry De la Beche has given in his “Survey of Devon and Cornwall,” he makes no reference to a curious feature observable in a part of the beach, and to which I should like to direct attention, with a view to obtaining some explanation of the cause of its formation. As far as I know, the appearance is only to be found at one spot, on what is known as Little Fistrel, to the westward of the town. It consists of a number of cylinders of indurated sand, separated from each other by thin walls, often only an inch or two thick, and forming the base of the cliff or bank, which is perhaps 10 or 15 feet high at the place. These cylinders rest upon a bed of rock (argillaceous slate?), which runs down from the bottom of the bank to the sea in a series of shelving ledges. The cylinders, which are locally known as Pixie Holes, weather out from the bank, but unfortunately few or none of them are now to be seen in a perfect state, their walls having been broken down by people scrambling up the bank, and also by quarrying operations, which I learn have recently been carried on close by. I am told that formerly the cylinders were very perfect, and often of large size; I myself have seen them, fifteen or sixteen years ago, standing up like little towers along the base of the cliff, and I have often sheltered myself perfectly from a shower of rain by standing in one and covering myself with my umbrella. I have recently had a photograph taken of the best group to be found, and a copy of this, together with a piece of the wall of one of the cylinders, is with Mr. Goodchild, of the Geological Survey, Jermyn Street, who will show it to anyone interested in the matter; the size of one of the cylinders photographed is 51 inches deep and 281/2 inches in diameter.

On the Schistose Volcanic Rocks occurring on the west of Dartmoor, with some Notes on the Structure of the Brent Tor Volcano

After examination of the schistose beds of rock on the western margin of the Dartmoor granite, I experienced great difficulty in coming to any satisfactory conclusion concerning the origin and real nature of many of them. These rocks had already been described by Sir Henry De la Beche, in his Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon, and W. Somerset, as schistose ashes; and his well-known keenness in detecting lithological peculiarities naturally induced me to accept his opinion, especially as it seemed in some instances to be a very correct one. There was, however, one point which caused me considerable perplexity. I could not reconcile the very frequent occurrence of a densely amygdaloidal structure with the persistently schistose character of these rocks. If the amygdaloidal condition implied a once vesicular structure, and if the rocks should on this account be regarded as lavas, how then was the schistose character to be accounted for? I was not then acquainted with any instance of schistose lava. On the other hand I could not understand why, if these rocks were ashes, they should be amygdaloidal. In my memoir* on the eruptive rocks of Brent Tor and its neighbourhood I endeavoured to account for the schistose structure in lavas, and for the amygdaloidal condition in ashes, and in many places expressed my doubt about the true character of these rocks. Ever since those lines were written I have been anxious to ventilate this matter, and, if possible, to arrive at a more satisfactory solution

Trenham Reeks

WITH much regret we record the death of Mr. Trenham Reeks, the esteemed Registrar of the Royal School of Mines, Jermyn Street. He had been ailing for some weeks, and last week the complaint assumed the serious form of inflammation of the lungs. There was still hope of his recovery a few days ago, but he expired on Tuesday morning, the 5th inst. By his death one of the oldest associations of the Geological Survey and School of Mines is severed. While still young he became connected with the infant museum established by the energy of his friend, Sir Henry de la Beche, in Craig's Court; and on the enlargement of that establishment and the creation of the School of Mines, he was appointed to the office which he has held up till now. Having in early life devoted himself to chemistry and mineralogy, he took great pride in the mineralogical collection under his charge in Jermyn Street, and from year to year enriched it with fresh acquisitions. He had a great knowledge of pottery, and gained it at a time when the taste was far less general than it is now. The illustrated hand-book which, in conjunction with De la Beche, he prepared of the ceramic collection in the Jermyn Street Museum, though long ago out of print, is still a valued work of reference. Personally, he was singularly courteous and obliging, though tenacious of purpose and not easily defeated in any matter wherein he had resolved to succeed. He thoroughly identified himself with the interests of the School of Mines, to which his loss must now be great.

On Coal-pebbles and their Derivation

T he author commenced by referring to the discovery by the late Sir William Logan, as early as 1840, of a pebble of cannel coal in a layer of indurated clay at Penclawdd, and of coal-pebbles interstratified with the Pennant Sandstones in considerable abundance (Proc. Geol. Soc. vol. iii. p. 276). The late Sir Henry de la Beche also discovered coal-pebbles in several areas of the coal-field both in Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire (Mem. Geol. Surv. vol. i. pp. 193, 194). The author noticed the division of the coal-bearing strata of the part of the Welsh coal-field east of the Vale of Neath into two groups. The higher, consisting of the sandstones known as the Pennant Grit, with comparatively few coal-seams, varies from 3000 feet in thickness at the Vale of Neath to 900 feet at its eastern outcrop near Pontypool; the lower, consisting chiefly of argillaceous shales with numerous seams of coal and ironstone, is about 1600 feet thick to the lowest workable coal-seam. According to his observations, coal-pebbles are not found in the shales of the lower group, but they occur towards the base of the Pennant Sandstones, sometimes associated with granite pebbles. Sir W. Logan's pebble of cannel-coal was found in a layer of indurated clay overlying a seam of ordinary coal; and it was supposed to have been derived from a coal-seam about 2000 feet lower in the series. This view the author regards as untenable, as it would imply the elevation and denudation of the lower in

On the Triassic Rocks of Somerset and Devon

I ntroduction . T he Triassic areas of Devon and Somerset may be divided into three lithological districts:—the first, on the north and north-east of the Polden Hills; the second, on the north-east, east, and south-east of the Quantocks; the third, comprising the rest of the Triassic area, lies between Watchet and the south coast of Devon, being bounded on the west by the Devonian and Culmiferous highlands, and on the east by the Quantock and Blackdown ranges. The first of these districts is too well known to call for more than a general description in this place. In the Geological-Survey Memoir on the Bristol Coalfield it has been already treated of, the labours of Conybeare and Phillips, De la Beche, and the late Mr. Wm. Sanders, with those of Messrs. Moore and Etheridge having left little to be desired as far as the description of the Triassic strata is concerned. With reference to the last-mentioned districts, of which we purpose to give a more detailed though far from exhaustive description, it is different, the relations of the Trias not having been before established, except so far as might be inferred from a study of the splendid section along the coast between Seaton and Torquay. Sir Henry De la Beche, in his report upon the geology of Devon and Cornwall, gives a very general description of the Trias, without attempting a classification of its component marls, sands, and conglomerates, which the greater time occupied in the resurvey of the district has enabled me

On quarries at Beer, in Devonshire, and some of their fossils

The few typical specimens which I have now the pleasure of forwarding to the Geological Society, Edinburgh, and which I beg they will do me the honour to accept, are from some cretaceous beds in a quarry at Beer, in Devonshire. On reference to a geological map, a triangular patch of chalk will be observed at the eastern end of the county, extending from near Gatcombe on the north, to the coast at ‶Beerhead,″ a headland facing the south; and from ‶White Cliff,″ near Seaton on the east, to Branscombe mouth and the neighbourhood on the west. In a vale running towards the centre of this area is the quaint little village of Beer, and about a mile west of this, on the road to Branscombe, are the Beer quarries. The whole surface of this area is very uneven, and there are various evidences of its having been subjected to great geological disturbance. Sir Henry de la Beche, alluding to the depression at Beer, states that this ‶may have been due to disturbance subsequently to the formation of the chalk and green sand, or that these may have filled up inequalities in the older rocks.″ The relative position, however, of some of the strata, seems to favour the former opinion rather than the latter. The Beer quarries have been worked for many centuries. Polwhele, a writer of the latter part of the last century, in his ‶History of Devonshire,″ gives an account of them, also of others in the same