s 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GEOLOGICAL STJEYEY 
 
 OP 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 MUSEUM OF PRACTICAL GEOLOGY. 
 
 THE GEOLOGY OF 
 
 THE LEICESTERSHIRE COAL-FIELD 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 COUNTRY AROUND ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD HULL, B.A., F.G.S. 
 
 rUBLISHED DT ORDER OF TUE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HER MAJESTY'S TBEASUBT. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 FEINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS. 
 
 1860. 
 
 579. 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 I UNIVERSITY OF 
 V CALIFORNIA ] 
 
 EARTH 
 
 SCIENCES 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
s 
 
 6 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 M 
 
 H 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GEOLOGICAL STJRYEt 
 
 OF 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 MUSEUM OF PRACTICAL. GEOLOGY. 
 
 THE GEOLOGY OF 
 
 THE LEICESTERSHIRE COAL-FIELD 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 COUNTRY AROUND ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD HULL, B.A., F.G.S. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ORDER OP THE LOR2)S COMSflSgil ONERS' Ol v HEX 'MAJESTY'S TREASURY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS. 
 
 1860. 
 
 570. 
 
[2,246. 1,000. -10/60.] 
 
Swot 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 BEFORE commencing the following observations, it is with 
 pleasure I record the assistance received in carrying out 
 the Geological Survey in the district of Ashby-de-la- 
 Zouch. A ild first, my thanks are due to the Rev. W. H. 
 Coleman, who for several years had been an accurate 
 observer, and had tabulated a large amount of statistical 
 information concerning the geology of the neighbourhood. 
 Mr. Coleman, in the handsomest manner, placed the 
 whole at my disposal, and also rendered me much per- 
 sonal assistance ; and it is but due to my friend to state 
 that he had mastered the geological structure of the 
 greater portion of the area included in the following 
 remarks, before the Government Surveyors commenced 
 their labours. 
 
 I have also to record the readiness with which, in the 
 great majority of cases, the proprietors or agents of the 
 collieries allowed me to inspect the plans and sections, 
 and, when necessary, visit the mines. Amongst these I 
 may specially mention Mr. Woodhouse, of Oversea!; 
 Mr. Edward Green, of Charnwood Lodge; and Mr. John 
 Browne, formerly assistant to Mr. Woodhouse. The ser- 
 vices of many other gentlemen are acknowledged in the 
 foot-notes in their proper places. 
 
 I have also had occasion frequently to refer to Mam- 
 mat t's " Geological Facts," a work of which, considering 
 the state of geological science at the time it was pub- 
 lished (1831), it is impossible to speak too highly. 
 
 325142 
 
 A 3 
 
* o o 
 
 f> *> :V 
 
 * ^V>' * 
 
 The following Maps and Sections of the Geological 
 Survey illustrate the Leicestershire Coal-field, and are 
 referred to in the following pages : 
 
 Geological Maps, 63 N.W. and 71 S.W. Price 2s. 6d. each. 
 
 Horizontal Sections, Sheets 46, 48, 49, 52. Price 5s. each. 
 
 Sheet 46. From the Trent, near Repton, to Bardon Hill, crossing 
 the New Red Sandstone, the Coleorton coal-field by Whitwick 
 and Swannington collieries, and the Carboniferous Limestone, 
 near Ticknall. 
 
 Sheet 48. From the Warwickshire coal-field across the Trias of 
 Gopsall Park, by Heather Mill, Coalville, and Charnwood 
 Forest to Wysall, near Loughborough. 
 
 Sheet 49, No. 2. From the Warwickshire coal-field to Chellaston 
 Hill, crossing the Moira coal-field by Donnisthorpe and Moira. 
 
 Sheet 52, No. 1. From the Trent at Newton Solney to Swep- 
 stone, crossing the Moira coal-field by Newall, Gresley, Moira, 
 and Measham Hall. No. 2, from west to east, by Linton, 
 Ashby Woulds, Coleorton Common, Grace Dieu, and the northern 
 edge of Charnwood Forest. 
 
 Vertical Sections, Sheets 19, 20. Price 3s. 6d. each, plotted to a 
 scale of 40 feet to 1 inch, (copperplate.) 
 
 Sheet 19, Coleorton District. 1. Bagworth colliery ; 2. Ibstock 
 colliery ; 3 and 4. Snibston colliery ; 5. Whitwick colliery ; 
 
 6. Heather colliery ; 7. New Swadlincote colliery ; 8. Pegg's 
 Green colliery ; 9. Coleorton colliery ; 10. Lount colliery ; 
 11. Heath End colliery ; 12. Boring at Rough Heath; 13. Clay 
 Pit, Woodville ; with an explanati9n of local mineral terms. 
 
 Sheet 20, Moira district. 1. Donnisthorpe colliery ; 2. New Oak- 
 thorpe colliery ; 3, 4, .5. Moira colliery ; 6. Woodville colliery ; 
 
 7. Granville colliery ; 8. Boring at Old Swadlincote colliery ; 
 9. Arthcote colliery; 10. Whitehouse colliery; 11. Gresley 
 Common colliery; 12. Gresley Wood colliery; 13. New 
 Stanton colliery. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Physical Geography - 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Geological Formations. Rocks of Charnwood Forest. Cambrian 
 Slates and Porphyry - - 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Carboniferous Limestone. Fossils from Breedori. Limestone 
 Shale. Grace Dieu Limestone - 13 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Millstone Grit. Section at Stanton Harold. Beds at Castle 
 Donnington - - 17 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Coal-Measures. Nature of Strata. Underclays with Stigmaria. 
 Thickness of Coal-Measures in Leicestershire. Lower Coal- 
 Measures - 19 
 
 , CHAPTER VI. 
 Coal-seams of Moira District - 22 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Coal-seams of Coleorton District - 36 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Faults of Moira District - - 47 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Faults of Coleorton District - 52 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Rock-faults of Coleorton - 53 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Upper Coal-Measures with Sternbergia - - 56 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Permian Formation - - 57 
 
 A 4 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 New Red Sandstone. Bunter Sandstone. Waterstones or Lower 
 Keuper Sandstone. Red Marl - - - 60 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Trap Rocks. Bed of Whinstone at Whitwick - - 64 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 
 
 Abortive Borings and Sinkings for Coal - 66 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Salt Water in the Main Coal of Moira - - 67 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Post-Pliocene or Drift - - 67 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 General Conclusions, &c. - 68 
 
 Index. Geological Map. 
 
THE GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 BEFORE proceeding to describe the geological structure of the 
 Ashby-de-la-Zouch coal-field and the surrounding districts, it will 
 be necessary to give a rapid sketch of its chief physical features, 
 these being, in effect, the result of the geological structure, 
 modelled into form and feature by the agency of the sea when 
 it formerly inundated the British Islands. 
 
 The Ashby-de-la-Zouch coal-field will form the more imme- 
 diate subject of the following Memoir, but observations will also 
 be extended over the area embraced by the Trent, the Soar, 
 Charnwood Forest, and the confines of the districts occupied by 
 the Keuper Marls of the New Red Sandstone. 
 
 Were a plane surface caused to extend over this area, and rest 
 upon the higher portions, it would be found to touch these points 
 of contact at nearly the same level as far as the confines of 
 Charnwood Forest. The elevation of this plane would be about 
 450 feet above the sea, the intervening low grounds being scooped 
 out in the form of basins and valleys. The higher grounds 
 always present a flat tabulated appearance, which is particularly 
 remarkable in the case of the high district extending from Pistern 
 Hill to Smisby, and from Stanton Harold to Wilson. This is 
 caused by the horizontally of the strata of which they are formed. 
 In other cases such as those of the limestone hills of Breedon and 
 Breedon Cloud, the flatness of the upper surface can only be 
 accounted for on the supposition, that they have formed for a long 
 time the bed of the ancient glacial sea ; and it is remarkable how 
 these masses of hard rock have formed barriers to the action of the 
 sea on the district on their eastern sides during the elevation of the 
 land ; for while the ground to the westward is considerably lower, 
 that to the eastward remains on a level with the upper surfaces of 
 the Breedon Hills. 
 
 Above this comparatively level district, the hills of Charnwood 
 Forest rise abruptly to a height of 200 or 300 feet, presenting in 
 their rugged and sharp outlines a striking contrast to the scenery 
 of the surrounding country, and endeavouring to assert their 
 stratigraphical relationship to the Welsh highlands by similarity 
 
10 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 of physical feature. The highest points of Charnwood Forest are 
 the summits of Bardon and Beacon Hills, each of which reach an 
 elevation of about 850 feet above the sea, and about 700 feet 
 above the level of the Soar at Leicester.* From Bardon Hill 
 a line of watershed extends along the ridge to the Derby road 
 at Green Hill, thence through Coalville, Coleorton, Pistern Hill, 
 Woodville, and along the Burton Road to Bretby. The lowest 
 grounds are the alluvial plains of the Trent, Derwent, and Soar. 
 
 All rivers which flow through comparatively level regions form 
 along their courses areas with level surfaces, bounded on one or 
 both sides either by cliffs, steep banks, or gentle slopes, depending 
 on the nature of the strata, and the resulting physical features of 
 the districts. These flat, low-lying plains have a breadth generally 
 proportional to the magnitude of the stream, and are liable to be 
 flooded when the waters are much swollen. The banks which 
 enclose the plains mark the limits beyond which the river never 
 penetrates. The plains are overspread by the detritus of the 
 strata composing the regions along the course of the river, which 
 on being deposited in the river valleys is denominated " allu- 
 vium," and is composed of sands, clays, and gravels, amongst 
 which are imbedded remains of the fauna and flora of the coun- 
 tries through which the rivers flow. 
 
 A large area of the northern portion of our district is over- 
 spread by alluvium, and towards the junction of the Trent with 
 the Derwent, the breadth of their united alluvial surfaces is 
 nearly four miles. 
 
 One remarkable feature presented by the plain of the Trent 
 must not be left unnoticed. We occasionally find in the neigh- 
 bourhood of this river two terraces, of different elevations, and of 
 which that next the river is the lower. The higher terrace is 
 about 20 feet above the lower; and as they are both alluvial 
 surfaces, we may, perhaps, account for their existence on the 
 supposition that the river formerly ran at a higher level than 
 at present. In many localities the upper terrace has been 
 subsequently swept away, and when this is the case the alluvial 
 plain presents an uniformly level surface between its extreme 
 limits. 
 
 Both terraces are well defined at Weston. The lower extends 
 from the base of the picturesque cliffs which are washed by 
 the Trent, along the north side of Donnington Park, across to 
 the bank of the canal, from whence the higher terrace extends to 
 the village of Weston. 
 
 They are also very marked in Elvaston Park. The dividing 
 terrace traverses the park from east to west, the higher being 
 about 12 feet above the lower. 
 
 * Geology of Charnwood Forest, by J. B. Jukes, Esq., in the History of Charn- 
 wood Forest, by T. E. Porter, Esq. 
 
GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 
 
 THE district contains a large variety of formations, which, 
 arranged in their order of super-imposition, are as follows : 
 
 Post-pliocene, or Drift - - Sand and gravel, with boulders. 
 
 f 1. Red Marl, with gypsum and 
 
 f Keuper - < Upper Keuper Sandstone. 
 INCW Red Sandstone I ^ Lower Keuper Sandstone . 
 
 or Irias. [Bunter - Conglomerate Beds. 
 
 Permian Rocks - Lower Permian Sandstone, Marls, and 
 Breccia. 
 
 {Coal-measures. 
 Millstone Grit. 
 TT T Cil 1 "\7" J 1 T 1 
 
 Upper Limestone Shale or loredale Kocks. 
 Carboniferous Limestone. 
 Cambrian Rocks - Slates, Breccias, Metamorphic Rocks, and 
 
 Porphyries. 
 Trap Rocks - - Granite, Syenite, Greenstone. 
 
 Cambrian Rocks of Charnwood Forest. 
 
 This isolated tract of slates, porphyries, and other igneous rocks 
 partly owes its appearance at the surface to a large fault, by 
 which they have been upheaved along the north-eastern side. 
 It is completely surrounded by the uppermost Triassic strata, 
 which wrap around the flanks of the ancient rocks and ramify 
 far up into the valleys. 
 
 The rocks of this miniature mountain range form in their out- 
 line a striking contrast to the hills of more recent formations by 
 which they are surrounded. These latter are for the most part 
 tabulated, and planed off along their upper surfaces, as is 
 strikingly exemplified even in the case of the hard limestone 
 bosses of Breedon ; but the rocks of Charnwood Forest form 
 either knowls or serried ridges, which stand out in relief when 
 viewed from the north-west. 
 
 In the absence of organic remains, these rocks have been referred 
 by Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Jukes to the Cambrian period, 
 amongst other reasons, from their resemblance to the rocks of this 
 age in Wales. They have been described in detail by Mr. Jukes,* 
 and the geological survey of the range has been executed by my 
 colleague Mr. H. H. Howell. 
 
 The general structure of the Forest-rocks is that of an anti- 
 clinal, first pointed out by Professor Sedgwick, and shown on 
 Mr. Ho well's section across the forest.f This axis runs in a 
 slightly curved line from Whitehorse Wood, through Iveshead 
 Lodge, along the little valley called Longdale, to Holgate Lodge. 
 
 * Geology of Charnwood Forest, appended to Mr. Porter's History of Charnwood 
 Forest. To this work I must refer the reader for details. 
 
 | Horizontal Sections of the Geological Survey, Sheets 48 and 52. 
 
12 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 Along the line itself the beds are nearly vertical, and from either 
 side they dip to the south-west and north-east at high angles. 
 
 As it is beyond the object of this Memoir to enter largely into 
 details regarding the districts beyond the limits of the Ashby 
 coal-field, it will be sufficient to give a short description of the 
 Forest-rocks along a line which crosses them transversely, and 
 which presents nearly the whole series of beds in succession. This 
 line is nearly in the direction of Mr, Howell's section, and 
 stretches from New Cliff Plantation, south of Sheepshead to 
 Peldar Tor, near Whitwick. 
 
 The quarry at Moorley Hill exposes to view a coarse-grained 
 greyish slate, imperfectly cleaved and traversed by three systems 
 of joints, recorded by Mr. Jukes.* 
 
 Joint A. - - N. 24 E. - - Perpendicular. 
 Joint B. - North - Ditto. 
 
 Joint C. - N. 80 W Ditto. 
 
 The dip is north-east at 35, and the cleavage at right angles to 
 this. The anticlinal axis passes a few yards to the west of this 
 quarry, where the beds are vertical, so that these are the lowest 
 rocks brought to view along this line of section. Crossing the axis, 
 we find the beds as far as Upper Black Brook, consisting of bluish 
 purple and green slates, of a coarse character, alternating with 
 fine grits, and dipping towards the south-west at angles varying 
 from 35 (St. Ives' Head) to 55 (Black Brook). At this point 
 the beds pass under red marls of the Keuper series. 
 
 A line of isolated crags, ranging south-east from Thringstone 
 to Charley, marks the base of a series of bedded porphyries. 
 These plutonic rocks are not eruptive, that is, injected after the 
 deposition of the slates, but are of an age contemporaneous with 
 the Cambrian rocks themselves, and like the great sheets of fel- 
 spathic lava of North Wales, have been poured out on the bed of 
 the ocean, and have assumed the stratified arrangement of the 
 aqueous rocks with which they are associated. This bedded form 
 may be clearly observed at Kite Hill, and at Peldar Tor. (See 
 Frontispiece.) 
 
 At the base of the porphyry there occur some beds of slaty 
 felspathic ash, which become more indurated upwards, and finally 
 pass into the hard massive porphyry of which the rocks of the 
 Hanging Stones, Kite Hill, High Cadinan, and High Sharply are 
 composed. The same series of rocks continue to Peldar Tor,f and 
 rise in masses as rugged and bleak as any to be found on the 
 highest summits of Wales or Cumberland. 
 
 These rocks consist generally of dark greenish felspar, with 
 distinct crystals of pale felspar and sub-crystalline glassy quartz 
 disseminated throughout. Sometimes the felspar crystals are of 
 
 * Geol. Charnwood Forest, p. 10. 
 
 f The " Tor," a pyramid of rocks above the road, is 660 feet high, according to 
 Mr. Coleman's measurement with the aneroid; but north-east of this there are portions 
 of the hill which reach a height of nearly 700 feet. The name " Pedlar Tor" of the 
 Ordnance Map is incorrect. 
 
GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 13 
 
 large size, two inches in length. The clip is south-west generally, 
 and the cleavage clip in the opposite direction north-east at about 
 80. The strike of the beds and of the cleavage planes nearly 
 coincide. Mr. Jukes remarks that bands of slate are intertangled 
 with the porphyry, and much indurated. The porphyry itself is 
 overlaid by beds of ashy slate, which are visible between Green 
 Hill and Pelclar Tor. 
 
 Bar don Hill. In 1854-5 the component rocks of Bardon Hill 
 were only visible near the summit, and there they assume the 
 aspect of greenstone, apparently erupted through the slates.* In 
 1860 1 visited the hill again, in company with Mr. Coleman. New 
 quarries have been opened on the north side, in which the rock is 
 finely exposed to view. At the entrance to the lower quarry 
 felspathic ash with a slaty structure may be observed dipping 
 under and passing upwards into felspar porphyry, which also 
 exhibits a somewhat bedded aspect. 
 
 Ascending the hill, we reach a second quarry, and here it be- 
 comes evident the mass is similar to some varieties of bedded 
 porphyry, which form the ridge above Whitwick. It consists of 
 dark blue and green felspar, with crystals of hornblende, felspar, 
 and quartz. There are also bands of epidote and veins of white 
 quartz, in which small quantities of green carbonate of copper may 
 be observed. It therefore seems not improbable that the rock of 
 Bardon Hill belongs to the porphyritic series, but has been dis- 
 connected by a large fault ranging from north-east to south-west, 
 the existence of which I had long since inferred on other grounds. 
 
 There are great variations in the rocks of Bardon Hill, and 
 hand specimens might be obtained of nearly every gradation from 
 ashy slate to syenite, through the varieties of felspar, porphyry, 
 and greenstone. 
 
 A small boss of greenstone appears in some old quarries in a 
 field north of Bardon station, but it is difficult to say whether it 
 belongs to the period of Forest-rocks or to a later date. 
 
 The rocks of Stanton Field, Cliff Hill, Markfield Knowl, and 
 Groby are of a different character. These masses are generally 
 in the form of bosses or knowls, composed of crystalline syenite, 
 in which the minerals, quartz, felspar, and hornblende are distinct, 
 and combine to produce a rock of great durability and beauty. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE. 
 
 THIS formation reaches the surface in eight isolated areas, 
 namely, Ticknall, Calke Park, Dimmingsdale, Breedon Hill, 
 Breedon Cloud, Barrow Hill, Osgathorpe, and Grace Dieu. 
 
 At Breedon Hill and Breedon Cloud we are presented with 
 beds lower down in the Limestone formation than those of the 
 
 * The survey of Charnwood Forest, as already stated, was executed by Mr. If. H. 
 Ilowell, with the assistance of Prof. Ramsay. 
 
14 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 remaining localities; at Ticknall, Calke, Dimmingsdale, and 
 Grace Dieu the highest beds occur ; and the strata of Barrow 
 Hill and Osgathorpe are probably intermediate. 
 
 The strata of the two Breedon Hills are almost identical with 
 each other in lithological character, as they also probably are in 
 stratical position. They are composed of magnesian limestone or 
 dolomite, exceedingly hard, brittle, full of cavities, and traversed 
 by joints. The colour of the rock is generally yellowish-brown, 
 but frequently tinged red by the presence of peroxide of iron, and 
 the structure is frequently sub-crystalline. The beds of the two 
 hills plunge at angles varying from 40 to 80 to the westward, 
 the great amount of inclination being due to the proximity of the 
 axis of disturbance which traverses Charnwood Forest, as also to 
 a fault of later date, which passes along the eastern edge of the 
 limestone between Wilson and Osgathorpe. 
 
 The stratification at Breedon Hill may be observed with greater 
 precision at some distance, where the whole can be taken in at a 
 glance ; but care is to be exercised in discriminating between the 
 beds and the joints, which are frequently very deceptive. 
 
 The stone is extensively quarried, threatening some years hence 
 to make a considerable alteration in the original form of the hills. 
 It is carried on tramways to the Leicester and Burton Railway 
 and Canal. It is, however, unsuited for architectural purposes, 
 being full of irregular cavities. 
 
 The fossils generally occur in casts, and in some specimens of 
 Spirifer the internal spiral processes are beautifully preserved in 
 calcareous spar.* The following list of fossils is furnished from 
 the collection of Mr. A. H. Green, of Ashby, and by Mr. J. W. 
 Salter, from the specimens obtained by the Fossil- Collector of the 
 Geological Survey : 
 
 Fossils from Carboniferous Limestone, Breedon. 
 
 Orthoceras giganteus - A shell. 
 
 Bellerophon opertus - Do. 
 
 Trochus - - Cast. 
 
 Euomphalus Dionysii Do. 
 
 E. tabulatus - - Do. 
 
 Acroculia spirata - Do. 
 
 Macrocheilus - Do. 
 
 Spirifer duplicicosta - Do. 
 
 S. subconica - Do. 
 
 S. papilionacea - Do. 
 
 Cyrtina septosa^ - - Do. 
 
 Athyris (small species) Do. 
 Syringopora gcniculata (?) 
 Zaphrentis cylindrica 
 
 The small round knoll, which from its appearance has obtained 
 the name of " Barrow Hill," is formed of limestone formerly 
 
 * Some of these are in the cabinet of M. Huish, Esq., of Castle Donnington. 
 f This is Spirifer of Phillips. It is almost like Pentamerus in the development of 
 its large internal plates. J. W. Salter. 
 
CARljOXTFEUOUS LIMESTONE. 15 
 
 quarried. At Osgathorpe the limestone, which is very impure, is 
 interstratified with shale, and full of joints. In one of the 
 quarries the red marl is seen resting upon it, the base being a 
 limestone-breccia, irregularly bedded and from 2 to 3 feet thick. 
 On the opposite side of the western quarry the beds are probably 
 broken off by the fault already alluded to. 
 
 At Grace Dieu the vertical walls of the old quarry afford an 
 admirable opportunity for studying the stratification and mineral 
 composition of the rocks in which they have been excavated. The 
 higher beds arc interstratified with shales, and are doubtless con- 
 temporaneous with those in similar positions in the Ticknall and 
 Dimmingsdale sections. It is extremely doubtful, however, 
 whether any great mass corresponding to the Breedon rocks 
 actually exists beneath the Grace Dieu series. The proximity of 
 the Charnwood Forest rocks, upon which the limestone rests, and 
 around which it was deposited tinconformably, renders such a 
 supposition improbable. 
 
 The limestone of Grace Dieu varies from a pure bluish-grey 
 carbpnate of lime to a light yellow or brown dolomite, and in 
 general it is highly argillaceous. In some places the beds are com- 
 posed of spherical concretions, resembling conglomerate, while in 
 others there occur cavities 2 or 3 feet wide and deep, filled with 
 white, red, and blotched marl, now considerably indurated. 
 
 SKETCH FROM GRACE DIEU QUARRY, SOUTH SIDE. 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 a Limestone breccia in a base of red sandy marl (Keuper). 
 
 b Interstratified limestones and shales. 
 
 c Bed of concretionary limestone. 
 
 d Massive limestone, with eroded cavities filled with marl. 
 
 The limestones and shales are surmounted by brecciated strata 
 of Triassic age, which rest upon them unconformably, the former 
 dipping to the northward at angles varying from 10 to 6, while 
 the breccia is horizontal. Fossils are very scarce at Grace Dieu 
 and Osgathorpe. 
 
 The three limestone areas of Ticknall, Calke, and Dimmings- 
 dale, are brought to the surface through the combined agency 
 of a great fault and of a series of gentle rolls. They form the 
 highest beds of the Carboniferous Limestone, and are surmounted 
 by shales. The western extremities of the rolls or anticlinals 
 terminate against the boundary fault of the coal-field, the down- 
 throw of which is consequently on the west side. At Tick- 
 
16 GEOLOGY OP LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 nail the throw of the fault is a minimum, and it increases in 
 amount towards Whitwick, higher strata of the Coal-measures 
 being brought down in succession against the older rocks in that 
 direction. This will be evident from an inspection of the map 
 where it will be seen that the coal-crops terminate successively 
 against the fault from Dimmingsdale to Whitwick, while on the 
 upcast side the same strata occur at both places. 
 
 The Ticknall limestone is surmounted by from 30 to 40 feet 
 of blue, black, and purple shale, with occasional sandstones, con- 
 taining beds of limestone towards the base. The upper beds of 
 the limestone are also interstratified with shales, so that there is 
 evidently a gradual passage from the calcareous to the argillaceous 
 deposits.* The Ticknall limestone is generally "very fossiliferous, 
 some beds being composed principally of encrinital fragments and 
 Brachiopoda. 
 
 List of Fossils from the Carboniferous Limestone, Ticknall. 
 
 P. gig ante a. 
 P. antiquata. 
 P. hcmisphcerica. 
 Tercbratula acuminata. 
 
 GASTEROPODA. 
 
 Euomphalus catillus. 
 E. carmatus. 
 
 ZOOPIIYTA. 
 
 Cyathophillum basaltiformc / 
 Syringopora geniculata. 
 Calamopora tumida. 
 Retepora. 
 
 CEPHALOPODA. 
 Bellerophon tenuifasciata. 
 
 BRACHIOPODA. 
 Spirifer linguifera. 
 S. glaber. 
 S. rotundata. 
 S. expansa, 
 S. rhomboid&a. 
 S. scmicircularis. 
 S. bisulcata. 
 Producta scabricula. 
 P. depressa. 
 P. Martini. 
 P. resupinata. 
 
 At Calke Park copper ore was formerly obtained in a quarry 
 situated a few hundred yards west of the Hall. 
 
 At Ticknall and Dimmingsdale, the limestone is worked in 
 caverns, and at the latter the rock is highly metalliferous. In one 
 of the veins, the following minerals were obtained ; copper pyrites, 
 galena, calcareous spar, sparry iron-ore, blende, and bitumen. 
 Mr. Bauerman, of the Geological Survey, called my attention to 
 the curious fact, that most or all of the lodes in Dimmingsdale 
 are formed of a quartzose conglomerate or breccia, and that the 
 galena principally occurs in ribs at each side of walls of the lode, 
 while crystals of the remaining minerals are formed in the druses 
 of the veinstone. The ore is extracted in what is technically 
 called " pipe-work," being followed by means of small horizontal 
 galleries or pipes. f 
 
 * A very unusual instance of current-bedding is presented to view at the south side 
 of the quarry east of the village. There -we may see a series of interstratified lime- 
 stones and shales, with a very regular dip to the eastward for a distance of about 50 
 yards, resting upon and surmounted by beds which are almost horizontal. Phenomena 
 of this kind are common in sandstone and oolitic limestones, but, I believe, rather 
 exceptional amongst strata of this formation. 
 
 t Geol. Cham. Forest, p. 16. 
 
CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE. 17 
 
 All the limestones are ultimately surmounted by shale, which 
 is occasionally very thin, specially in Calke Park. The shale 
 varies in colour from black to purple or red, the latter being prin- 
 cipally characteristic of these beds at Ticknall. Some black shales 
 were found in a deep drain, excavated in a field north of Worth- 
 ington. They there gave origin to a spring at their junction with 
 New Red Sandstone. 
 
 Along the borders of the shires of Derby and Stafford the 
 Upper Limestone Shale attains a much greater development 
 than in the localities in question, falling little short of 2,000 
 feet. Its thinning out in the direction of Charnwood Forest, 
 taken in connexion with the debased character of the Grace Dieu 
 Limestone, leads to 'the conclusion, long since arrived at by 
 Mr. Jukes, that this lower portion of the Carboniferous series here 
 approaches its original limits, formed of the ancient Cambrian 
 Kocks, which were land during the earlier Carboniferous period. 
 
 CHAPTER, IV. 
 
 MILLSTONE GRIT. 
 
 RESTING upon the Limestone shale, and forming the founda- 
 tion for the Coal-measures, there occurs a series of grits, sand- 
 stones, and conglomerates, with shales, which, on account of the 
 fitness of some of the beds for millstones, has been designated Mill- 
 stone Grit. The grit forms the higher grounds around the lime- 
 stone valleys of Ticknall, Calke, and Dimmingsdale, and produces 
 an elevated ridge along the line of fault, rising on the upcast side 
 above the western area occupied by Coal-measures, as is repre- 
 sented in the accompanying section (Fig. 2). 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 SECTION ACROSS STANTON HAROLD AND HEATH END. 
 
 S.W. N EL. 
 
 STANTON P A R. K . 
 
 HEftTH 1 ,EMD r 
 
 COLLIERY, !L 
 
 P O N D 
 
 B. Limestone shale. C. Millstone grit. E. New Ked Sandstone. 
 
 The lower bed is generally a conglomerate, the pebbles being 
 white or coloured quartz, sometimes three inches in diameter, ferru- 
 ginous concretionary nodules, red jasper, and pieces of slate. The 
 middle beds consist of coarse yellow, brown, or red grit, which 
 yield large blocks either for millstones, troughs, or building pur- 
 poses, at Stanton, Melbourne, and Repton Kocks. The mass of 
 the stone is formed of siliceous particles, cemented by felspar, and 
 
18 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTEBSHIRE. 
 
 occasionally both these components assume a distinct form, and 
 produce a rock such as might be supposed to have been derived 
 from the detritus of granite. This is the appearance of the grit in 
 a quarry at the north side of the village of Stanton. In a quarry 
 in Calke Park, near the Melbourne Road, a remarkable con- 
 glomerate belonging to this formation may be seen, surmounted 
 by more compact beds with plants, as Sigillaria, Lepidodendron, &c. 
 The highest beds of this formation are composed of fine-grained, 
 thin-bedded grits, interstratified with shales, and presenting a 
 variety of colouring from white to purple, through various shades 
 of yellow and pink. These strata are well exposed in a quarry 
 west of the village of Stanton-by-bridge. The dip is north-east, 
 at 7, and the ridge which the grit here produces marks a line 
 of fault which can be traced to Repton Rocks, and having a 
 downthrow on the west side, brings successively the New Red 
 Sandstone, Permian, and Coal-measures, in contact with this 
 formation. 
 
 North-west of Castle Donnington a section is opened in certain 
 strata, which are probably referrible to the Millstone Grit. The 
 section occurs in the lane leading to Cavendish Bridge. The 
 strata consist of yellow, white, and blue shale, alternating with 
 thin-bedded grits and rusty ironstone in bands or concretions. 
 The dip is towards the south-east, and the beds are surmounted 
 by the New Red Sandstone, which forms the banks of the alluvial 
 plain in the neighbourhood. If these strata do not form a part of 
 the Millstone Grit, they at least belong to the lower portion of 
 the Coal-measures, and their appearance at the surface gives us a 
 knowledge of the strata which underlie the New Red Sandstone 
 in that neighbourhood. It renders it improbable that productive 
 Coal-measures have set in between Donnington and Melbourne, 
 and as there are at least 500 feet of unproductive measures resting 
 on the Millstone Grit, it is improbable that coal-seams occur any- 
 where under the area occupied by the Trias included between 
 Charnwood Forest on the south, the Trent on the north, the 
 line joining the limestone areas on the west, and the Soar on the 
 east. 
 
 At the north end of Thringstone, in the lane leading to the mill, 
 Millstone Grit makes its appearance, rising from under newer 
 deposits, which probably allow of its occupying a very limited 
 superficial area. It consists of coarse purple grit, with quartz 
 pebbles. 
 
 It was first observed by the Rev. W. H. Coleman, of Ashby, 
 whose attention was attracted to the spot by numerous blocks of 
 the grit built into the walls around. In a narrow lane to the west 
 of this a section is exposed in different beds, consisting of thin- 
 bedded grits and shales, with a westerly dip ; these are probably 
 above the former. 
 
 In many localities Coal-measure plants, generally silicified, are 
 found in considerable quantities in this formation. This is par- 
 ticularly the case in the district between Cheadle and the Potteries 
 in Staffordshire. 
 
COAL-MEASURES. 19 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 COAL-MEASURES. 
 
 WE have now to enter upon the consideration of the next series 
 of strata, as it occurs in our district, one which is economically the 
 most important, as supplying our stores of mineral fuel and iron- 
 ore. 
 
 The beds which combine to make up the Coal-measures are very 
 variable in mineral character, and their nature can best be under- 
 stood by reference to the pit sections.* They consist of various 
 interstratifications of sandstones, clays, shales, and coal-seams. 
 The sandstones are generally fine-grained, and of the colours of 
 white, yellow, brown, and sometimes purple, and are known as 
 " freestone," "poststone," and when in the state of a sandy ironstone, 
 " cank." The clays are often in the state of " fire-clay/' and are 
 able to resist intense heat. These clays are used for making 
 " fire-bricks" for furnaces, and " saggers/' or pans for holding 
 china-ware when undergoing the process of " baking " in the 
 furnace. " Clunch," (< clot/' and " rammily earth," are names 
 for the more common clays, and a very favourite term is " bind," 
 which, perhaps, is rather synonymous with the word " shale/' 
 intended to denominate clay in a laminated state. There are also 
 bituminous or black shales, and impure coal-seams termed "bat" 
 and " sulphur," the latter term referring to seams impregnated 
 with iron pyrites, which on burning give off sulphurous acid and 
 sulphur fumes. 
 
 In the clays, seams or nodules of iron-ore, in the state of argil- 
 laceous carbonate of iron, frequently occur. The ore is called 
 " clay ironstone," and is seldom found thicker than 5 inches for 
 each layer; but in some measures the seams are frequently 
 repeated, being separated from each other by beds of shale. In 
 the Ashby coal-field, iron-stone is not at present either mined or 
 smelted. 
 
 The coal-beds in particular districts are all known under distinct 
 names, given them on account of their qualities, thickness, the 
 name of the first discoverer, or from the caprice of the miners. 
 Thus we have the " Main coal/' always the principal seam of the 
 district ; the " Cannel coal," the " Four-foot coal," the " Jack 
 Dennis" and "Dickey Gobbler" coals. 
 
 It will be observed on referring to the vertical sections that the 
 coal-seams invariably rest on floors of clay, and wherever oppor- 
 tunities for observation have been afforded, it has been found that 
 the clay-floor is penetrated by carbonized fibres trending down- 
 wards from the bottom of the coal. They are generally very thin, 
 often mere threads, but are occasionally several inches in diameter. 
 They are known to be rootlets of various plants. -f 
 
 * See Vertical Sections of the Geol. Survey, Sheets 19, 20. 
 
 f See a series of carefully executed lithographs of the flora of the Moira coal-field 
 in the late Mr. Mamraatt's " Geological Facts." 
 
 B 2 
 
20 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIKE. 
 
 Amongst the most remarkable is a rootlet called Stigmaria 
 ficoides, formerly supposed to be an aquatic plant, but since shown 
 by Mr. Binney, of Manchester, to be the root of Sigillaria. The 
 persistency of these roots penetrating a bed of clay or earth below 
 the coal has afforded us the means of arriving at more definite con- 
 clusions with reference to the origin of that mineral. These cloy- 
 Jloors must have formed the soil on which the plants composing the 
 coal had formerly grown. 
 
 In the district of Ashby the coal-beds are generally evenly 
 stratified, retaining their thickness with great persistency over 
 extensive areas, and are seldom mixed with earthy or sandy 
 matter. 
 
 The total thickness of measures known in the Leicestershire 
 coal-field is at least 2,500 feet, and that part of the series contain- 
 ing the principal coal-beds is situated at about the centre. Towards 
 the base, from 800 to 1,000 feet of unproductive measures occur, 
 through which trials in search of coal have been made, hitherto 
 unsuccessfully. 
 
 It is uncertain whether we have in this neighbourhood repre- 
 sentatives of a series of beds which in other districts form the 
 " Upper Coal-measures." In the coal-fields of Staffordshire, these 
 measures attain a thickness of one thousand feet, and produce only 
 thin worthless coal-beds.* Here, the highest measures are pierced 
 by the pits of Moira and Gresley Common on one side of the coal- 
 field, and on the other by the Wbitwick and Bagworth shafts ; 
 but in none of these do we find the series of deep purple marls, 
 with interstratified sandstones, which occur in the former 
 localities. If these beds were ever deposited over this district, 
 they have since been swept away ; or perhaps they may be repre- 
 sented by certain local gritty sandstones, to be hereafter described, 
 which present some slight evidences of unconformity to the 
 measures on which they rest.f 
 
 The Ashby-de-la-Zouch coal-field may be divided into two 
 portions, that of Coleorton on the east, and of Moira on the west. 
 It is difficult to identify the coal-seams in both these districts ; and 
 as they are separated from one another by an interval of lower 
 unproductive measures, no opportunity is afforded of connecting 
 them together by means of the outcrops of the coal-seams. The 
 productive areas are situated at the western and eastern extremities. 
 On the former side, the continuation of the coals is broken off by 
 a great fault, passing through Woodville and Willesley, and throw- 
 ing up on the east side lower measures; while on the latter there 
 is a general dip to the eastward, and the coal-seams basset in 
 succession as we cross the country from St. George's church to 
 Coleorton Farm Town, where a great fault throws out all the 
 coals below the Upper Lount seam.J 
 
 * See Hor. Sec., Geol. Survey, Sheet 55. 
 f See page 56. 
 
 J Mr. Coleraan informs me that this fault was struck in coal-workings at " Par- 
 son's Meadow." 
 
LOWER COAL-MEASURES. 21 
 
 LOWER COAL-MEASURES. 
 The Pistern Hill Coal-seam. 
 
 These are two or three thin coal-seams worked by shafts sunk 
 through the New Red Sandstone, which lies horizontally upon the 
 summit of the hill. These coals have been proved to dip towards 
 the south, and their outcrop may be traced by a series of old 
 workings along the northern borders of South Wood ; on approach- 
 ing Heath End they are thrown down by a large fault, which 
 brings in the Heath End coals. Beyond the outcrop of the Pistern 
 Hill coals none have ever been proved, and a shaft sunk 557 feet at 
 White Hollows failed to reach any seam of greater thickness than 
 20 inches ; we may therefore place the Pistern Hill coals at the 
 base of all the workable seams. 
 
 Coal was formerly worked in a gin-pit a little south of Smisby 
 church, not many yards from the surface ; a seam probably the 
 same, but thinner, crops in the brickyard, east of the village, and 
 it is to be supposed that this coal represents that of Pistern Hill. 
 A coal-seam has been reached in the well of the Ashby work-house, 
 which may be a continuation of the Smisby seam. The difficulty 
 of tracing the Pistern Hill coals is insuperable owing to want 
 of continuous workings, but the line now indicated in all pro- 
 bability approximates to their outcrop, and hence we have a 
 geological horizon beyond which no coal-seams thicker than a few 
 inches have ever been found. 
 
 Though the sections in the Moira and Coleorton districts cannot 
 be identified, yet it is highly probable that the productive measures 
 of each occupy the same general position irr the series ; in other 
 words, that the representatives of the Coleorton coals are not 
 underneath those of Moira. This is the opinion of Mr. Jukes, 
 who even goes so far as to suggest that the Main coal in both 
 districts is one and the same bed.* We might also attempt to 
 identify the Heath End seams with the " Rafferee " and its 
 associated " Four-foot" coal, and these latter with the " Stockings" 
 and " Eureka " coals, and hence argue that below these last no 
 useful seam exists. All such speculations, however, are exceed- 
 ingly unsatisfactory, and would only tend to diminish that 
 enterprise in exploring unknown regions of the strata, which in 
 the case of the Eureka coal has been attended with so much 
 success. From the depth of 50 feet f beneath this seam there lies 
 buried a vast series of measures hitherto untouched by the boring 
 rod, and though there are grounds for supposing that this series 
 is composed of unproductive beds, yet it is to actual experiment 
 we must look for any degree of certainty. This, however, cannot 
 be said of the district lying to the eastward of the great Boothorpe 
 fault. Any attempt in search of useful coal below the outcrop of 
 the Pistern Hill, and Smisby coal, can only be attended with 
 disappointment. 
 
 * Gcol. Cham. Forest, p. 17. 
 
 f Messrs. Nadin reached a coal of 1 foot thick at a depth of 15 yards below the 
 Eureka; and the same seam was found by Mr. AVilliamson at 22 yards from the 
 Eureka in Lord Chesterfield's new pit near Bretby Park. 
 
f 
 22 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 COAL-SEAMS. MOIKA DISTRICT. 
 
 Bottom or " Eureka Coal" While Messrs. Robinson and Fore- 
 man were engaged in sinking a sump-shaft at the bottom of their 
 Swadlincote pit, they proposed penetrating a few yards deeper 
 than was necessary for their object into strata hitherto unexplored 
 in that district, and the result was the discovery of a highly 
 valuable coal-seam. Their example was soon followed by 
 Messrs. Nadin at the New Stanton or Hawfield colliery. Having 
 reached the necessary depth, they were dissappointed in not 
 discovering the expected coal; but upon continuing to sink 
 15 yards further, they reached a thin seam one foot in thickness, 
 with a roof of black shale (" Rattle Jack "), thus differing in several 
 particulars from the "Eureka" of Messrs. Robinson and Foreman, 
 the roof of which is " Stony bind" ten feet thick. It was evidently 
 a lower seam than that they were in search of; and supposing it 
 possible that the Eureka might have been cut out by a rock fault 
 in the position of the shaft, they commenced to drive a horizontal 
 heading at the proper depth, and at three yards from the shaft the 
 first traces of the missing seam were discovered. From this point 
 it gradually increased in thickness, till at eight yards from the 
 shaft, it reached five feet, which is one foot more than at Swad- 
 lincote old colliery. (See Vertical Section, Sheet 20.) 
 
 This seam, however, had already been proved under Moira as 
 far back as the year 1833, by means of a boring below the Main 
 coal at Newfield pit. The section was kindly furnished by 
 Mr. Woodhouse, for the details of which I refer to Sheet 20 of 
 the vertical sections. In the boring, the following coal-seams 
 were ascertained below the Main coal : 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 1. Toad Coal - - 3 6 
 
 2. Slate Coal (Little Woodfield) - 3 8 
 
 3. Coal (Woodfield) - - 6 
 
 4. Coal (Stockings) - - - - 8 
 
 5. Coal (Eureka) - - - - 5 
 
 26 2 
 
 The qualities of these seams are thus described, but from the 
 evidence of a boring, such particulars must necessarily be im- 
 perfect : 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 FT 
 
 Top part dicey - -2 
 
 Mingy - -2 
 
 Rather dicey - 1 
 
 Soft - - - 1 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Dicey 
 Mingy 
 Dicey 
 Soft 
 
 No. 5 is described as being " mingy and spiry." Above No. 3 
 there occurs a series of valuable ironstone -measures. 
 
CJOAL-SEAMS. MOIRA DISTRICT. 23 
 
 The absence of the Eureka coal in Hawfield colliery shaft is 
 produced by a " rock fault " or " saddle/' The coal has been 
 swept away and its place filled in by drifted matter. Where it 
 attains its full thickness its roof is formed of sandstone, remarkable 
 for containing roots and stems of trees sometimes 15 feet long, 
 lying horizontally and partially imbedded in the coal itself. These 
 have evidently been drifted and spread over the coal-bed when in 
 a pulpy state by the waters which deposited the sandy sediment 
 now forming the roof. 
 
 At Swadlincote and Hawfield the roof of the Eureka coal is 
 stony bind, or fine argillaceous sandstone. This would also be the 
 case at Moira but for the intervention of a thin band of " dark 
 bind " or clay four inches thick. At all these localities, however, 
 the floor is composed of the usual underclay, either as " clunch," 
 " rammily earth," or " fire-clay/' 
 
 The Eureka coal has lately been found at its outcrop along 
 the Burton Boad, near Bretby Park ;* and a pit, the property of 
 Lord Chesterfield, has been opened, which reaches the coal at 20 
 yards, though only about 50 yards from the outcrop. The sec- 
 tion found in this shaft throws much light on a portion of the 
 coal-field hitherto very obscure. At the mouth of the pit the 
 Stockings coal reaches the surface, where it becomes mixed with 
 a deposit of Boulder clay and sand, which forms a deep covering 
 to the high grounds of the neighbourhood, and is cut through by 
 the Burton Road near Brislingcote. The floor of the Eureka 
 seam is fire-clay, and the roof stony bind, or argillaceous sand- 
 stone. Its thickness varies from 4 ft. 8 in. up to 5 feet, and it is 
 of the usual good quality, though soft, being so near the basset. 
 The strata here dip to the south-west, at 16 inches in the yard 
 (24), a high angle, but fully accounted for by the proximity of 
 the great boundary fault which passes by Bretby Park gate. 
 The inferior thin seam, found in Hawfield colliery, is also present 
 here. Its thickness is only ] 6 inches, at 22 yards from the base 
 of the Eurekaf coal-seam. 
 
 The quality of this coal-seam (Eureka) is everywhere said to be 
 excellent. It produces a bright flame with little ash, and pos- 
 sesses nearly throughout that structure of its parts known as 
 " dicey/' by which is understood that it breaks up into sub-cubical 
 fragments resembling dice, of glossy, bituminous coal. 
 
 As this seam appears to extend to Moira, and doubtless much 
 further south, and even to thicken out in that direction,! it will 
 furnish a most valuable supply after the Main coal shall have been 
 worked out. 
 
 * A person of the nariie of Williamson, lately ground bailiff of the colliery, appears 
 to have been the first to identify this coal as the Eureka at its outcrop, the smut having 
 been previously taken for that of the Woodfield coal. 
 
 j- My friend Mr. Coleman furnishes the following note : " A still lower seam has 
 been found in the well of the engine-house some 40 yards below the last 16-inch 
 scam, and f[ yard thick. The * Anglesea coal' must be lower still. The ' Three- 
 quarter ' coal crops out half a mile to the north-east close up to the Great Fault." 
 
 t See Horizontal Section (Sheet 52), and ante, p. 22. 
 
24? GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 Stockings Coal. This seam, the next in ascending order to the 
 Eureka, produces a coal of impure and earthy nature, though 
 occasionally reaching a thickness of nine feet. So inferior is its 
 quality that the attempt to bring it into the market has been several 
 times abandoned. This may have arisen from the abundant sup- 
 ply of fuel of a superior description, as the market value of most 
 commodities is comparative. It was once got to some extent in 
 the old pits near Brislingcote and at Gearies Lane, where the 
 beds were found dipping rapidly from the boundary fault already 
 alluded to. 
 
 The Stockings coal is mentioned as attaining a thickness of eight 
 feet under Moira colliery, and in terms which would augur more 
 favourably for its quality in that direction. It is quite possible it 
 may improve towards the south and west, according to the manner 
 of several other coal-seams, of which the " Over" and " Nether 
 main " coals are well-known examples. 
 
 It has been suggested by my friend Mr. Coleman that the 
 if Rafferee coal " on the upcast side of the great Boothorpe fault 
 is identical with the Stockings coal on the other ; and there are 
 several points, with regard to thickness, quality, &c., favourable 
 to the supposition. By means of this probable identity we can 
 calculate the amount of throw or dislocation produced by the 
 fault, which at Woodville would amount to about 1,100 feet! 
 If these two coal-seams are not the same the throw must be much 
 greater, as there is no other seam known on the downcast side of 
 the fault to which the Rafferee coal can be referred. 
 
 Woodfield Coal. The thickness of this seam averages 5 feet. 
 The only place where it is mined at present is at Woodfield col- 
 liery near Newall, from which it derives its name. I have been 
 favoured by Mr. N. Nadin with the section of the Newfield pit, 
 which is sufficiently short to be inserted here. 
 
 SECTION AT WOODFIELD COLLIERY. 
 
 YDS. 
 
 Black earth 20 
 
 Nether coal - 3 
 
 Rammily earth (under-clay) - 35 
 
 Shale - 4 
 
 Rammily earth (fire-clay) - 34 
 
 Coal (Woodfield) 2 
 
 98 
 
 This seam, which is of inferior quality, containing a rather 
 large per-centage of ash, was once extensively worked all over 
 the northern portion of the coal-field, between its own outcrop 
 and that of the Nether (Main) coal. Many old banks are to be 
 seen over this district, and it is probable that very little of the 
 coal remains unexhausted.* The upper part of the seam, to a 
 depth of 12 or 14 inches, is cannel. 
 
 * For much general information concerning this district I am indebted to 
 Messrs. N. and J. Nadin, of Stapenhill, as also to Mr. Robinson, of Swadlincote, and 
 Mr. Bodemau, of White House, Newall. 
 
COA.L-SEAMS. MOI11A DISTRICT. 25 
 
 A new pit has been opened between Brislingcote and the Bur- 
 ton road. The upper portion of the shaft passes through New 
 Red Sandstone (Waterstones) to a depth of 13 yards, and the coal 
 is reached at 50 yards. It is 5 feet thick, and it has been fol- 
 lowed to its junction with the marls and sandstones of the " Red 
 formation/' which appear to rest upon or against it unconform- 
 ably ; and it is said that a bed of gypsum was found dovetailing 
 with the coal-seam. 
 
 The boundary of the New lied Sandstone is a fault, proved 
 farther south, at the village of Stanton. From these data the 
 position of the beds in this neighbourhood would appear to be as 
 represented in the annexed section. 
 
 SECTION THROUGH BRISLINGCOTE COAL-PIT. 
 i. 3. 
 
 BRISUNGCOTE 
 PIT 
 
 N. R. SANDS. AND MARL. COAL-MEASURES. -r Fault. 
 
 a. Woodfield coal. b. Stockings coal. c. Eureka coal. 
 
 x. Anglesea coal. 
 Scale 530 feet to 1 inch. 
 
 I was formerly of opinion that the Woodfield Coal of the north 
 was the same as the Slate coal of the south of our district. Mr. 
 Coleman, of Ashby, however, thinks differently, and holds that 
 the " Toad " coal of Measham and Oakthorpe is identical with 
 the "Little Woodfield" seam of Newall, and that the "Slate 
 coal " of the south passes into black shale, or thins out north- 
 wards. In the former case the lowest seam pierced in the Moira 
 boring would be lower than the Eureka, in the latter it would be 
 identical with it. The determination of the point is interesting 
 and important, as involving the known existence or the contrary 
 of a considerable bed of coal ; at present, I do not think we have 
 sufficient data for arriving at a conclusion.* 
 
 The Slate Coal has been worked to some extent around Oak- 
 thorpe and Measham. It is described as a good burning coal, 
 and, consequently, undeserving of its disparaging name. It 
 varies from 3 feet 8 inches to 4 feet thick. 
 
 The following table is intended to represent the number and 
 thickness of the coal-beds at the northern and southern part of 
 the district, under the supposition that the " Little Woodfield " 
 
 * The northern outcrop of the Woodfield coal has been traced on the map from 
 information derived from Mr. N. Nadin, and from several old miners of the neigh- 
 bourhood. It is 12 yards below Thorntree Farm. The outcrop is also known 
 between the old collieries near Brislingcote, and the New Eureka coal-pit, by the 
 side of the Burton road. It had also been found in a field west of Brislingcote 
 Farm, and farther south, near Newall Park. 
 
26 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 and " Toad " coals are identical, and reckoning from the base of 
 the main seam, 
 
 NEWALL. 
 
 MoiRA. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Name of Seam, &c. 
 
 From 
 
 To 
 
 Name of beam, &c. 
 
 From 
 
 To 
 
 Nether Main coal 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 "Nether Main coal 
 
 3* 
 
 7 
 
 Various measures 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 Various measures 
 
 31 7 
 
 _ 
 
 Little Woodfield coal 
 
 31 
 
 4 
 
 Toad coal 
 
 3 6 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 Various measures - ~| 
 
 
 
 Various measures 
 
 135 
 
 145 < 
 
 Slate coal - 3 8 V 
 
 148 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Various measures - J 
 
 
 
 Woodfield coal 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 Coal - 
 
 6 
 
 _ 
 
 Various measures 
 
 48 
 
 71 
 
 Various measures 
 
 29 
 
 _ 
 
 Stockings coal 
 
 54 
 
 9 
 
 Coal - 
 
 8 
 
 _ 
 
 Various measures 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 Various measures 
 
 45 
 
 _ 
 
 Eureka coal 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 Coal 
 
 5 
 
 _ 
 
 Various measures 
 
 431 
 
 
 
 Various measures 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 As the Slate coal bassets both at the north and south sides of 
 the coal-field, and as there is also reason to conclude that the 
 strata along the western boundary dip towards the centre, we 
 obtain an idea of the general form of the coal-field. It is evi- 
 dently not a true basin, but a basin smashed in two by the great 
 Boothorpe fault. Various other fractures also traverse the basin, 
 and destroy all symmetry of outline. 
 
 The Slate seam is the loAvest hitherto worked in the district of 
 Measham, and whatever be the extent of area of the Main coal in 
 that direction, that of the Slate seam must be greater ; and in con- 
 junction with the underlying Woodfield, Stockings, and Eureka 
 seams, will form a most valuable repository of mineral fuel for 
 future consumption. 
 
 Mr. Colemaii considers that at Stanton colliery this seam is 
 represented by a bed of bituminous claystone 4 feet thick, and 
 probably in some measure an ironstone. The surfaces of the 
 laminae are spotted with light-brown impressions of shells of the 
 genus Anthracosia ( Unio), and of a small crustacean called Cypris 
 or Cythere, of a species hitherto unknown.* These produce an 
 appearance which may have given rise to the name of the bed, 
 which, indeed, is very like a celebrated bed of ironstone in the 
 Pottery district of Staffordshire. 
 
 Little Woodfield Coal. The outcrop of this seam is exposed to 
 view in a brick-yard close to the side of the lane leading from 
 Newall to Bretby Park Lodge. As a coal it is of little value, and 
 I am not aware that it is or has been worked for consumption. 
 
 Toad Coal The position of this seam from Moira southwards 
 is from 30 to 50 feet below the Nether Main coal, and it is from 
 3 to 4 feet thick. 
 
 Discovered by Henry Green, Esq , of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. 
 
COAL-SEAMS. MOIHA DISTRICT. 27 
 
 Main Coal. This seam, as its name implies, is the most impor- 
 tant in the district, and is worked in all the collieries from its 
 northern basset to Oakthorpe. It has lately been reached in the 
 New Willesley Basin colliery. In all the northern portion of 
 the coal-field it consists of two beds, the " Over" and " Nether/' 
 separated by strata which gradually thin out southwards, thus 
 throwing the two seams into one. Both parts, however, are 
 capable of being distinguished, and are known as "Over" and 
 " Nether" throughout the whole extent of the coal-field. 
 
 At the Old Stanton collieries the measures which separate the 
 Over and Nether seams attain their maximum thickness of 60 
 feet, as will be seen by the following section. 
 
 SECTION AT STANTON OLD COLLIERY. 
 
 Name of Stratum. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 New Red Conglomerate - 
 
 45 
 
 45 
 
 Coal-measures 
 
 33 
 
 78 
 
 Over coal 
 
 6 
 
 84 
 
 Various measures 
 
 60 
 
 144 
 
 Nether coal 
 
 6 
 
 150 
 
 At New Stanton colliery the intervening measures are only 
 15 inches thick; at White House colliery, 2 feet; at Gresley 
 Wood colliery, 9 inches; and from Moira colliery southward 
 the Over and Nether coals form one undivided bed, averaging 14 
 feet in thickness. 
 
 The floor of the Nether coal is uniformly a stratum of clay, or 
 fire-clay, which led Mr. Mammatt to infer if that an immense flat 
 " was originally covered with the substance of this fire-clay 
 " many feet thick, and that upon this flat there took place a uni- 
 " form growth of vegetation." * 
 
 The thickness of the Over and Nether seams is very nearly 
 equal, ranging from 5 feet to 7 feet each ; but it is a remark- 
 able fact, that while in the southern half of the coal-field, from 
 Moira to Measham, the Over coal is superior in quality to the 
 Nether ; the reverse is the case in the neighbourhood of Newall, 
 towards their northern bassets. The consequence is, that dif- 
 ferent parts of the Main coal are got in each district ; while at 
 Church Gresley colliery, situated in the centre of the area, where 
 both the Over and Nether seams are of medium quality, the whole 
 thickness of 15 feet is extracted. 
 
 That any portion of this valuable coal-bed should be neglected 
 is much to be regretted. But, as I am informed by Mr. Wood- 
 house, there is at Moira colliery a difference in the market value 
 of the " over " and " nether " portions of two shillings and 
 upwards per ton. This depreciation amounts to an actual pro- 
 
 * " Geological Facts," p. 74. Mr. Mammatt proceeds to speculate concerning the 
 alternations of coal and lire-clay, in a manner which, however ingenious, appears 
 incompatible with the views stated in the above extract. 
 
GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 hibition. Those portions of the Main coal now left exposed to the 
 atmosphere will certainly deteriorate, and cannot at a future 
 period be got as economically or with as much safety as at the 
 present time. At Church Gresley Colliery the whole thickness 
 of the Main coal is extracted, and it is to be hoped that this 
 plan will be pursued more extensively for the future. To those 
 interested in the subject I would earnestly recommend the peru- 
 sal of the valuable observations of Mr. Warington Smyth on the 
 plans adopted in the South Staffordshire coal-field for getting the 
 whole thickness of the 10-yard coal;* a work of much greater 
 difficulty than would be necessary in the Ashby coal-field. | 
 
 The Main coal has been divided into a series of subdivisions, 
 known to the miners, and named according to texture, purity, and 
 fracture. Mr. Mammatt asserts them to be constant over the 
 area included between " the southern and western bassetings of 
 " the Main coal to a depth of 1,000 feet on its northern side," 
 that is, as far north as Gresley Wood and Swadlincote.J 
 
 DIVISIONS OF THE MAIN COAL. 
 
 No. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Explanation. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 In. 
 
 1 
 
 Roof coal - 
 
 Spires, dark slaty structure 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 Stone coal - 
 
 Spire and dice mixed 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 Dicey 
 
 Breaking into cubes or parallelepipeds - 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 Grisley 
 
 Small cubes, with pyrites 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Spires 
 
 As No. 1 - 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 Dicey 
 
 As No. 3 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 Hard Seam - 
 
 As No. 1 , but more compact 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 8 
 
 Dicey 
 
 As No. 3 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 9 
 
 Slating 
 
 As No. 7 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Holing 
 
 As No. 3, but not so compact 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 Scalps 
 
 Dice, with two seams of spires - 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 Grounds 
 
 Dice, with spires mixed, very stout 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 Undergrounds 
 
 As No. 1 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 Roof coal - 
 
 Dice 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 Hard Seam - 
 
 Spires, compact - 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 Soft Seam - 
 
 Dice 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 Hard Brown 
 
 Spires, compact - 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 Hard mixed - 
 
 Spires (and dice ?), compact 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 Holing 
 
 Dice, tender 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 Jods 
 
 Spires 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 The roof of the Main coal is generally a thin bed of fire-clay 
 called " tow," upon which there rests a coal-seam, the " Second 
 Rider coal/' from 6 inches to 4 feet in thickness. In the case of 
 the Bath pit (Moira) the tow is absent, and the Rider, here 4 
 
 * Records of the School of Mines, vol. i. part 2, p. 339. Longman. 
 
 f Mr. Woodhouse informs me that the Nether coal is left at Moira colliery in such 
 a state as to be capable of being raised, should the price of coal authorize it. 
 
 | These subdivisions must be considerably modified by the changes in the thick- 
 ness of the Main coal, amounting to 4 feet. 
 
 " Smut " is the soft black carbonaceous matter into which a bed of coal decom- 
 poses at the outcrop. 
 
COAL-SEAMS. MOIRA DISTRICT. 29 
 
 feet thick, rests immediately on the Main coal, producing a solid 
 bed nearly 18 feet in thickness. 
 
 The Over coal has been almost exhausted under Measham Field, 
 from Oakthorpe eastward nearly to Gallows Lane, as also north- 
 ward and eastward of Donnisthorpe. The Nether coal remains, 
 for the most part, undisturbed, though considered by no means of 
 inferior quality. 
 
 At Oakthorpe the Main coal bassets,* but is thrown in again by 
 an east and west fault, which crosses the country on the south side 
 of the village. The smut may be seen in a garden close to the 
 turnpike on the Measham and Moira road ; and the cellar of the 
 Gate Inn at Oakthorpe is said to be excavated in the Main coal. 
 I was unable to verify this statement personally, as the landlord 
 informed me that the coal was covered up. Near both these 
 places the Slate coal was worked by means of pits which did not 
 pass through the Main coal, which places it beyond doubt that the 
 coal-crops in question are those of the Main coal.f 
 
 About 80 years since Oakthorpe Hill was on fire all along the 
 basset, and the combustion continued for several weeks, defying 
 all attempts to extinguish it. 
 
 The depth of the Main coal over Measham field varied from 20 
 to 25 yards, and the beds were found nearly horizontal, the clip 
 being slightly towards the south and west. There was formerly 
 a pit to the Main coal at 25 yards, between the farm and the river 
 Mease, about 200 yards from the Swepstone Road, on the side 
 opposite Measham Hall. The coal was worked as far south as the 
 brook and there left. According to Mr. Mammatt, the Main coal 
 bassets at or near this point. This statement is confirmed by 
 recent borings, though the actual exposure of the coal is concealed 
 under Permian Breccia. 
 
 There is also a probable southern basset, but for the supposition 
 that there is a western basset in this neighbourhood there is no 
 evidence whatever ; on the contrary, all the evidence goes to prove 
 that the Main coal deepens in those directions. It is true this 
 seam reaches the surface at Oakthorpe, but it is thrown in again 
 by a fault of considerable magnitude, of the existence of which 
 Mr. Mammatt does not appear to have been aware. On the 
 downthrow side of this fault there was a boring made not many 
 months since, when it was found that the 4-foot coal was 50 yards 
 deep. Now the 4-foot coal is about 60 yards above the Main coal, 
 and hence south-west of Oakthorpe the main coal ought to be 110 
 yards deep. As far as the evidence goes the Main coal may 
 spread for miles west and south-west of Measham. 
 
 As the boring to which I have alluded is of great interest, and 
 as there appears to be no doubt about its accuracy, I give the 
 details. The position was on the west side of the lane leading 
 
 * From Mammatt's " Geological Facts." 
 
 f Most of my information about the old workings in this neighbourhood was 
 derived from an intelligent old miner, Samuel Dennis, alias Cornet. (Sam. Dennis 
 died in 1857, aged 85 years.) 
 
so 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 from Oakthorpe village into the Burton road, and about 150 yards 
 south of the canal. 
 
 MR. PIDDOCK'S BORING, OAKTHORPE.* 
 
 Name of Stratum. 
 
 Feet. In. 
 
 Name of Stratum. 
 
 Feet. In. 
 
 Soil - 
 
 2 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 84 6 
 
 Sandy clay 
 
 4 
 
 Fire-clay 
 
 1 6 
 
 Brown rock - 
 
 3 
 
 Grey rocky shale 
 
 34 
 
 Rocky shale - 
 
 3 
 
 Mixed shale and coal 
 
 2 
 
 Brown rock - 
 
 2 
 
 2 coal 
 
 9 
 
 Yellow rock - 
 
 5 
 
 Dark shale and coal - 
 
 1 3 
 
 Dark shale 
 
 1 
 
 Grey rocky shale 
 
 2 
 
 Grey rock 
 
 6 
 
 Blue shale - 
 
 7 
 
 Blue shale 
 Dark rocky shale 
 Grey rock 
 
 19 
 35 
 2 
 
 {Coal 1 Little or f 
 Parting I Four-foot 4 
 Coal J coal. [ 
 
 3 1 
 5 
 2 10 
 
 Dark shale 
 
 6 
 
 Dark fire-clay 
 
 2 6 
 
 1 Coal 
 
 2 
 
 Rocky shale - 
 
 1 6 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 84 6 
 
 Total - 
 
 143 4 
 
 Though the parting near the centre of the coal (No. 3) in the 
 above section appears to identify it with the Little or Four-foot 
 coal, and though some of the measures above, as " mixed shale 
 and coal " are very similar to those of Mr. Mammatt's section, yet 
 it is to be regretted that the boring was not continued down to 
 the Main coal, or at least to the intervening bed of Cannel, so as 
 to leave no room for doubt as regards the existence of the Main 
 coal underneath this portion of the country. 
 
 The northern bassetings of the Over and Nether coals was 
 traced on the map from the following data : 
 
 The Nether is 4 yards deep in the well of Newall Park ; it was 
 also obtained along with the basset of the Little Wooclfield coal, 
 south of Hills Close Farm, in an open work. The Over coal-crop 
 is seen in the lane-cutting south-west of Thorntree,f and the 
 Nether in a clay-pit near Woodfield colliery. Its basset north of 
 Newall, where it forms with the Over coal a solid seam with a 
 small parting of shale, is known to the miners, if East of the 
 Moira main fault there is no basset for any of the coals below the 
 Little coal, those lower down being broken off by the Boothorpe 
 fault before arriving at the surface. 
 
 The following is the mode of excavating the Main coal adopted 
 in the Hastings and Grey pit, Moira : 
 
 Scarcely one-half of the Main coal is got, the portion worked 
 being 6 feet in the Over-coal, leaving a roof one foot thick, and a 
 
 * The Section was kindly procured for me by the Rev. W. H. Coleman, of Ashby- 
 de-la-Zouch. 
 
 f " Thorntree " in the Ordnance Map is an error for " Rowan Tree," i.e. Moun- 
 tain Ash. 
 
 % These details I obtained principally from Messrs. Nadin and a miner, Francis Dent, 
 of Newall. 
 
 For these particulars I am indebted to John Brown, Esq., who kindly accom- 
 panied me over the Hastings and Grey colliery ; and to the details in the " Geological 
 Facts." 
 
COAL-SEAMS. MOIRA DISTRICT. 31 
 
 floor of the Nether seam, which is said to be a good coal, though 
 inferior to the upper part. 
 
 At about the centre of the portion worked there occurs a soft 
 seam, 8 inches in thickness. This is " holed " or excavated as far 
 as a man can, with effect, use a mandril or pick, that is about 
 3 feet. When about 20 feet has been holed wedges are inserted 
 in the roof, about a foot underneath the "tow." The wedges, 
 which are long and thin, are driven up by hammers with long 
 shanks. The mass is thus detached and cleared away, then the 
 wedges are inserted at the floor, and the lower part of the coal is 
 forced upwards, by the same process and with the same results. 
 
 Only large blocks are sent up the shaft, and were the refuse 
 and small slack allowed to remain exposed to the air of the mine, 
 spontaneous combustion would ensue. To prevent so dangerous 
 an occurrence the following means are employed : 
 
 When the blocks of coal have been carried away, and the refuse 
 swept out of the workings or "gobbins," two walls or " brettices" 
 are formed, by laying crossways several tiers of oak stems, 3 feet 
 long by 6 inches thick, and reaching from the floor to the roof. 
 The walls are carried forward \vith the proper interval for a 
 passage between, generally 6 feet. Inside each brettice a wall of 
 plastic clay called "wax," brought down from the surface, is 
 formed progressively with the brettice, and is firmly squeezed 
 under the roof, so as to render the gobbin air-tight, The gobbin 
 is then filled in with the refuse slack, and the brettice and clay 
 wall are carried onwards as the excavations proceed ; this part of 
 the work being accomplished by men specially appointed to the 
 task in the evening. This mode of working the coal produces a 
 waste of (including the roof) one-third of the portion of the Main 
 coal which is excavated, and thus of the entire seam only about 
 one-fourth is made use of. The following diagram is intended to 
 represent a cross section of a heading newly completed in the 
 Hastings and Grey colliery, Moira. 
 
 SECTION THROUGH MAIN COAL. 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 T Tow, or clay roof of Main coal. H Open passage. B Brettice wall. 
 
 W Wax, or clay wall. G Gobbins, or waste filled with refuse slack. 
 
32 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 In some places the roof settles considerably, and the pressure 
 becomes so great that the balks of timber are crushed to nearly 
 half their former thickness. This pressure is often occasioned, 
 Mr. Brown informed me, more from the presence of faults than 
 from the weight of the superincumbent strata. 
 
 It has been already observed that in the northern portion of the 
 Moira coal-field, the Main coal is divided by the intercalation of 
 various measures, attaining at Stanton colliery a thickness of 
 60 feet. In order to account for these phenomena, we may 
 suppose that after the growth of vegetation, probably in the form 
 of peat, which now constitutes the lower half or nether seam, a 
 slight subsidence of the country occurred, the amount of which 
 was greatest in a north-west direction, and causing the submer- 
 sion of a portion of the area to a depth greater than 10 fathoms. 
 Over the mass of vegetable matter under water, sands and clays 
 were tranquilly deposited to the upper surface of the water, and a 
 new growth of vegetation commenced, now composing the over 
 seam of the Main coal. 
 
 Cannel Coal. The next seam above the Main coal of which 
 any use has been made is one which though thin is very constant, 
 both in mineral character and thickness throughout the whole 
 extent of the coal-field, from its northern to its southern basset- 
 ings. It is No. 354 of Mr. Mammatt's pit sections. Its average 
 thickness is 3 feet, though it sometimes reaches 4 feet. The 
 greater portion is cannel, which always forms the upper side, the 
 lower being common coal of variable thickness. I have never 
 heard of its having been got, except by one miner on a small scale 
 many years back, who by some means or other, became a losing 
 party by the transaction. 
 
 Little or Four-foot Coal. This is the most important seam 
 above the Main coal ; it varies in thickness from 4 to 5 J feet. 
 The roof is strong bind, with an occasional parting of tow or clay, 
 while the floor is clunch. 
 
 In the section of the Rawdon pit there occurs a parting of fire- 
 clay 1 foot thick, near the bottom of the seam, which in the 
 Hastings and Grey pit section is replaced by black bass. It is 
 No. 335 of Mr. Mammatt's sections, who gives the following sub- 
 divisions of the seam. 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 1 . Dicey coal, with a seam of spire one inch - 1 8 
 
 2. Hard spire coal * -19 
 
 3. Soft dicey coal - 5 
 
 4. Soft fire-clay - 5 
 
 5. Soft dicey coal - 6 
 
 Total - -49 
 
 The basset of the Little coal was found in laying the founda- 
 tions of the bridge of the Burton road, near Stanton. It occurs 
 10 yards below Hawfield Farm, and crops out along the southern 
 side of Newall, till it terminates against the main fault. It also 
 
COAL-SEAMS. MOIRA DISTRICT. 33 
 
 occurs close to the surface, between the Potteries and Spring 
 Wood, south of Bretby Park, being proved in the old pits in that 
 neighbourhood.* The southern basset was laid down on the map 
 from information on the spot,f and from Mr. Mammatt's hori- 
 zontal sections. 
 
 In the New Willesley Basin pit, near Oakthorpe, the Little 
 coal was found to be 39 yards from the surface. It is 4 feet 
 thick, without any parting near the base, and the roof is " strong 
 blue rock/'J 
 
 Block Coal t otherwise known as ef Jack Dennis " or " Watson" 
 around Swadlincote. This is No. 271 of Mr. Mammatt's sections, 
 and is a seam varying in thickness from 3^ to 4 feet. It invariably 
 occupies a position underneath a thick stratum of bind containing 
 several seams of ironstone. The northern outcrop may be viewed 
 in the cutting of the tramway leading from Gresley Wood colliery 
 to the main line of railway, where it strikes against a small fault. 
 It is also exposed to view in a clay pit north of Mr. Bodeman's 
 new colliery, Swadlincote; on the Moira side of the coal-field 
 Dennis coal bassets north of the New Willesley Basin pit, as it 
 has not been touched in the shaft. On the west side of the Moira 
 main fault it is cut off at " the stone wall fault." My friend Mr. 
 Coleman informs me that it was formerly worked to a small extent 
 at Sale's Spring pit. 
 
 As far as I am aware, this seam has not been got to any extent. 
 It is generally of a friable and jointed nature, and in the sinkings 
 is usually found charged with water. 
 
 Dickey Gobbler, so called from the miner by whom it was first 
 worked. It occurs at the mouth of the pit at White House, 
 Newall, and within a few feet of that of Gresley Wood colliery. 
 It is No. 222 of Mr. Mammatt's sections, and ranges in thickness 
 from 3 to 4^ feet. Bands of ironstone are common in the clays 
 which overlie the Dickey Gobbler. The coal is of medium quality, 
 resting on a floor of strong clay, with ironstone nodules. 
 
 Ell Coal. This is the highest seam which has been worked in 
 the Moira coal-field. Its thickness, as its name implies, is generally 
 a yard and a quarter. It has been extensively got under Gresley 
 Common, and to some extent on the east side of Ashley Woulds. 
 A new pit has been sunk on Gresley Common, south from the 
 " Church pit," a section of which has been forwarded to me by 
 Mr. Coleman, from Mr. Healy. The object was to work the Ell 
 coal, which was found to be 4 feet thick at a depth of 82 feet from 
 the surface. In the shaft of the Grenville colliery its depth is 72 
 
 * These particulars I learned from an intelligent miner, Francis Dent, of Newall. 
 
 t Furnished by Samuel Dennis, alias Cornet, of Measham. 
 
 j The section was kindly given me by Mr. Whithead, bailiff. Since writing the 
 above this colliery has passed into the hands of the Marquis of Hastings (1860). On 
 reaching the Main and Little coals the inflow of water from the old workings was so 
 great as to necessitate the erection of the largest Cornish engine in this district. The 
 diameter of the cylinder is 84 inches, and it was manufactured at the works of the 
 Burton-on-Trent Iron Foundry, 
 
34 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 feet, with a thickness of 3 feet 1 1 inches, with three beds of potter's 
 clay, at the following depths from the surface : 
 
 Depth. Thickness. 
 
 No. 1 - 35 ft. - 4 ft. (grey). 
 
 No. 2 - 65 - 8 (grey and black). 
 
 No. 3 - 66 - 4 (grey and good).* 
 
 It bassets in the wood, north of the Granville colliery and west- 
 ward of Woodville, till it is broken off against a fault having a 
 downthrow on the south. Three yards above the Ell coal there 
 occurs a valuable bed of fire-clay, well adapted for making saggers. 
 This clay is worked by means of gin pits on Gresley Common, and 
 in open works south-west of Woodville. f 
 
 In a series of borings, in a position about 500 yards south of 
 Woodville, and on the west or downcast side of the Great 
 Boothorpe fault, which were undertaken by Mr. Joyce for the 
 purpose of proving the depth of the Ell coal, and for a copy of 
 which I am indebted to Mr. Coleman, the smut of a coal 8 feet 
 thick, ^heretofore unknown, was ascertained, close to the surface, 
 and in a position about 85 feet above the Ell coal. This is all that 
 is at present known about this seam, which appears to be the 
 highest of which we have any knowledge. 
 
 Besides the coal-seams here particularized, there are several 
 others of minor importance, the history and statistics of which are 
 unknown, and of the value of which little account is taken, owing 
 to the present abundant supply now obtained principally from the 
 Main coal. They are kept in reserve for future use ; and their 
 value will be augmented in proportion as the supply from other 
 sources fails. 
 
 RAFFEKEE COAL, WOODVILLE. 
 
 On the upcast side of the great Boothorpe fault there occur 
 around Woodville two coal-seams, separated by about 8 or 10 
 yards of measures, and chiefly valuable for the potter's clay with 
 which they are associated, The uppermost of these seams is called 
 " Rafferee coal/' and is chiefly remarkable for the inconstancy of 
 its character. In some places it attains a thickness of 10 feet, and 
 at a short distance is not more than 2 or 3 feet thick ; this will be 
 seen by the following sections, at a distance of little more than a 
 quarter of a mile from each other. 
 
 Messrs. Hough and Grey's Pit. Waterloo Pit. 
 
 
 
 
 YDS. 
 
 FT. 
 
 
 
 YDS. 
 
 FT. 
 
 Measures - 
 
 . 
 
 . 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 _ 
 
 - 14 
 
 
 
 Rafferee cdal 
 
 _ 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 . 
 
 _ 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 Measures with 
 
 pot-clay 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 - 11 
 
 
 
 Coal - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 
 Clay - 
 
 Pot-clay 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 * See Vertical Section, Sheet 19, Granville colliery. 
 
 f " Saggers " are pans used in pottery works, in which are placed the finer kinds 
 of ware when placed in the " ovens " to be " baked." 
 
COAL-SEAMS. MOIRA DISTRICT. 
 
 35 
 
 The basset of these coals occurs near the east end of the village, 
 but they are repeated again by a fault passing through the 
 Waterloo pit, and a few yards east of Butt House, and the two 
 sections given above are on opposite sides of the fault. At Block- 
 fordby the outcrop of the 4-foot coal is exposed in an open work 
 
 i 
 OUTCROP OF THE FOUR-FOOT COAL AT BLOCKFORDBY. 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 A Loose breccia in matrix of marl. 
 B Purple marl forming base of New Red Sandstone. 
 C Sandy shale. D Coal 3 feet thick. 
 
 E Pot-clay, with rootlets stretching from the coal. 
 
 in a field north of the village. The bed forms a little basin, or 
 rather basin with a portion of the side flattened out. The basset 
 of the Rafferee was proved some years since in a deep trench at 
 the west end of the village near the brook ; the smut was 9 feet 
 thick.* Further south than this there are no data for tracing the 
 crop of the Rafferee coal ; but a higher bed, or at least an' appa- 
 rently higher bed, makes its appearance in this neighbourhood. 
 It was formerly worked by the landlord of the " Blue Bell," Black- 
 fordby, in a shallow pit close to the Boothorpe road; its thickness 
 was described to be 3^ feet, the coal good in quality, and the beds 
 dipping rapidly to the west. After a few tons had been got the 
 works were drowned out. If all these particulars are correct, this 
 coal could not be the seam underneath the Rafferee, as the latter 
 did not appear in the shaft. I conclude, therefore, that it is a 
 higher seam, and probably continuous with the coal formerly 
 worked at Sweet Hill Oak. At these pits the coal was 30 or 40 
 yards deep, and 4J feet thick. The pits were worked by a blind 
 collier some forty years ago.f The outcrop of a coal-seam (pro- 
 bably the same seam) was laid bare in the railway cutting south of 
 Sweet Hill Oak ; it is there 4 feet thick, and was excavated and 
 burnt during the formation of the line. The section is now 
 almost entirely concealed. 
 
 It is not improbable that the Rafferee coal is the same as the 
 " Stockings " seam of Moira. Both are of inferior quality ; both 
 rest on clay from 2 to 3 feet in thickness ; and in both cases a bed 
 
 * On the authority of John Orme, of Woodville, a native of Blackfordby. 
 f From information obtained from John Orme, of Woodville, and Samuel Dennis, 
 alias Cornet, of Measham. 
 
 c 2 
 
36 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 of good coal of nearly equal thickness is found underneath,, at depths 
 by no means very dissimilar. In order to render the comparison 
 more obvious, the two following sections are placed in juxta- 
 position : 
 
 SWADLINCOTE SECTION. WOODVILLE SECTION. 
 
 Woodfield coal - 
 Measures - 
 Stockings coal - 
 Clunch - 
 Measures - 
 Eureka coal 
 Clunch 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 5 
 
 48 
 
 5 2 
 
 3 
 61 
 
 4 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 Probable coal seam 4 6 
 
 Measures (more than) 42 
 
 Rafferee coal - from 9 to 3 
 Clay and 
 
 Measures - - 33 
 
 Coal - 4 
 
 Pot-clay - - 2 
 
 It will be admitted that, making due allowance for changes 
 consequent on the interval, more than a mile between the two 
 sections, there is a strong similarity ; and should it ultimately prove 
 to be the case that the Rafferee is the Stockings coal, and the 
 underlying 4-foot coal the Eureka seam, it will be sufficient 
 to deter from attempts to reach a good coal below the Eureka, ns 
 it will in that case form the lowest bed of the productive Coal- 
 measures.* This event will also throw light on the magnitude of 
 the Boothorpe fault. The Ell and Rafferee seams are at about 
 the same depth from the surface on each side of this fault at 
 Woodville; and on the supposition of the "Rafferee" being iden- 
 tical with the Stockings, the amount of throw at the south side of 
 Woodville will be equal to the depth of the Stockings below 
 the Ell coal nearly, i.e., 800 feet. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 COLEOBTON DISTRICT. 
 
 LEAVING Moira, and commencing our course to the eastward 
 towards Coleorton, we make a diagonal section of the coal-pro- 
 ducing district, with which it will be well to become acquainted, 
 in order to the proper understanding of the relationship subsisting 
 between its eastern and western portions. After crossing the 
 " 120 yard " fault, which traverses the strata not far from the east 
 side of the village of Moira, we arrive at the Hastings and Grey 
 pits, where the Main coal is worked at a depth of about 120 yards 
 deeper than in the Bath pit, on the shallow side of the fault. Here 
 the beds are almost horizontal, being at the centre of the trough 
 formed by the strata between the northern and southern bassetings. 
 Continuing our course along the railway, we find, on passing under 
 the bridge of the Willesley Road, the strata rising rapidly to the 
 eastward, first at angles of about 10, but increasing in amount 
 
 * Except, perhaps, the 
 the " Eureka." 
 
 Anglesea seam," which Mr. Coleman considers as below 
 
COAL-SEAMS. COLEORTON DISTRICT. 37 
 
 till, at a distance of 200 yards from the bridge, they stand in a 
 vertical position, and are broken and dislocated in a very remark- 
 able manner. We have, in fact, arrived at the position of the 
 great Boothorpe fault, by far the greatest dislocation on this side 
 of the Ashby coal-field ; and in crossing we pass at once from a 
 thick series of coal-producing measures into another almost 
 unproductive, and far down in the coal formation. As we proceed 
 eastward the beds, with two or three coal crops, are found still 
 rising to the east, but at angles which lessen as we recede from 
 the Boothorpe fault. This westerly dip is constant till we have 
 passed half a mile beyond Ashby-de la-Zouch, where we arrive at 
 the axis of the " Ashby Anticlinal" east of which the beds roll over 
 and dip towards the east ; and as we proceed towards Coleorton we 
 pass in succession the outcrop of a series of coal-seams, which, 
 though representing generally those of the Moira district, are not 
 strictly comparable. 
 
 The New Red Sandstone overspreads the southern half of the 
 Coleorton coal-field, and the upper portion of the Whitwick, 
 Snibston, Ibstock, and Bagworth shafts pass through the red marls 
 and white sandstones of this formation. The strata incline at a 
 very small angle to the south-east ; and underneath, the Coal- 
 measures preserve a steady dip to the eastward at angles from 
 4 to 6, and consequently the coal-seams rise and basset against 
 the under surface of the newer and unconformable beds of the 
 New Red Sandstone. Tbe'direction of the dip at the northern 
 extremity of the Coleorton field changes by a quarter of a circle, 
 and the coal-crops form a series of concentric curves, which are 
 abruptly terminated towards the east by the great fault which 
 forms the boundary line of the coal-field. 
 
 As the Coal-measures approach the position of the boundary 
 fault, they are found to rise very rapidly, so as to become almost 
 vertical in the space of a few hundred feet ; this produces a 
 synclinal, the axis of which passes at a short distance east of 
 Peggs Green colliery, through the new Swannington shaft, and a 
 quarter of a mile east of Whitwick colliery. In company with the 
 son of Mr. W. Stenson, jun., I explored a heading which had 
 been driven in a direction 20 north of east, to a distance of 
 nearly half a mile from the shaft of Whitwick colliery.* Upon 
 reaching the position of the synclinal axis, we commenced ascend- 
 ing along the floor of the coal, at first gradually but at a rapidly 
 increasing inclination, till the heading finally passed into a nearly 
 vertical shaft, which had been driven upwards with much diffi- 
 culty at an angle of .about 80 ; we measured the interval 
 between the shaft and the place where the coal-seam was hori- 
 zontal, and found the distance only 60 yards. East of the new 
 Swannington shaft the rise of the strata is even more rapid, and 
 its effect is to render the coals unworkable east of the pit ; the 
 dip is north-east, at 3 inches in the yard, but at 80 yards east of 
 the shaft the coal commences to rise into a vertical position almost 
 
 * See Horizontal Section, Sheet 48. 
 
38 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 instantaneously.* At about 100 yards from the pit the beds are 
 probably vertical, between which and the boundary fault there is 
 room for 600 feet of strata, so that were a deep cutting to be 
 opened, we would probably find all the beds, as far as the base of 
 the Lount coals, rising vertically to the surface in succession. 
 
 With the exception of the main or boundary fault of the Cole- 
 orton coal-field, and another which branches from it at Heath End, 
 there are no dislocations of importance in this district. The 
 absence of faults, properly so called, is however, fully counter- 
 balanced by those irregularities in the stratification known as 
 u rock-faults ;"f to these I shall refer hereafter, proceeding at once 
 to the consideration of the principal seams of coal, commencing 
 with the lowest. 
 
 Heath End Coals. These constitute, as far as has been hitherto 
 determined, the lowest workable seams of the Coleorton coal-field. 
 Their outcrop occurs at the entrance to Dimmingsdale, and the 
 seams are broken off against the boundary fault to the north-east 
 of the Heath End pits on the one side, and by a large branch 
 fault, which ranges along the west side of Rough Heath, on the 
 other. 
 
 The following is a section of the coal-seams which were worked 
 at Heath End colliery 4 
 
 HEATH END SECTION. 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 1. Bind (shale) - 10 
 
 2. Stone - 4 
 
 3. Bind - 2 ? 
 
 4. Coal - 4 
 
 5. Stony bind 1 
 
 6 Coal / Coa1 ' 2 feet \ Q O 
 
 ll \Cannel, 7 feet/ 
 
 In some places the 4-feet coal rests immediately upon the thick 
 coal, so as to form a solid seam 13 feet in thickness. The outcrop 
 is now visible (1860), but though the cannel is somewhat anthra- 
 citic so near the surface, there is reason to infer that its quality 
 improves on the deep, and should this prove to be the case, it 
 will form a seam of great value under the Coleorton district. At 
 Heath End the dip is southward, and it is terminated both to the 
 east and west, by large upcast faults. The probable depth of the 
 Heath End coals below the Coleorton main seam is shown in 
 Horizontal Section No. 1, Sheet 46. 
 
 * For these particulars I am indebted to Mr. Houldsworth, manager of the New 
 Swannington colliery. 
 
 f Miners, and those who ought to be better acquainted with the subject are con- 
 stantly confounding the two kinds of phenomena here referred to. The distinction is 
 essential. Faults are breaks in the strata, accompanied by a vertical displacement ; 
 rock-faults are banks of sand or clay which replace in a coal-seam parts previously 
 carried away. 
 
 This section was kindly furnished by the Rev. W. II. Coleman. 
 
COLEORTON COAL-FIELD. COAL-SEAMS. 39 
 
 Lount Coals. Roaster (No. 1).* This is a thin seam, averaging 
 only 2 feet in thickness, but of excellent quality. It has been got 
 to a small extent at Lount. The position of the outcrop of this and 
 the higher seams I obtained from the information of an intelligent 
 miner, who had worked in all the pits, which are numerous 
 between Lount colliery and Lount wood. I was informed by 
 Mr. Houldsworth, of Swannington colliery, that the " Roaster " 
 was found in the cellar of Stanton Hall. The late Earl Ferrers 
 had caused a coal to be laid open alongside the lane leading from 
 Lount to Stanton Hall, in a position one hundred yards north of 
 the brook. The dip was found to be north, and a few yards 
 further towards the deep of the coal, a pit was sunk for the purpose 
 of proving its quality, when it was found that the seam had dis- 
 appeared, hence there would appear to be a roll-over of the beds, 
 accompanied by a fault; and this coal may be the Roaster 
 described as being under Stanton Hall. 
 
 Nether Coal (No. 2). This seam is 70 yards deep at Lount 
 pits, and its thickness 4J feet. 
 
 Middle Coal (No. 3). This seam at Lount is 4J feet thick, and 
 the same at Lount Wood and Coleorton Moor. Its outcrop is 
 exposed to view in an open work at the east side of the Ashby 
 and Nottingham road, near Lount Wood, where it is laid open for 
 the potters' clay, on which it rests. This clay is full of rootlets 
 (Stigmaria ficoides), which run downwards from the bottom of 
 the coal. 
 
 OUTCROP OF THE MIDDLE LOUNT COAL, NEAR LOUNT WOOD. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 A Yellow Drift clay. 
 
 B Blue shale, with ironstone nodules, 7 feet. 
 
 C Middle Lount coal, 4 feet 6 inches. 
 
 D Grey under-clay, with Stigmaria rootlets, &c. 
 
 This seam together with the Nether, and to a small extent the 
 Roaster, has been almost worked out over this district, near the 
 outcrop. Old pits and banks are numerous over and around 
 Lount and Smoile Woods. 
 
 * The numbers after each coal refer to the Vertical Sections of the Geological 
 Survey, Sheet 19. 
 
40 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 The Middle coal is generally divided by a band of ironstone 
 about a foot from the top, and the upper part is occasionally 
 cannel. 
 
 Second Lount Coal (No. 4) is 3 feet thick and of medium 
 quality. 
 
 The Upper Lount or Smoile Coal (No. 5) is 3 feet thick at 
 Lount, and nearly 4 feet at Coleorton Moor ; this, together with 
 the Middle and Nether seams is, I understand an inferior coal, and 
 at present in but little request. 
 
 The basset of the Lount seams preserves, in all probability, a 
 continuous course southward to the west side of the village of 
 Heather, but is concealed beneath the New Red Sandstone. 
 Near this village there were formerly some coal-pits, and four 
 seams of coal were pierced through, which presented the following 
 section : 
 
 SECTION OF HEATHER PIT.* 
 
 No. 
 
 Name of Stratum. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 In. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 In. 
 
 1 
 
 Blue bind, &e. - 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Sandstone 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Blue bind 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 78 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Coal 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 84 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 Blue bind 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 87 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Coal 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 93 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 Rocky bind and chinch. - 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 135 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 Coal 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 139 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 Blue bind 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 147 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 Coal .3 ft. 9 in.") 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 12 
 
 Shales 2 3 \ Main coal of Ibstock - 
 Coal 4 9 J 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 158 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 Tire-clay - 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 161 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 Rocky blue bind - 
 
 117 
 
 
 
 278 
 
 3 
 
 It is probable that Nos. 4, 6, 8, represent the Lount Upper, 
 Second, and Middle coals, in which case No. 10 would represent 
 the Nether, and No. 12 the Roaster, or Nos. 10 and 12 conjointly 
 may represent the Nether coal of Lount, and the Roaster be 
 absent. At Heather colliery, Nos. 4, 6, and 8 were found to be 
 of very inferior qualities, whilst Nos. 10 and 12 were good. 
 These two last seams are considered to unite farther to the east- 
 ward, and form the bottom coal of Ibstock and Bagworth, 8-J feet 
 in thickness. I am informed by Mr. Price that the measures at 
 Heather form a synclinal trough, and that the higher coal beds 
 basset both east and west of Heather colliery. The lower seams 
 were (I understand) worked westward to this basset under the 
 New Red Sandstone, but it is improbable that they crop in the 
 opposite direction. The following section probably represents 
 very closely the position of the strata; it is drawn through 
 Heather and Ibstock collieries. The strata have been proved un- 
 
 Furnished by the Rev. W. H. Coleman of Asbby. 
 
COLKORTON COAL-FIELD. MAIN COAL. 
 
 productive 117 feet below Heather colliery. 
 Section, Sheet 48.) 
 
 Main Coal ( No. 7 ) . This seam, 
 also known as the Coleorton coal, 
 is the principal seam of the dis- 
 trict, and is got in all the deep 
 pits, from Pegg's Green colliery 
 southwards. Its average thick- 
 ness is 6 feet, but on approaching 
 a rock-fault south of Whitwick 
 colliery, it reaches 12 feet, caused 
 principally by partings of the rock 
 dovetailing with it. The outcrop 
 of this seam is close to Lount 
 toll-gate, and runs along the west 
 side of Smoile Wood, where it 
 was formerly excavated in open ^ 
 works. In this direction the seam S 
 was found to exceed its average 
 thickness by 2 or 3 feet, and tra- 8 
 dition records that it was on fire H 
 along the outcrop at Lount Wood 
 as far back as the commence- Q 
 ment of the 15th century. It 3 
 was also got in a similar manner # ^ 
 along the hill-side west of Rough 5 
 Park, and I understand it bassets 3 ft 
 under the New Red Sandstone at y 
 Coleorton Hall. In a " spinney " 
 on the hill-top south of Coleorton o 
 rectory, the Main coal was for- 
 merly worked at a depth of 60 ^ 
 yards, with about 20 yards of 2 
 New Red Sandstone a- top. It o 
 was followed westward to a large & 
 fault under Parson's Meadow, and 
 was there 36 yards deep. This 
 fault is considered, with great 
 probability, by Mr. Coleman, to 
 range all along the western side of 
 the Coleorton coal-field, throwing 
 out all the valuable coal-seams on 
 the west side. It is probably a 
 continuation of the large Heath 
 End fault already described as 
 terminating the Heath End coal 
 along the west side of Rough 
 Heath. This fracture was pro- 
 duced prior to the deposition of 
 the New Red Sandstone, and 
 consequently does not appear at the surface. 
 
 (See Horizontal 
 
 5-^1 
 
 z o 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 HI 
 
 fc 
 
 urn 
 
 J 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 o 
 
42 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 There is a similarity between the measures which accompany 
 the two seams in the Ibstock and New Snibston sections, as well 
 as in the thickness of the coal-seams themselves, due allowance 
 being made for changes in thickness, consequent on the interval 
 between them. 
 
 SECTION AT NEW SNIBSTON PIT. 
 
 N PIT. 
 
 SECTION AT IBSTOCK I 
 
 'IT. 
 
 
 FT. IX. 
 10 
 
 37 5 
 
 Stony bind 
 White sandstone 
 
 FT. 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 IN. 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 Strong Stony bind 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 6 
 
 Coal (top coal worked) - 
 Clunch - 
 
 5 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 1. Strong blue bind. 
 
 2. Grey metal stone 
 
 3. Blue bind i 
 
 4. Black stone j 
 
 5. Main coal - 
 
 6. Fire-clay - 
 
 To my friend Mr. Coleman I am indebted for a copy of a very 
 interesting boring made on the land of L. Fosbrooke, Esq., in 
 1830. The spot is between a pond and two cottages half a mile 
 north of Hugglescote. It only reached as far downwards as the 
 seam called Battle Jack, which is about 33 yards above the Main 
 coal. The measures correspond very closely with those in No. 2 
 pit, Snibston colliery, and the following are the coal-seams passed 
 through : 
 
 Thickness. Depth. 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 1. Stone Smut coal - 
 
 2. Swannington coal 
 
 3. Soft or Three-quarter coal 
 
 4. Slate-coal Eider - 
 
 5. Slate coal 
 
 6. Yard coal - 
 
 7. Rattle Jack coal - 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 4 
 3 
 8 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 254 
 280 
 325 
 363 
 387 
 433 
 465 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 There is evidently a large area of useful Coal-measures over- 
 spread by the New Red Sandstone as yet undisturbed, and 
 extending from a line joining Coleorton to Heather, and eastward 
 to the boundary fault of the coal-field, which will afford an almost 
 unlimited supply after the Main coal, has been exhausted. To the 
 southward a similar area extends from the western basset of the 
 Heather coals (which will probably continue to Market Bosworth), 
 eastward to the confines of Charnwood Forest. West of this 
 little coal is to be expected until we arrive at the deep side of 
 the Boothorpe fault, which probably continues its course for 
 several miles in a S.S.E. direction from Willesley, throwing up 
 productive Coal-measures on the west side. 
 
 From the basset between Lount colliery and Coleorton Hall, 
 and eastward to the north side of Pegg's Green colliery, the Main 
 coal is said to be exhausted ; and, indeed, the numerous old pits 
 and banks which abound over this area bear witness to the fact. 
 Over this tract there is probably not an acre of undisturbed 
 ground. The easterly dip of the strata must, therefore, cause the 
 accumulation of water in these old mines in the direction of 
 
COLEOETON COAL-FIELD. MAIN COAL. 43 
 
 Pegg's Green, and the greatest precautions are found necessary in 
 order to prevent the flooding of the present mines by the bursting 
 of these reservoirs. At Pegg's Green colliery, before a heading is 
 driven in the direction of these old collieries, a boring rod of 
 1 2 feet in length is inserted through the Main coal in a horizontal 
 direction, in order to prove the solidity of the seam to that distance. 
 On one of many occasions the old mines were tapped, and upon 
 the withdrawal of the boring rod the water gushed forth with 
 great impetuosity ; a plug was immediately inserted in the orifice, 
 and it required the strength of two men to hold it in, while a 
 third with a sledge hammer drove it home. As the hydrostatic 
 pressure is proportional to the depth alone, there must evidently 
 be a large accumulation of water for a considerable distance in the 
 direction of the basset in order to produce a depth proportional to 
 the pressure indicated upon this occasion. 
 
 The following section showing the quality of the Main coal 
 throughout its thickness was furnished by Mr. Houldsworth, of 
 Swannington New Colliery. 
 
 MAIN COAL, COLEORTON. 
 
 FT. IN. 
 
 1. Bright coarse coal - 9 
 
 2. Fine grained - - 1 
 
 3. Very bright - - 2 
 
 4. Coarse bright - - 9 
 
 5. Bronzed spire - - 1J 
 
 6. Coarse bright -04 
 
 7. Spire - - 1 
 
 8. Close-grained bench - - 1 7 
 
 9. Top spire - - 1 
 
 10. Tod - - - 9 
 
 11. Bottom spire - - 1 
 
 12. Dice - - 3J 
 
 13. Floor coal - - 1 6 
 
 Total - 7 6 
 
 The Main coal is overlaid by several feet of strong argillaceous 
 sandstone, which at Pegg's Green, Coleorton Moor, and Whit- 
 wick collieries rests directly on the coal, while at Snibston and 
 New Swannington collieries a stratum of bind from 2 to 5 feet 
 thick intervenes. The value of a solid and hard roof is great, as 
 otherwise 12 inches or so of the coal-seam must be allowed to 
 remain a-top ; but sometimes the sandstone roof is found to soften 
 and give away after long exposure to the air ; and where inter- 
 laced with partings of coal is liable to break off unexpectedly. 
 
 Sulphurous Coal (No. 8). This is a thick seam, with partings 
 of shale, but unfortunately so charged with "sulphur" (iron 
 pyrites) as to be almost valueless, and from the quantity of sul- 
 phuous acid produced during combustion is called the " stinking 
 coal." 
 
 Rattle Jack Coal (No. 9). From 2 feet to 3 feet thick. 
 
 Yard Coal (No. 10). From 2^ feet to 3 feet thick. 
 
44 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 Slate Coal (No. 11). This seam, as its name implies,, is of 
 inferior quality, and like " the 4-foot coal " of Moira, which it is 
 possible it may represent, is generally parted near the base by a 
 thin stratum of shale, from 3 inches to 3 feet thick. Its average 
 thickness is from 4J to 5 feet. It was formerly got to a con- 
 siderable extent around Coleorton, and is probably well nigh 
 exhausted. A thin seam, " the Slate Coal Rider," generally 
 accompanies the Slate coal, separated by from 8 to 12 yards of 
 measures, and is more valuable as indicating the position of the 
 seam, than on account of its intrinsic worth. 
 
 The following Table shows the composition of the Slate coal at 
 Swannington.* 
 
 SLATE COAL. 
 
 1. Average quality coal - 
 
 2. Black stone 
 
 3. Fire-clay (uncertain) - 
 
 4. Coal ----- 
 
 5. Blue bind 
 
 6. Coal - 
 
 Total - 8 9 
 
 The outcrop occurs alongside the brook, which runs by the east 
 side of The Paddock, where some sixty years ago the coal was 
 extracted in an open work.f 
 
 Soft Coal (No. 13). Also known as (: the Three-quarter Goal/' 
 is a thin seam varying from 1 to 2^ feet thick. 
 
 Swannington Coal (No. 14). This seam, I am informed, is of 
 good quality, and in olden time was extensively worked. In 
 sinking the shafts of the Coleorton and Swannington new col- 
 lieries, it was found to have been worked out, as the " gobbins " 
 alone remained. The outcrop may be viewed at the junction of 
 the incline, with the main tramway at Orton Quarter Mars. The 
 thickness of the seam varies from 2|feet to upwards of 4^ feet. 
 
 Stone Smut (No. 15), and Stone Smut Rider (No. 16). These 
 are average coals, and were formerly got at Whitwick colliery 
 before the existence of the Main coal was ascertained. The Stone 
 Smut Rider averages 3 J feet ; the Stone Smut 4J feet ; and 
 between the two there is an interval of 45 feet of measures. 
 
 In sinking the New Swannington shaft these two seams, 
 together with the Swannington, were found to have been exhausted. 
 From the number of old pits north of Swannington, it is probable 
 that these seams have been entirely worked out over the district. 
 Mr. Houldsworth pointed out to me no fewer than thirteen old 
 banks, within sight of the engine-house of the New Swannington 
 colliery. 
 
 The basset of the Stone Smut occurs at the north side of the 
 
 * Furnished by Mr. W. Walker, jun., Coleorton. 
 
 f According to the account of an old collier, Grandsir, of Coleorton. 
 
COLEORTON COAL-FIELD. SLATE COAL. 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 M 
 5 
 
 % 
 
 tunnel close by the California pit. The Stone Smut Eider bassets 
 the south side of the tunnel, is 
 close to the mouth of the shaft 
 of the New Coleorton colliery, 
 and was cut through in the 
 tunnel at its northern out- 
 crop, where its thickness was 
 found to be 3^ feet. 
 
 One-foot Coal This is a 
 seam which occurs near the 
 mouth of the shaft at New 
 Swannington colliery, and its 
 basset was marked out for me 
 by Mr. Houldsworth. As 
 the strata are thrown up very 
 suddenly, east of the pit 
 mouth, this and probably a 
 few of the lower seams do not 
 come in actual contact with 
 the Coleorton boundary fault. 
 
 The One-foot seam, toge- 
 ther with several higher, but 
 thin coals were found in the 
 Whit wick and old Snibston 
 shafts ; and, consequently, 
 the beds through which they 
 pass are the highest with 
 which we are acquainted in 
 the country. It is not im- 
 probable that we have now 
 reached a position in the coal 
 formation at or near the top 
 of the productive series, and 
 are now on the confines of 
 the upper unproductive Coal- 
 measures, which, though at- 
 taining a thickness of from 
 600 to 1,000 feet in Staf- 
 fordshire, are not represented 
 in the Ashby-de-la-Zouch 
 coal-field, having either been 
 swept away by the waters of 
 an ancient sea, or covered 
 over by the New Red Sand- 
 stone in a district further 
 south than has been explored 
 by the boring rod of the 
 miners.* 
 
 cc O 
 
 * Tor full details of the coal series at the collieries of the Coleorton district, see 
 Vertical Section, Sheet 19. 
 
GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
FAULTS. MOIRA COAL-FIELD. 47 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 FAULTS. MOIRA COAL-FIELD. 
 
 THERE are few physical phenomena to be met with in a coal-field 
 calculated to excite greater interest in our minds than the lines of 
 dislocation, or faults, which traverse it, often in great numbers, 
 and the effect of which is to produce vertical displacements in its 
 strata. On crossing a fault we often pass at a step from a district, 
 it may be, rich in mineral produce to one utterly barren ; or we 
 leave behind an area of country where some valuable coal-seam 
 lies within easy distance of the surface, and enter upon another 
 where the same bed of coal has been plunged to a greater depth by 
 several hundred feet, and where the difficulties and expense of 
 obtaining it are greatly increased. 
 
 There are four principal faults producing important changes in 
 the structure of the Ashby coal-field. Their general direction 
 lies N.N.W. ; this is parallel to the axis of elevation of the Charn- 
 wood Forest rocks, and- proves a connexion between the forces 
 which produced these phenomena. The faults to which we allude 
 are the " Main " or " 100 yard fault " of Moira ; the Boothorpe 
 fault, the Heath End fault, and the " Main " or Coleorton boundary 
 fault. We now proceed to trace the first of these from its northern 
 to its southern termination. 
 
 Moira Main Fault This line of fracture traverses the coal- 
 field from the south side of Decoy Wood to Oakthorpe, in a direc- 
 tion of N. 20 W. The downcast is on the east side, and 
 amounts to 120 yards at Newall, 100 yards at Moira, and 80 yards 
 near Oakthorpe. Its position has been proved at the lodge, 
 Bretby Park, from the smashed and tilted character of the strata in 
 that locality.* The fault was also proved at the old collieries on 
 the hill side north of Newall, the Block coal having been worked 
 at one side on a level, with the Woodfield on the other, f It has 
 likewise been struck in the shafts of White House collieries,J and 
 was found in the excavations for the railway at Swadlincote 
 station. Its position was ascertained in some old pits at the north 
 side of Swadlincote village as far as Gresley Common, where it 
 splits into two arms, one of which extends to Castle Gresley, and 
 the other southward along the Wooden Box branch line of rail- 
 way,! crossing the main line near the east end of the tunnel, and 
 the sum of the downthrows being nearly equal to the throw of the 
 main line of fracture. It is not probable that the line of the fault 
 is continuous with either of these arms for any great distance in a 
 southerly direction from their point of junction. At the east side 
 of Ashby Woulds there is a line of unproved ground, along which 
 
 * According to Mr. Nadin, of New Stanton colliery, 
 j- From information obtained from Francis Dent, of Newall. 
 
 j According to Mr. Bodeman, who led me to understand that the fault splits into 
 two portions for some yards. 
 From plans in Mr. Woodhousc's office. 
 II Ibid. 
 
48 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 I suppose the fault to run till it reaches the eastern end of the 
 reservoir, where it has again been proved by actual experiment. 
 From this it extends along the east side of the Hartshorn Road, 
 coal having been worked on its downcast side,* and it was again 
 proved near William Hough's farm, west of Moira village.! 
 Farther south than this the extension of the Main fault appears 
 involved in mystery. Of the old workings no records have been 
 kept, and the fault, which at Moira collieries is a great reality, 
 suddenly becomes a matter of considerable uncertainty. I believe, 
 however, that by the help of information obtained from Samuel 
 Dennis, of Measham, an intelligent old miner, well acquainted with 
 all the old coal-pits of the neighbourhood, I have succeeded in 
 tracing the main fault for some distance farther south. It appears 
 that many years ago the Main coal was got in collieries between 
 Willesley and Oakthorpe. There were two pits alongside the lane 
 joining these villages, one on the site of Mr. Merriman's house, 
 another within a quarter of a mile of Willesley Park. Both of the 
 shafts were exactly the same depth, so that the lane is parallel to 
 the line of strike or level, the clip being north. Another pit, 
 however, was sunk to the Main coal much nearer the Moira Road, 
 and not far from Oakthorpe, on the same line of level as the former, 
 and the depth was found to be 20 yards. It is therefore evident 
 that a fault 80 yards downthrow on the east passes between 
 Merriman's house and the Moira Road, which, as it is in the direct 
 line, is doubtless a continuation of the main fault. Much farther 
 south than this it probably does not extend, as there is a cross 
 fault extending from Oakthorpe to Gallowslane, against which it 
 appears finally to terminate. 
 
 The branch faults are numerous, though generally of small 
 amount. The following is a brief account of them, derived either 
 from information of coal-miners or from plans of workings : 
 
 A fault crosses by Woodfield colliery with a downthrow of 16 
 yards on the north. The fault which runs under Newall Church 
 and the other in a parallel line through Hawfield farm were marked 
 out by Messrs. Nadin, who described the Main coal as having been 
 worked along their faces. Another, a knowledge of which I de- 
 rived from the same source, passes due east through the shaft of 
 the New Stanton colliery, having a downthrow of 16 yards on 
 the south. The position of the Church Gresley faults have been 
 proved in the colliery, and were marked out for me by Mr. Walters, 
 the bailiff, and Mr. Nadin informed me that in the Old Stanton 
 collieries the Main coal was worked westward to a fault which is 
 doubtless that marked on the map, and which passing N.IST.W. 
 through Overseal, brings the Red Marl down on the west side 
 against lower beds of the New Red Sandstone. 
 
 From the Hastings and Grey pit (Moira) a heading was driven 
 
 * From plans in Mr. Woodhouse's office. 
 
 f From the account of Mr. Hugh, landlord of the Moira Inn, who asserts that the 
 Block coal is thrown near the surface of the west side. 
 
FAULTS. MOIRA COAL-FIELD. 49 
 
 due south for one-third of a mile, crossing several minor faults 
 with " tip-throws " on the south side. Two small faults pass 
 between the two shafts, which it is not possible to represent on 
 the ordnance map.* At Willcsley old pits, two faults were 
 struck, of which there are no particulars preserved. Mr. Green, 
 of Charnwood Lodge, thinks that there is a fault with a down- 
 throw of 100 yards running due east and west across the south 
 .side of Moira. This, I think, is a point of much uncertainty. 
 The Main coal has been worked as far west as the lane leading 
 south from the toll-gate, east side of Overseal, and no fault was 
 struck. Half-a-mile further to the north the same coal was worked 
 up to a fault which was traced for a distance of 80 yards, its direc- 
 tion is N.N.E., but the amount and side of the downthrow are not 
 known. A fault, ranging from the east end of the reservoir to the 
 railway, is marked in the plans in Mr. Woodhouse's office, but 
 there are no details concerning the throw. There are also two 
 small faults west of the Bath pit, the directions of which were 
 marked out by the bailiff. 
 
 Mr. Woodhouse informs me that the boundary of the New Red 
 Sandstone at Gresley railway station is a fault which has lately 
 been struck in a heading driven from Moira colliery. 
 
 Stone Wall. This fault traverses Donnisthorpe Field in a 
 direction E.N.E., with a downcast of 100 yards on the north side. 
 It was proved on both sides in the old mines of Donnisthorpe 
 Field, and is marked in Mr. Mammatt's section (C to D), where 
 it crosses the canal embankment south of Moira. In ,that locality 
 the throw is from 120 to 140 yards. It probably terminates on 
 the east side against the Main Fault of Moira, and is lost under 
 the New Red Sandstone in the opposite direction, t 
 
 Oakthorpe Fault. By this name I mean to designate a line of 
 dislocation, of the existence of which as proved by actual experi- 
 ment, I can find no record, but of which there is not the less 
 certainty, if the information received from several sources con- 
 cerning the depth of the Main coal in the old pits is to be relied 
 upon.f The fault appears to range east and west, passing a few 
 hundred yards south of the village of Oakthorpe, where, as has 
 been already stated, the Main coal crops out, and where there have 
 been pits into the Slate coal which did not pass through the Main 
 seam. On the south side of the fault the Main coal is thrown in 
 again, and at the south-west side of Oakthorpe the downthrow 
 must be about 110 yards.J The following section, drawn nearly 
 along the Moira Road from the turnpike gate east of Oakthorpe 
 to the Measham and Ashby Road, will explain the nature of the 
 evidence by which the position and amount of this fault has been 
 determined. 
 
 * From information afforded by John Brown, Esq. 
 
 t For the information concerning the old pits and faults in this neighbourhood, 
 I am chiefly indebted to Samuel Dennis, alias Cornet, of Measham. 
 t See p. 29. 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 In the Slate coal pit marked in the 
 section the Main coal was passed through 
 at a depth of 15 yards from the surface. 
 The " Over " coal, or upper part of the 
 Main seam, was found to have been 
 wrought out, and only the " gobbins " 
 remained ; but near the shaft a fine pillar 
 of the Over seam was found standing as 
 a support to the roof, and was speedily 
 demolished by the miners. 
 
 I was informed by an old miner at 
 Measham, that a fault runs along the 
 north side of the village having a down- 
 throw on the north side of 25 yards ; 
 Dennis, however, had no knowledge of it, 
 but as the Main coal is very near the 
 surface under that part of the village, its 
 existence is not improbable. 
 
 Boothorpe Fault:* This line of dis- 
 location, though unknown to the miners, 
 and consequently not distinguished by a 
 title, has produced the most important 
 ! changes in the position of the Coal- 
 measures and the mineral value of the 
 western and central areas of the Ashby 
 coal-field. It forms a boundary wall be- 
 i tween a district of vast mineral value on 
 the west, and one of an opposite character 
 on the east. 
 
 The first evidence we get of the exist- 
 ence of this fault is the disturbed nature 
 1 of the beds in the old pits south of the 
 potteries near Bretby Park. I was for- 
 tunate enough to fall in with Francis 
 Dent, of Newall, who had formerly worked 
 in all the old collieries of the district, 
 and in the accuracy of whose statements 
 I place the utmost confidence. From him I learned that a fault 
 had actually been struck close to the turnpike road near Spring 
 Wood. It cut out the coal, and he considered it as passing under 
 the potteries and joining the Main fault near Bretby Park Lodge. 
 He also affirmed that the coal-seams were found pitching at high 
 angles as they approached the position of the fault, and that it 
 was the general opinion of all the old miners that some great 
 dislocation existed along the line already indicated. 
 
 From the information afforded by Mr. Ely, ground bailiff of 
 the Granville colliery, I was enabled to trace approximately its 
 
 * I have adopted this name from the Kev. W. H. Coleman, who had made himself 
 acquainted with its position previous to my arrival in the country. 
 
FAULTS. MOIRA COAL-FIELD. 51 
 
 position in the neighbourhood of Round Wood. Mr. Ely also 
 marked out a small branch fault which gradually dies out 200 
 yards south-east of the Granville shaft. From the plans I ob- 
 tained the position of a cross fault striking from White House 
 colliery to the north end of Midway House ; the downcast is on 
 on the south side, but the amount is unknown. At Woodville 
 the measures have been proved unproductive to a depth of at least 
 200 yards*, above which there are two or three coal-seams, 
 accompanied by potters' clay, the whole of which are unknown in 
 the Moira coal-field on the deep side of the fault, unless, as has 
 been surmised, they represent the Woodfield, Stockings, and 
 Eureka coals. These seams, one of which is called the Rafferee 
 coal, have already been described,! and the position of the 
 Boothorpe fault can be fixed upon with considerable accuracy 
 south of Woodville, as there is the Ell coal on the deep side, and 
 the Rafferee coal on the shallow side of the fault. 
 
 The fault passes close along the east side of the village of 
 Boothorpe, producing a probable, though uncertain, dislocation in 
 the New Red Sandstone. At Sweet Hill Oak, its position must 
 be close to the old pits, in which, some 60 years ago, the Rafferee 
 or one of its associated coal-beds was worked. It thence con- 
 tinues its course, crossing the Burton railway at the Willesley 
 cutting, at a position 180 yards east of the bridge of Willesley 
 lane. Here, during the excavations the beds were found to be 
 tremendously smashed; and though covered over at present, I 
 was enabled to observe a small section a few yards west of the 
 fault where the shales were lying at an inclination of 35. The 
 dip gradually lessens as we recede from the Boothorpe fault, and 
 at the entrance to the cutting on the Ashby side, the dip is only 
 from 8 to 10. Further south we find no sections, and the 
 fault becomes lost under the New Red Sandstone, which it 
 does not appear to affect, having, in fact, been produced at a 
 period antecedent to the deposition of that formation. I shall 
 presently endeavour to explain why, though this is the case, these 
 faults in some places appear to form its boundary lines. 
 
 The Boothorpe fault appears to pass close under Willesley 
 Church, and a little east of Gallows Lane turnpike ; the Main 
 coal having formerly been won within a short distance of this 
 position, and also along the west side of Willesley Park. The 
 strata were found to rise rapidly to the east, the strike having 
 changed by a quarter of a circle from its normal direction, which 
 is due east and west. These phenomena are all to be accounted 
 for by the proximity of the Boothorpe fault.} To trace this line 
 of dislocation farther south is necessarily impossible, the country 
 being overspread by the New Red Sandstone ; but it is probable 
 that it continues its course for several miles in the same general 
 
 * See page 66. t See pages 35-6. 
 
 See Mammatt's " Geol. Facts," the information in which was corroborated by 
 Cornet, of Measham, who had formerly worked in these old pits. 
 
 D 2 
 
52 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 direction, throwing out all the productive measures along the 
 east or upcast side ; and the proximity of this fault will explain 
 the reason for the basset (under the New Red Sandstone) of the 
 Main coal in Swepstone Brook, as the fault appears uniformly 
 to have produced in the Coal-measures a rapid inclination to the 
 westward, all along its course. 
 
 Heath End Fault. For a knowledge of the existence of this 
 fault I am indebted to Mr. Coleman. Commencing at the north, 
 it appears to branch out of the boundary fault, at the edge of 
 Calke Park. It has been proved to throw out the Heath End 
 Cannel coal, near the west side of Rough Heath, and its proximity 
 is indicated by a strong spring of water, which rises from a bore- 
 hole about 150 feet from the surface, along the side of the road. 
 It is remarkable that three weeks after this spring commenced 
 to flow the well of Ashby workhouse dried up. In the brook 
 at the south end of Rough Heath the strata are much disturbed, 
 and the fault probably continues southward by the west side of 
 Lount Wood, and was again struck in the workings of the Main 
 coal at Parson's Meadow, Coleorton. Its further extension 
 southward under the New Red Sandstone is no doubt considerable. 
 It thus appears that the Coleorton coal-field lies between two 
 large faults, which throw out the coal-beds both on the east and 
 west sides. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 COLEORTON BOUNDARY FAULT. 
 
 IT is no uncommon circumstance to find the coal-producing 
 districts of our country walled in, as it were, by faults. The 
 Shropshire coal-field is bounded on its east and west sides by walls 
 of Permian and New Red Sandstone , and the South Stafford shire 
 coal-field is similarly circumstanced. But while in these instances 
 the areas of the Coal-formation have been vertically elevated to a 
 level with the newer formations, the Ashby coal-field has been 
 limited along its eastern side by a process the reverse of this. 
 Here the coal-field has either been caused to sink, or the older 
 formations been upheaved from below, and the line which marks 
 the juxtaposition of the two series of strata is known as the Main 
 or Boundary Fault. 
 
 This line of dislocation commences at Ticknall, and traverses 
 the country in a straight line in a south-easterly direction to the 
 eastern extremity of Bardon Hill. The amount of throw is a 
 minimum at Ticknall, where the Mountain Limestone Shale on 
 the one side is brought up against the Millstone Grit on the other, 
 and becomes a maximum east of Whitwick Colliery, where the 
 Millstone Grit and Charnwoo J. Porest rocks are brought up against 
 strata about 2,200 feet above these formations. This is con- 
 sequently the amount of throw here, and this amount diminishes 
 in proportion as we proceed towards Ticknall, as will be evident 
 
COLEORTON BOUNDARY FAULT. 53 
 
 from the manner in which the coal-crops are broken off in succession 
 against the fault. 
 
 The following calculation gives us the downthrow at Whitwick 
 colliery, where it is nearly a maximum : 
 
 FEET. 
 Depth from the base of New Red Sandstone to the 
 
 Main coal - - 700 
 
 from the Main coal to the Nether Lount <joals - 220 
 from the Nether Lount to the Heath End coals 
 
 (approximately) - 350 
 
 from the Heath End coals to base of Coal- 
 measures (approximately) - - 900 
 Upper beds of Millstone Grit - 40 
 
 Total 2,210 
 
 As the throw of the fault increases towards the south-east to a 
 position as far at least as Whitwick colliery, we must either 
 suppose that the beds commence to rise towards the south as they 
 approach Bardon Hill, so as to regain their original position ; or 
 else that they arc broken off by a cross fracture striking the main 
 fault at right angles. The former supposition cannot be enter- 
 tained for a moment, as in this case it would be necessary to 
 suppose that the lowest beds have stretched themselves to a length 
 equal to the difference between the curve which they would form 
 and its chord, since there are no cross faults between Ticknall and 
 Whitwick sufficient to equalize these lengths. We are, therefore, 
 driven to the conclusion that there is a cross fault in some position 
 south of Whitwick colliery ; and the north side of Bardon Hill, 
 standing out in a direction perpendicular to the ridge of the 
 Forest rocks, in all probability marks the line of this cross fault. 
 The downthrow would of course be along the north side, and 
 would equal that of the main fault at their point of junction, 
 while it might rapidly lessen in amount in a westerly direction. 
 This indeed would appear to be the case, since we find no evidence 
 of the proximity of a fault at Ibstock colliery, the strata there 
 being found to lie very regularly, with a gentle inclination to 
 the eastward. (Sec Horizontal Sections, Sheets 46 and 48.) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 KOCK-FAULTS, COLEORTON. 
 
 WITH the exception of the Coleorton Boundary fault, the 
 supposed cross fault of Bardon Hill, and another striking out 
 from the Boundary fault, through Hough Heath, there do not 
 appear to be any faults of importance affecting the measures of 
 the Coleorton coal-field. The absence of these " troubles " is, 
 however, in some degree compensated for by the presence of other 
 sources of annoyance to the miner, namely " Rock-faults" phe- 
 nomena which, though in their very nature different from faults 
 
54 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 such as those we have been considering, are often confounded with 
 them, not only by the uneducated colliers, but even by those from 
 whose position a higher amount of knowledge might have been 
 expected. A rock-fault may be described as a bank of sandstone, 
 stony bind, or clunch, which replaces a bed of coal, and may either 
 fill up a hollow previously formed in the coal-seam, or become 
 interlaced with it by a series of wedge-shaped branches. In the 
 former case the bank will be found to come downwards from the 
 roof, in the latter, to rise from the floor ; having in the one case 
 been produced after the formation of the coal-seam, in the other 
 during its formation, both being carried forward, pari passu, as the 
 courses of masonry in a wall. 
 
 The principal rock-faults or banks occur at Pegs Green and 
 Whitwick collieries. In the former a bank of argillaceous sand- 
 stone, in one place 80 yards in width, replaces or " eats out" the 
 Main coal, the one passing into the other by means of a series 
 of interlacings. 
 
 At Whitwick and Snibston the phenomena presented by the 
 rock-banks are of a highly interesting character, and tend to throw 
 much light on the physical conditions under which the Main coal 
 has been formed in that neighbourhood. 
 
 There appear to be at least three banks of sandstone, two close 
 to the pits and the third in the direction of Bardon Hill, all of 
 which are probably connected together. The principal mass has 
 a due north and south direction, and the coal has been worked on 
 both sides for some distance, a heading having been driven through 
 in a position where the width was found to be 400 yards. There 
 is also another bank stretching nearly east and west, which will 
 in all probability be found to be a branch from the former. Its 
 width is about 32 yards. 
 
 The floor of the Main coal is under- clay, and it is remarkable 
 that while this floor remains perfectly even and regular, all the 
 interruptions caused by the rock which replaces the coal have 
 acted downwards, apparently after the formation of the latter. 
 This will be apparent upon viewing the annexed diagram taken 
 on the spot. 
 
 SECTION OF THE ROCK -FAULT IN THE MAIN COAL, COLEOKTON. 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 C. Main coal. S. Sandstone. 
 
 In one place in the Whitwick mine, the Main coal is parted 
 near the top byja bed of white rock containing nodules of iron- 
 stone, and the Cupper seam becomes united to the lower by the 
 
HOCK-FAULTS, COLEORTONi ^5 
 
 gradual thinning out of the intervening strata, while finally, at a 
 distance of 12 yards from the place where both attain their 
 greatest thickness, the sandstone of the roof descends with a gradual 
 slope down to the very floor of the Main coal. Mr. Stenson, jun., 
 who kindly accompanied me through the mines told me that the 
 rock has been found not only to cut out the coal-bed, but even to 
 furrow out some inches of the clay which forms the floor. 
 
 Another rock-fault has been discovered in the direction of 
 Bardon Hill, which, from the statements I have received, would 
 appear to differ from those we have hitherto been considering in 
 being contemporaneous in its formation instead of subsequent to 
 the production of the coal-bed. It was reached in a heading 
 driven south from Whitwick colliery at a distance of 1,200 yards, 
 and the excavations were continued 110 yards into the rock with- 
 out passing through. The coal was got for about 1,000 yards 
 along the north side. The seam was found to widen into a total 
 thickness of 12 feet on approaching the rock, caused in a great 
 measure by lenticular partings of stony bind stretching into it 
 from the bank to greater or less distances. 
 
 An attempt was made to reach this rock-fault by a heading 
 driven from pit No. 1 of the Snibston colliery, but after gaining 
 a point distant 15 chains from the Ashby road without discovering 
 the rock, the heading was discontinued. From the fact that the 
 Main coal on approaching this rock-bank is caused to widen into 
 nearly twice its usual depth by partings stretching out from the 
 main mass of rock, we should be led to infer that both the bank of 
 rock and the coal-seam were in process of formation at the same 
 period of time ; but the case is different with regard to the rock 
 faults in the neighbourhood of the Whitwick pits, the formation 
 of which has probably taken place in somewhat the following 
 manner : 
 
 The Main coal may have been a vegetable mass about 60 feet 
 thick, growing under the atmosphere at a slight elevation above 
 the sea or estuary. Towards the end of the period, when it 
 had attained its full thickness, the country began to subside, and 
 was finally submerged. It is not to be supposed that this sub- 
 mergence was perfectly equal all over the area occupied by the 
 coal-growth ; and it is quite possible to conceive that furrows may 
 have been produced over various portions, and channels scooped 
 out in several directions. This formation of channels in the mass 
 was followed by the deposition of a light-coloured sandy clay, 
 which, after filling up the channels, was spread over the whole, and 
 now forms the roof of the coal-seam. 
 
 These suppositions are borne out by the mineral character and 
 other phenomena which characterize the rock in question. No 
 separation occurs between the rock which takes the place of the 
 coal and that which forms the roof. Both have evidently been 
 derived from the same source, and have been deposited con- 
 tinuously. The mineral character varies from a sandy claystone, 
 or hard "stony bind," to a fine-grained sandstone, occasionally 
 highly micaceous. False-bedding is very prevalent, especially in 
 
56 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIKE. 
 
 the portions which form the banks, and when occurring in the 
 sandstone of the roof cause it to disintegrate rapidly and to break 
 off in slabs. False-bedding is usually attributed to the action of 
 currents, which in this case may have been produced by a river or 
 the ebb and flow of the tides through the channels. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 UrpEB COAL-MEASURES. 
 
 IN several localities on the western side of the coal-field there 
 occur beds of sandstone, which, with respect to quality and posi- 
 tion, appear to be in some measure distinct from those sandstones 
 which are found in pit sections interstratified with the coal-seams 
 and their accompanying measures. Mr. Coleman, of Ashby, has 
 for some time regarded them as Upper Coal-measures unconform- 
 able to the strata on which they rest; and it must be allowed that, 
 although the evidence is not conclusive, or rather is insufficient, 
 still the balance seems to incline on the side of his hypothesis. 
 
 The locality where these sandstones can be best viewed is at the 
 ballast-pit near the Moira railway station. At first sight the rock 
 appears to resemble Millstone Grit, but its position forbids the 
 possibility of its being so, as it occurs on the downthrow side of the 
 Boothorpe fault. The beds consist of coarse fissile grit, of various 
 shades between red, purple, and grey. They are traversed by 
 veins of sandy haematite, and have occasionally thin partings of 
 shale. The bedding is very obscure, but is probably nearly 
 horizontal. The same rock is again shown in a quarry north of 
 the railway, and still further north at the village of Boothorpe, 
 where it is bounded on the east by a fault bringing it in contact 
 with the New Red Sandstone. This fault, which is a branch from 
 the great Boothorpe dislocation, in all probability forms the 
 boundary line along the east of the more southern sandstones near 
 the railway. 
 
 The evidence that this coarse grit is unconformable is this 
 that it has not been passed through in the shafts of the Hastings ' 
 and Grey colliery, which ought to be the case if the strata were 
 conformable, the dip being westward ; and that it appears to be 
 horizontal in the immediate neighbourhood of strata highly 
 inclined. 
 
 Half a mile north-west of Newall there rises a very prominent 
 hill, partly covered by a wood, and formed (judging from the 
 blocks of stone scattered over it) of coarse grit, resembling Mill- 
 stone Grit more than any sandstone to be met with in the coal- 
 field. When engaged in tracing the coal-crops, I was much 
 perplexed to account for the position of this grit ; and my guide, 
 Francis Dent, could throw no light on the subject. Its position 
 appears to be above the Woodfield coal, and yet it does not extend 
 to any considerable distance along with that and the overlying 
 
UPPER COAL-MEASURES. 57 
 
 coal-seams. As there is no section, we are deprived of the advan- 
 tage of knowing the dip ; but, judging from the features of the 
 surface, the sandstone would appear to be an outlier, resting 
 horizontally on the Coal-measures, and as the latter have an incli- 
 nation of several degrees towards the south and south-east, there 
 would necessarily be an unconformity. Taking all the evidence 
 into consideration, I am inclined to consider the grit in this locality 
 as a portion of the Moira and Boothorpe rock; and if so, we 
 must suppose that at a certain period, towards the close of the 
 carboniferous epoch, a general disturbance, followed by denudation, 
 affected this portion of the Coal-measures, after which the deposi- 
 tion of these grits ensued. A later period of denudation has only 
 left a few detached fragments of this formerly extended bed of 
 sandstone ; but, like the fragments of an old ruin, they are suffi- 
 cient for indicating the area which it once overspread. 
 
 At a period during which, we feel assured, many minor oscilla- 
 tions of the land and sea-bed occurred, it was by no means 
 improbable that successive strata of the Coal-formation should have 
 been rendered unconformable ; and of the fact we have illustrations 
 in the coal-fields of South Wales and the continent. The occur- 
 rence of these phenomena in other districts adds to their probability 
 in the Ashby cool-field ; but additional evidence will be necessary 
 before we can determine with certainty this highly interesting 
 question. 
 
 Another interesting feature with regard to the Moira grit is the 
 occurrence therein of fragments of Sternbergia, a fossil of the 
 Coal-measures, demonstrated by Professor Williamson to be the 
 cast of the pith of a tree allied to an Auracarian pine. Two very 
 tine specimens, measuring 10 and 12 inches in diameter, were found 
 in this locality, and are now in the Museum of Practical Geology.* 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 PERMIAN FORMATION. 
 
 IT is by no means certain w r hether any representatives of the 
 Permian formation occur in the district under consideration. If, 
 indeed, certain beds, which shall presently be described, are of 
 Permian age, they are but meagre traces of a formation which, 
 along the borders of the Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Lancashire 
 coal-fields, reaches a thickness occasionally exceeding 1,000 feet. 
 
 There are, however, certain facts, which seem to favour the 
 supposition that the beds to which we refer may be marginal out- 
 liers of the Permian formation. They appear to rest unconform- 
 ably on the Coal-measures, as they repose on beds of the latter 
 belonging to different geological horizons. They are unknown in 
 pit sections, and have never been found intcrstratified with Coal- 
 measures. It is therefore evident that they do not form part of 
 
 Presented by the Marquis of Hastings through the Earl Howe. 
 
58 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 the Coal-formation, but are of more recent origin. Again, with 
 reference to the New Red Sandstone, they underlie the quartzose 
 conglomerates of that formation, which, in tkis part of the coun- 
 try, form its base ; and what is still more remarkable, these sup- 
 posed Permian beds are found where the quartzose conglomerates 
 are absent, and where they are, consequently, overlaid directly 
 by higher beds of the New Red Sandstone ; from which it would 
 appear that they are connected neither with the New Red Sand- 
 stone nor Coal-measures, but are independent of both. These 
 phenomena will be observed on referring to the maps, on which 
 nil the subdivisions of the New Red Sandstone have been traced. 
 Lastly, with reference to mineral character, which, as evidence, 
 is of much value, these doubtful beds bear a strong resemblance 
 to Permian strata in other parts of England. 
 
 A small district composed of red-coloured strata extends from 
 the village of Ingleby to the Knowl Hills near Foremark Park. 
 A line of cliffs formed of the light-coloured sandstone and conglo- 
 merate of the New Red formation, rises above the alluvial plain 
 of the Trent, and at Ingleby red marls, streaked with bands of 
 white, may be seen cropping out from underneath these sandstone 
 cliffs. We can trace these marls for some distance eastward, but 
 at Knowl Hills, some beds of sandstone, differing considerably in 
 mineral characters from those of the Trias, are found to intervene 
 between these latter and the red marls. It would, therefore, appear 
 that between this locality and Ingleby the New Red Sandstone 
 had overlapped unconformably the red sandstones which form the 
 Knowl Hills ; from which circumstance, taken in conjunction 
 with their lithological character, it is probable that the latter are 
 of Permian date. 
 
 The rocks of the Knowl Hills consist of fine-grained red and 
 brown sandstones, regularly bedded, containing no pebbles, and 
 occasionally parted by seams of marl; in nearly all of which 
 respects they differ from the sandstone of the Trias, which 
 overlies them. Some coarser beds occur at the north-east side of 
 the hill, where they may be seen cropping out along the bank ; 
 but the best section is exposed to view alongside the brook, which 
 takes its rise at the springs, called the Seven Spouts, where they 
 burst out at the junction of the sandstone and underlying marls. 
 
 As far as lithological character is of value in determining the 
 date and relationship of widely separated strata, it is certainly in 
 favour of the supposition that these interstratified marls and 
 sandstones are of Permian origin. But the whole series of beds 
 here is comparatively unimportant, the sandstones attaining from 
 20 to 25 feet, and the marls from 25 to 30 feet in thickness. 
 
 The following are additional localities where these supposed 
 Permian strata occur. 
 
 In a lane leading up the hill from Hartshorn Grange a small 
 section is exposed in beds consisting of loose breccia in a marly 
 base, and resting on red marl, the thickness of the whole being 
 20 feet. In the brook north of Glover's Mill red marls may be 
 observed resting on Coal-measures, and lower down the brook red 
 
PERMIAN FORMATION. 50 
 
 and grey sandstone occasionally crops out along the bank. Not 
 much faith is to be put in the Permian age of these beds. 
 
 Half a mile from Woodville, on the Burton road, there is a 
 brickyard, in which the following succession of strata is open to 
 view : 
 
 1st. Yellow sandstone, with quartz pebbles. 
 
 2nd. Yellowish-brown sandstones and shales. 
 
 3rd. Red marl, streaked with yellowish bands. 
 
 4th. Loose breccia of small pebbles in a marly base. 
 
 5th. Red marl streaked with yellowish bands. 
 Total thickness 14 feet. 
 
 No. 1. is undoubtedly towards the base of the New Red Con- 
 glomerate. The underlying beds are of less certain date. From 
 their similarity of appearance to Upper Coal-measure strata in 
 the North Staffordshire coal-field, I was at first induced to include 
 them in Coal-measures, but upon a subsequent examination in 
 company with Mr. Cole man and Professor Ramsay, it was unani- 
 mously agreed that they were of newer date, though whether of 
 Permian or Triassic was allowed to be uncertain. 
 
 Along the Burton road, between Castle Gresley and Cadley 
 Hill, similar marls and breccias occur at the base of the New Red 
 Sandstone, of very trifling thickness. They appear again at 
 Oversea!, having been proved to a depth of at least 20 feet in a 
 well. 
 
 At the village of Linton an excellent opportunity of observing 
 these breccias is afforded.* They are here thrown to the surface 
 by means of two faults, which strike each other at right angles. 
 One of these is exposed to view in a lane near the village from 
 which the subjoined sketch has been taken. The other is inferred, 
 as we find in some old quarries east of the village the Waterstones 
 and Red Marls of the New Red Sandstone dipping against the 
 breccias. The small area occupied by the breccia offers a most 
 advantageous position for a coal-shaft, as, for all we know to the 
 contrary, the Main coal might be here reached at a very moderate 
 depth. 
 
 Fig. 11. 
 
 SECTION IN LANE AT LINTON. 
 
 r~~*'- 
 
 Loose breccia Brown Sandstone and Marl. 
 
 (Permian ?) (New Red Sandstone.) 
 
 The breccia is composed of a mass of loose pebbles, angular or 
 otherwise, of the following rocks: Light-green and indurated 
 
 * The difference between conglomerate and breccia is, that in the former case the 
 pebbles of which it is composed are rounded, in the latter angular, or nearly so. 
 
GO GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 slate,* grits of various colours and textures,, dark brown and purple 
 sandstones, often micaceous, chert, felspar, trap (?), and quartz. 
 The whole occasionally becomes a fine gravel of a deep purple or 
 ferruginous red colour, but some of the pebbles are as much as 4 
 to 5 inches diameter. 
 
 At Oakthorpe and Measham apparently the same breccia again 
 occurs, but in a consolidated state. At the former place the canal 
 lias been excavated through the rock for about 300 yards, and the 
 blocks built into the parapet wall ; and at the latter a section is 
 opened in a quarry at the north side of the village. In both 
 these cases the components of the breccia are of a nature similar 
 to those which form the unconsolidated breccias of Linton. 
 
 Loose marly breccia has been proved to extend under Measham 
 field in the old coal-pits, and known to the miners under the name 
 of " Fox gravel." According to Mr. Dennis it was found from 12 
 to 14 yards thick, but this is probably an exaggeration. 
 
 Packington stands on unconsolidated breccia, composed prin- 
 cipally of slate. This stratum is overlaid by the Waterstones of 
 the New Red Sandstone, which appear to be unconnected with 
 the breccia, the latter being rapidly overlapped by the beds of the 
 Triassic formation. This apparent unconformity, taken in con- 
 nexion with the mineral character of the breccia, induces us to 
 conclude that it is of Permian date. 
 
 In the railway cutting nearest Ashby station, on the west side, 
 a fault occurs throwing in a few feet of red measures, of which it 
 is uncertain whether they are to be considered as Permian or 
 Trias. The section shows 2 or 3 feet of thin-bedded red and purple 
 sandstone, sometimes speckled, resting on red and purple marl. 
 The whole is surmounted by the Waterstones of the Trias. 
 Mr. Coleman tells me that when the line was made he found small 
 nodules of haematite in the marl. This would seem to connect the 
 marl with that which forms the base of the Waterstones in the 
 neighbourhood ; and as far as lithological character is concerned, 
 we can only say, that if these beds occurred in a Permian district, 
 they would do very well for Permian, or if in a New Red Sand- 
 stone district, they would answer equally well for New Red 
 Sandstone. It has been considered as the safer course to include 
 the whole as New Red Sandstone in the Geological Map. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OR TRIAS. 
 
 Bunter Sandstone. 
 
 OF the three subdivisions into which the Bunter Sandstone of 
 England may be divided where the series is complete, only one is 
 present along the edges of the Ashby coal-field, f 
 
 * Mr. Coleman does not consider these slates as identical in appearance with any 
 of the slate rocks of Charnwood Forest. 
 
 f For further information on this subject, see Keport of the British Association for 
 the Advancement of Science for 1854, pages 86, 87. 
 
NEW RED SANDSTONE. 61 
 
 The quartzose conglomerates appear in force chiefly along the 
 western limits of the Ashby coal-field. They occupy considerable 
 areas from Dormisthorpe to Overseal, and westward ; also from 
 the northern boundary of the coal-field to Repton and Ingleby. 
 Judging from the heights of some of the hills in this neighbourhood, 
 the subdivision must attain a thickness of nearly 200 feet. The 
 best sections occur at Repton, where there are several quarries in 
 conglomerate formed almost exclusively of quartzose pebbles. 
 Along the cliffs extending from Foremark Park to Ingleby the 
 beds consist of hard white and yellow sandstone, containing scat- 
 tered pebbles of quartz, chert, &c. In these beds the " Anchor 
 Church " is excavated, being, in fact, a series of small caves con- 
 nected by passages hewn out of the rock. It is said that this 
 excavation, the entrance to which is guarded by the deep waters 
 of the Trent, was formerly the resort of bandits, and used for 
 purposes rather different from those which its name implies. 
 
 Sections in the conglomerates are also exposed to view at the 
 Seven Spouts, where seven copious springs gush forth at the 
 junction of these strata with the Permian beneath ; at Repton 
 Mill and along the valley, extending from Repton to Glover's 
 Mill ; at the potteries north of Newall, in a lane, south of which 
 they form two small outliers. They again appear at Boothorpe, 
 where they are probably thrown in by faults, or at least by one 
 fault, as the Coal-measure grits form higher ground. 
 
 On the western side of the coal-field the beds of this subdivision 
 form a narrow band resting regularly on the Coal-measures along 
 their eastern boundary, but terminated on the opposite side by a line 
 of fault, the downthrow of which is on the west, and which con- 
 sequently throws in the Red Marls and Waterstones on that side. 
 The fault is no where actually visible. There is a good section 
 at Gresiey station. 
 
 Quarries have been opened along the bank of a branch of the 
 Mease north of Netherseal ; and at the village itself the rock is 
 everywhere exposed, consisting of coarse yellow sandstone with 
 quartz pebbles, which is immediately, overlaid along the outskirts 
 by the marls and brown sandstones of the Keuper series. The 
 conglomerates, which are again visible at Acresford, form the high 
 ground on which Donnisthorpe stands, and extend thence to 
 Measham, where they are overlapped by the Waterstones, and arc 
 seen no more to the eastward. 
 
 That the conglomerates should end off along a line drawn 
 from Ingleby to Measham, eastward of which they do not again 
 occur, is a fact sufficiently remarkable, and may be accounted for 
 in two ways, either that they are unconformable to the Red Marl 
 and Lower Keuper Sandstone, or that there has been a difference 
 of level in the original sea-bed along this line. 
 
 The Waterstones or Lower Keuper Sandstone subdivision is to 
 be considered as more connected with the Keuper Marl by which 
 it is surmounted, than with the Bunter Sandstone beneath. 
 With the Red Marl it is intimately associated, passing upwards 
 into it, often very gradually, and containing in itself numerous 
 
G2 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 beds of marl. In the neighbourhood of the Ashby coal-field the 
 base of the subdivision is generally marl, upon which rests a bed of 
 breccia or conglomerate, and thus presenting a section very similar 
 to that in the border counties, where the subdivision attains its 
 greatest development. 
 
 At Castle Donnington there are numerous sections in these 
 beds, and the base is formed of a thick stratum of red marl, sur- 
 mounted by yellowish pebbly sandstone, upon which rests about 
 80 feet of yellow and brown regularly stratified sandstones of fine 
 grain, and containing partings of marl. At the north end of the 
 town the basement-beds form a cliff overlooking the alluvial plain 
 of the Trent ; and some Carboniferous strata may be observed 
 cropping out at the base of the cliff, proving the entire absence of 
 the conglomerate subdivision in this neighbourhood. Between 
 the town and Hemington the beds are broken off by a fault, 
 which throws down the Red Marl r and Keuper Sandstone against 
 the base of the Waterstones and Carboniferous strata. 
 
 Along the north side of Donnington Park the Waterstones 
 form a highly picturesque bank, at the base of which flows the 
 Trent. The upper part of the bank is formed of the Keuper 
 Marl, with a thin bed of sandstone running along the edge of the 
 ridge. A quarry of excellent freestone has been opened near the 
 gardens. 
 
 On the opposite side of the river, at Weston Cliff, the sand- 
 stones of this formation are extensively quarried and present many 
 of the littoral phenomena so characteristic of these beds. These 
 consist of sun -cracks, gutters, rain-drops (?), and ripple-marks ; 
 and my friend, Mr. Huish, of Castle Donnington, has found foot- 
 prints of Labyrinthodon. The section presents a face of 20 feet, 
 and the beds consist of white, grey, and brown sandstones, with 
 marly interstratifications. None of the sandstones are of the best 
 quality, being soft, and traversed by joints often filled by black 
 oxide of manganese. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Repton, the best section occurs in the 
 lane leading to Loscoe Farm. Their super-position on the con- 
 glomerate beds is visible ; they are here faulted against the latter 
 by a north and south fault. Numerous sections occur between 
 Repton and Burton, which do not require special notice, as the 
 strata are very similar. The general dip of the country is towards 
 the north-west; the higher portions are capped by the marls, 
 which are here very full of thin blue and white sandstones, known 
 as " skerry " by the natives. 
 
 At Brislingcote the Lower Keuper Sandstone is thrown against 
 the Coal-measures by a fault, and there also appears to be an 
 overlap or thinning out of the conglomerates, as the coal has been 
 worked up against the Waterstones.* The position of this fault is 
 well shown on the Burton road north of Stanton, where there is a 
 quarry of white sandstone, with the base of the Keuper Marl on 
 one side and the pebble beds forming higher ground at the other. 
 
 * See page 25 and woodcut section. 
 
NEW RED SANDSTONE. (Jo 
 
 The Red Marl, with Upper Keuper Sandstone. These beds 
 will not require any lengthened description, as they present but 
 little variety, and are similar in character to their contemporaries 
 over other parts of England. They consist of red shaly marl, 
 with numerous thin courses of more sandy shales, of grey or blue 
 colours. These beds become very sandy towards the base, often 
 rendering it doubtful whether they are to be considered sandstones 
 or marls, and gradually pass into the Lower Keuper Sandstone. 
 
 At a distance of from 100 to 150 feet from the base a bed of 
 Upper Keuper Sandstone, associated with grey and bluish shales, 
 generally occurs. At Kegworth this stratum is very well shown 
 in a brickyard south of the town ; it there consists of fine-grained 
 white argillaceous sandstone, 1 foot thick, and interstratified 
 with the usual bluish fissile beds already mentioned. Its position 
 there is not more than 40 feet above the top of the Waterstones, 
 the beds of which bear considerable resemblance to it. These 
 beds are frequently ripple-marked, and contain pseudomorphous 
 salt-crystals, first noticed and described by the late Mr. Strickland, 
 in the Keuper Sandstone of Gloucestershire.* A little Crus- 
 tacean, Estherea minuta, characterises these strata, but I have not 
 been able to find any traces of it north of the Ashby coal-field, 
 though I have had frequent opportunities of observing these beds 
 around Derby and Nottingham. 
 
 Such is the general character of the Upper Keuper Sand- 
 stone, which will apply in almost every locality. It forms the 
 tops of the high grounds extending from Kegworth to Melbourn, 
 and by the combined influence of denudation and an anticlinal, it 
 reaches the surface at the village of Diseworth, where it is more 
 than usually thick. It occurs at Hemington, on the downthrow 
 side of the Donnington fault, and caps the highest portion of Mel- 
 bourn Parks and Brand Hills. 
 
 A considerable outlier of the Waterstones, with a small tract 
 of Red Marl in the centre rests on the Coal-measures, and extends 
 nearly from Ashby to Ticknall. It is completely isolated, and it 
 is remarkable that, while the conglomerate beds, to the depth of 
 at least 150 feet, are found at a short distance to the westward, 
 they are altogether absent in this locality, f 
 
 These beds have been pierced for coal at Pistern Hill, but in 
 general they rest upon an unproductive portion of the Coal- 
 measures. 
 
 This outlier is generally bounded by a picturesque, though not 
 very lofty escarpment, especially in the direction of Ticknall. The 
 beds are everywhere horizontal, and consequently the surface of 
 the area is tabulated. 
 
 Several good sections may be observed in the road-cuttings, as 
 at Smisby, Blockfordby, Hartshorn, and Pistern Hill. The base 
 is generally red shale or clay, on which there rests a series of 
 interstratified brown and yellow sandstones and red shales, from 
 
 * Chloride of sodium, Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. ix., p. 5. 
 f See page 61. 
 
64 GEOLOGY' OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 80 to 100 feet thick. In the centre occurs u small outlier of Bed 
 Marl, which may be noticed resting on the sandstones in the sec- 
 tion at Smisby. The Marl is on a lower level than the ridge along 
 the outskirts of the outlier, which is composed of sandstone, and it 
 may therefore be supposed that the outlier forms a gently inclined 
 basin, the beds having assumed a slight dip from all sides towards 
 the centre. 
 
 Another, and smaller outlier of the same beds, occurs at the west 
 side of Ashby. The western boundary is a fault, which is exposed 
 to view in the railway. The base is here also a bed of red clay, 
 containing nodules of earthy haematite. 
 
 At Chellaston this formation yields a valuable and thick bed of 
 gypsum, which is extensively worked, and in the associated clays 
 Mr. Rupert Jones has discovered numerous species of Forami- 
 nifera and plates of Echinodermato. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 TRAP ROCKS. 
 
 BEFORE proceeding to describe the trap rock of Whitwick and 
 Snibston, it may be useful to remark that the term " whinstone '' 
 is frequently made use of in pit-sections in a non-geological sense. 
 In such cases it may be understood to mean some kind of hard 
 sandstone of a dark colour. In this sense, I presume, the term is 
 used with reference to a stratum intermediate between the Stone 
 Smut and Stone Smut Eider in No. 2 Snibston pit section, as also 
 in that of Pegg's Green colliery, where a bed of " whinstone " 
 1 foot thick is mentioned. 
 
 A mass of rock, of the igneous origin of which there can be no 
 question, is pierced through in the shafts of the Whitwick and 
 Snibston collieries. It is remarkable that this mass of trap, the 
 only one occurring over any part of the Ashby coal-field, should 
 occur in its exceptional form, that is as a bed and not as a dyke. 
 Its presence was first proved in sinking the first shaft of the Snib- 
 ston colliery, under the direction of Mr. Stephenson, the engineer 
 of the Britannia Tubular Bridge,* and when struck must have 
 caused much perplexity, as it was supposed by many that the 
 Forest-rocks had been reached, and that consequently there was no 
 coal. However, Mr. Stephenson persevered (though, all things 
 considered, the experiment appeared sufficiently hazardous,) and 
 having passed through no less than 60 feet of whinstone, got down 
 into Coal-measures, and finally reached the Main coal. 
 
 The position of this bed of trap appears to be at the base of 
 the New Red Sandstone,! and its northern boundary can be traced 
 for some distance with considerable accuracy. In the Snibston 
 
 * See Murchison's Silurian System, Appendix D. 1, p. 729. 
 
 f See Horizontal Sections, sheets 46 and 48, and Vertical Sections, Sheet 19 ; also 
 the ideal Section through Whitwick colliery, p. 45. 
 
TRAP ROCKS. 
 
 65 
 
 Section No. 1, the rock is 22 feet thick, while in No. 2 it does not 
 occur. In Section No. 1 of Whitwick Colliery it is absent, and 
 is 60 feet thick in No. 2. Hence the boundary must be between 
 these shafts respectively, and very abrupt in the latter case. 
 From the smaller thickness of the whinstone in the Snibston 
 than in the Whitwick pits, we may conclude that it thins out 
 towards the south-west. On the south it probably extends to 
 Bardon Hill, and on the east to the Main fault, while on the west 
 it has not extended as far as Ibstock colliery. On these data the 
 accompanying jplan has been drawn, representing the extension of 
 the bed of Whinstone in every direction. 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 SUPPOSED EXTENT OF 
 THE WHINTSTONE, 
 
 The shafts of the Whitwick and Snibston collieries being cased 
 with brick, the rock cannot now be examined in situ, but specimens 
 are preserved in a wall at Whitwick colliery. It appears to be a 
 greenstone, in which the hornblende predominates over the felspar. 
 The former component occurs in crystals of a dark green colour, 
 and the latter, of a paler tint, is transfused amongst the crystals of 
 hornblende. The whole rock is of a dark green colour, often 
 approaching hornblendic rock in appearance, and is entirely distinct 
 in mineral character, as it is in age, from the porphyries of Charn- 
 wood Forest. Mr. Stenson informed me that in the Whitwick 
 shaft it was found resting on a seam of coal, which it had turned 
 into cinders, while the New Red Sandstone, which overlaid it, was 
 unaltered. 
 
 From these data it would appear that the Greenstone has been 
 ejected at a period intermediate between the upheaval and denu- 
 dation of the Coal-formation, and the deposition of the New Red 
 Sandstone ; nor can its origin be connected in point of time with 
 
66 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 the outflow of the porphyritic rocks of Charnwood Forest, these 
 being of a date as ancient as that of the slates with which they 
 are associated.* 
 
 A boss of greenstone shows itself in an old quarry north of 
 Bardon station. This rock is rather different from that just 
 described, as the felspar has a pinkish tint. Whether it forms part 
 of the Greenstone of Whitwick or of the porphyry of Bardon Hill 
 cannot be ascertained. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 ABORTIVE BORINGS AND SINKINGS FOR COAL. 
 
 THE following are some of the localities where unsuccessful 
 experiments in search of coal have been made, and which it may 
 be of use to chronicle : 
 
 1. White Hollows, near Ticknall. Shaft sunk to the depth of 
 
 557 feet, through low unproductive measures. Five seams 
 were found, the thickest being only 1 ft. 10 in.-f 
 
 2. Warren Pool, near Stanton Harold. Boring 180 feet in 
 
 depth, about forty years ago. The locality is on the 
 upcast side of the boundary fault of the coal-field. 
 
 3. Between Breedon and Springwood Farm; in the hollow 
 
 close to the road. In this case a shaft was sunk ; depth 
 unknown. The sides are said to have been sandy, and to 
 have fallen in. The strata in this position are below the 
 coal-beds. 
 
 4. Prestop Park, near Ashby. Two borings, 1850-1. No. 1, 
 
 depth 288 feet, in which three beds of smut were pierced 
 through, the thickest of which was but 6 inches. No. 2, 
 depth 378, four coals found, the thickest being only 13 
 inches ; the localities are in low unproductive measures. 
 
 5. Smisby. Position, a quarter of a mile south of Old Park. 
 
 In the year 1855. Depth 395 feet. In measures below 
 workable seams of coal. 
 
 6. W^oodville. In a position now occupied by the pottery 
 
 works at the north side of the village. Depth 200 yards. 
 The upper half, 100 yards, was proved by a shaft ; the 
 lower, by a boring. This experiment was carried forward 
 in a position on the upcast side of the great Boothorpe 
 fault, and below the outcrop of the Rafferee and its 
 accompanying coals. It is, however, of much value, as 
 proving that these coal-seams are the lowest of any value 
 which are to be found on the shallow side of the Boothorpe 
 fault. 
 
 * Geology of Charnwood Forest, p. 21. 
 
 f The Section is in the possession of the Rev. W. H. Coleman. 
 
ABORTIVE BORINGS, ETC. C7 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 SALT WATER IN THE MAIN COAL OF MOIRA. 
 
 ONE of the most remarkable phenomena of the district is the 
 occurrence of brine in the Moira Main coal. It is present in 
 greatest quantity in the Bath pit, on the shallow side of the 
 Hundred-yard fault, at a depth of 593 feet, and trickles from the 
 Main coal whilst it is being excavated. The salt water appears 
 to be confined exclusively to the Main coal, and to the shallow 
 side of the Main fault, as there is no water in the Hastings and 
 Grey colliery at a greater depth than 200 yards. These saline 
 waters were analized by Dr. Ure, at the request of the late 
 Mr. Mammatt, who furnishes us with the results in his " Geolo- 
 gical Facts." 
 
 One imperial gallon contains 
 
 GRAINS. 
 
 Bromides of potassium and magnesium 8 
 
 Chloride of calcium - - 851*2 
 
 Chloride of magnesium - 16*0 
 
 Iron as a proto-chloride - trace 
 
 Chloride of sodium - - - 3700 '6 
 
 Total - 4575-7 
 
 It is evident that the Main coal is not itself the source whence 
 is primarily derived the saline water; it appears only to be a 
 channel or temporary reservoir for the fluid, for otherwise it 
 ought to occur as plentifully on the deep as on the shallow side of 
 the Main fault. Mr. Edward Green called my attention to the 
 fact that brine rises to the surface in a field situated on Coal- 
 measures north of Donnisthorpe, and was formerly much resorted 
 to by the inhabitants for medicinal purposes ; and he suggested 
 that the brine might find its way along the faults into the Main 
 coal, filling the joints and fissures, and being retained by the clay 
 of the floor. The supposition is supported by the fact, that both 
 localities are at the same side of the fault, and also that the brine 
 at Donnisthorpe is at a much higher level than in the Bath pit, 
 so that if there existed a channel by which to percolate down to 
 the Main coal, the brine would take that course. This theory 
 appears to me more ingenious than probable ; but having no 
 better to offer in its place, I leave it to the judgment of the reader 
 to adopt or reject. 
 
 The waters of the Bath pit are used at the Moira and Ashby 
 baths, and are considered highly beneficial in scorbutic and 
 rheumatic affections. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 POST-PLIOCENE OB DRIFT. 
 
 THE most recent formation in this part of Leicestershire is the 
 Post-pliocene, or Drift. This consists of a series of sands, gravels, 
 
68 GEOLOGY OF LEICESTERSHIEE. 
 
 and clays. Mr. Coleman considers that it belongs to three periods, 
 or at any rate has had three sources, part having come from the 
 north, part from the east, and the most recent from the Forest of 
 Charnwood. The first of these contains granitic fragments, the 
 second chalk and chalk-flints, and the last is composed of the 
 slates, porphyries, and trap rocks of the Forest west of Coleorton. 
 Channels have been scooped out in the district occupied by the 
 Keuper, and filled in with gravel belonging to the Drift period. 
 These channels are of considerable size, upwards of 10 yards in 
 depth, and are very well shown in the railway cuttings. Their 
 direction is north and south nearly, and the strata on both sides 
 are not disturbed. 
 
 CHAPTER XV1IL 
 
 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 WE have now passed in review a series of rocks belonging to 
 four great systems, viz. : the Cambrian, the Carboniferous, the 
 Permian, and the Triassic. Let us now examine briefly some 
 of the changes which have accompanied their formation, and the 
 relationship which they hold with reference to one another. 
 
 The ancient slates and porphyries of Charnwood Forest must 
 formerly have arisen, either as an island or sunken reef, from the 
 bed of the sea in which the Lower Carboniferous rocks were 
 deposited. We are not to forget that these hills were, in all 
 probability, of much greater horizontal extent and actual elevation 
 than at present. They form the foundation for the Carboniferous 
 rocks for miles beyond their present superficial area, and the 
 subsequent denudations or marine actions to which they have 
 been exposed have doubtless lessened their former altitude. 
 
 The highest beds of the Mountain Limestone appear to have 
 been deposited around the flanks of these rocks to a height of 
 about 200 feet below their present summits, and as deposition 
 progressed, the whole mass of these Cambrian rocks must have 
 become entirely concealed by the Coal-measures. At the close 
 of the Carboniferous period, the present rugged district of Charn- 
 wood Forest presented a comparatively level sea-bottom of Coal- 
 measures, the slates and porphyries being buried at a depth of 
 3,000 feet below their present position. 
 
 At the close of this period subterranean disturbances came into 
 action on a grand scale, not only in our district, but over Europe. 
 It was then that the Charnwood Forest rocks were upheaved, 
 along a line of fracture now forming the boundary-fault of the 
 coal-field, the line of elevation, which is parallel to this fault, 
 passing some distance eastward, and producing an anticlinal axis 
 through the centre of the ancient slate rocks. At this period, 
 also, were produced the Boothorpe and Moira Main faults, 
 together with the majority of those which traverse the coal-field. 
 
 During or shortly after these disturbances, which were causing 
 great irregularities in the bed of the sea, this last-named agent 
 
GENERAL 
 
 6.9 
 
 was not inactive in the production of effects directly antagonistic. 
 Like the two moral forces of human society, the one tending to 
 disproportionate, the other to equalize the relationship between 
 man and man, the plutonic and aqueous agencies were here opposed 
 to each other. As is the case in society, the result was a compro- 
 mise. The leveling forces, indeed, swept away incalculable masses 
 from the higher eminences, but minor inequalities remained. The 
 old slates and porphyries still preserved their time-honoured pre- 
 eminence above the newer Carboniferous rocks, thus illustrating 
 the geological paradox that the oldest and lowest strata compose 
 the loftiest elevations. 
 
 The deposition of the Permian rocks now ensued, of which only 
 a few traces occur in our district. It is quite possible, however, 
 that Permian beds, together with portions of the Coal-measures, 
 may have been swept away before the commencement of the for- 
 mation of the Trias. However this may have been, there can be 
 no question but that a new series of disturbances, accompanied by 
 denudation, ensued, terminating the Permian, and introducing the 
 Triassic periods. This is proved by the fact that throughout 
 England the beds of the Permian and of the New Red Sandstone 
 are unconformable. 
 
 At the commencement of the deposition of the Triassic group 
 the surface of the rocks, whether above or under the sea, appears 
 to have been very irregular. The mountainous districts of our 
 island were partially unsubmerged, together with many minor 
 eminences of central England, amongst which we may probably 
 include the limestone hills of Breedon, and the slates and por- 
 phyries of Charnwood Forest. But what is most remarkable is 
 this, that these physical conditions had been in existence for a 
 considerable, perhaps a very long period, before any deposition of 
 strata of Triassic age had commenced in the central districts. As 
 has already been remarked, the lowest subdivisions of the New 
 Red Sandstone are only sparingly represented in Leicestershire. At 
 the commencement of the Keuper period shallow sea and intertidal 
 conditions prevailed, until the Red Marl began to be deposited 
 over a deepening sea-bed. 
 
 The glacial epoch has left its monuments in the large blocks 
 of travelled boulders which lie scattered around the borders of the 
 Leicestershire coal-field, and the skirts of Charnwood forest. To 
 the same eventful geologic period are referable the ever varying 
 sheets of sand, clay and gravel, which rest indiscriminately on all 
 the older formations. They tell us of a time when the ocean over- 
 spread the plains of Britain, in which fleets of icebergs sailed 
 southwards, carrying freights of rock, stones and mud from the 
 northern islands which remained unsubmerged, and as they melted 
 scattering these materials over the ocean's bed. 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 OF 
 
 TERMS USED IN THIS MEMOIR. 
 
 BASSET 
 
 BASS or BAT 
 
 CANK 
 
 CLOT or CLOD-BIND 
 
 CLUNCH 
 
 DICE 
 
 FLOOR 
 FREESTONE 
 GOBBINS - 
 
 MINGY 
 
 " ON THE DEEP " 
 " ON THE CROP" 
 OUTCROP or CROP 
 SAGGERS - 
 
 SKERRY 
 
 SLACK 
 
 SLUM 
 
 SMUT 
 
 SPIRE -$PIRY 
 
 SULPHUR 
 Tow - 
 WHINSTONE 
 
 Synonymous with "outcrop." The end of the 
 
 coal or other stratum, where it reaches the 
 
 surface. 
 
 Dark bituminous shale, approaching earthy coal. 
 Hard, nodular, siliceous ironstone. 
 Clays in various states. 
 Clay or fire-clay, often under a coal-seam. 
 The layers in a coal-seam, of a glossy, bituminous 
 
 nature, breaking into cubical pieces or " dice." 
 The bottom of a coal-seam, where it is in contact 
 
 with its under-clay. 
 Generally white, fine-grained sandstone, suitable 
 
 for building purposes. 
 The hollow portions of a coal-mine adjoining the 
 
 headings from which coal has been extracted. 
 Soft or brittle. 
 
 The direction towards which a stratum dips. 
 The converse of the above expression. 
 See "Basset." 
 Earthen pans, into which china-ware is placed for 
 
 "baking" in the furnace. 
 Evidently of Celtic origin (carrig, a rock, Hybernice), 
 
 a name applied in Derbyshire to the thin layers of 
 
 sandstone interstratified with the red marls of 
 
 the Keuper series. 
 Small refuse coal. 
 Soft clay or fire-clay. 
 Black carbonaceous matter, into which a coal-seam 
 
 decomposes at its out-crop. 
 The bands of slaty carbonaceous matter which 
 
 alternate with the bituminous layers in a coal- 
 seam. 
 In coal-districts used for iron-pyrites as it occurs 
 
 in coal, &c. 
 Soft fireclay occurring on the roof of the Main 
 
 coal of Moira. 
 Properly basalt ; but sometimes incorrectly used 
 
 in mining records for very hard sandstone or 
 
 chert. 
 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAPS (71 S AV. <;:; N A\ ; 
 
 llf till' 
 
 LEICESTERSHIRE COAL-FIELD 
 
 l,v I'.,|HMI- ( I Hull, B A.. KC,. S. 
 
 f %" 
 
 H',itiv.vt,'tn:-- 
 
 Conglomerate 
 
 KaXper. 
 
 Cambrian 
 Rocks. 
 
 Chains 9O 4C 
 
 (of 
 
 
 Porphyry irivfrnrtfiie <f <J<7/ (>'/.. f.imv ,>i' Fault. 
 
 (ambrian Age) ,^'t'fflitt. 
 
 Dip of Str,it<i 
 
 d" 
 
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