At Kingswood, upstream from the old weir, is Martley’s highest (seasonal) waterfall, when running a charming little beck that tumbles out of the vale between the hills of Aymestry, Wenlock, Ludlow Shale, and most locally Coalbrookdale Formations (you can read more about each of these on Wikipedia). The water is high in dissolved carbonates that precipitate out on exposure to the air and coat objects with layers of tufa.
Ian found the illustrated sheep’s jaw bone
Petrified Jaw Bone 1
Petrified Jaw Bone 2
Petrified Jaw Bone 3
BGS Geology Viewer (LINK) says the following about Coalbrookdale Formation:
Mudstone. Sedimentary Bedrock formed approximately 423 to 428 million years ago in the Silurian Period. Local environment previously dominated by shallow lime-mud seas.
Setting: shallow lime-mud seas. These rocks were formed in warm shallow seas with carbonate deposited on platform, shelf and slope areas. With fluctuating sea levels some sediments were washed off the land and deposited as mud interbedded with the carbonates.
Martley has three geological trails, none to the South. Ian proposed that a walking route written in the 90s by Keith and Audrey Trumper (who started the Path-or-Nones footpath maintenance group, still going) would form the basis of a geology trail that crossed formations with excellent views useful for interpretation.
On Saturday 22nd March, four of us had a close look at the area; Natalie Watkins provided the professional input, the rest of us tagged along, making what we thought were useful comments.
If the trail IS to come to fruition then funding will be required for art and design, printing and so on; David is looking into this. The route veers from the original walking route (No 9 if you are interested, see it HERE on the PONS web site) and is not yet settled but will be around 6 miles and is hilly. The formations crossed, or nearby, are Bromsgrove Sandstone and Sidmouth Mudstone (Triassic), Haffield Breccia (Permian), Highley Fmn (Carboniferous), Wyche Fmn, Wenlock, Raglan Mudstone (Silurian) and good views through the Teme gap by Osebury Rock and of the Bromyard Plateau (Devonian). We spent time scrabbling about in some of the many quarries on Ankerdine, now deep in a mixed woodland, and from which several local buildings have been made. These include most of the old church, though there are other materials from whence we know not where. Incidentally the church is undergoing conversion to a dwelling and we were kindly allowed to look around by the builder. Capturing our attention too, the wheel of the apple press by the Talbot (see pic) is a coarse version of, we concluded, the local Wyche Fmn. In our travels we collected samples of Wyche and the variation was instructive in itself, from fine silty material to coarse, gravelly, proving the existence of different environments all those years ago (+-420Ma) in the early Silurian.
Finally we were kindly entertained to tea and sweet things by always welcoming Nigel and Sarah in their delightful cottage, uniquely placed on the East Malvern Fault, with Silurian, Permian and Triassic in their back garden.
Apple Press by Talbot
Apple Press, Assumed Wyche, Very Pebbly
Doddenham Church Conversion Kitchen
Wyche--SIlty, Fine Grained
Wyche Moderately Coarse
Wyche Coarse
Wyche Almost Pebbly
Nat in Quarry, Top of Ankerdine, Close to Wenlock Junction
Route 671 along the river from Kingswood weir has been closed by Worcestershire County Council Rights of Way, for a period of at least 6 months from end Feb 2014. As previously reported severe erosion had caused difficult walking; now, sections of the path have completely disappeared. Once subsidence has run its course (if ever) a new route might be possible. Recommended diversion is along the Worcestershire Way that is further up the bank.
Summer? Will we have one? Is ‘readying the sites for summer’ a necessary activity? Acting in good faith and in hope, five of us turned out Feb 27th pm–last Thursday of each month scheduled for workparties, to tackle tidying at Martley Rock and Nubbins. In both of these outcomes we were most successful–thanks Hilary, Ian, Mike, Richard for turning out on a lovely afternoon, a rarity, today it’s back to rain rain rain and the odd fleck of sleet.
We were pleased with the results and to once again see the amazing colours of the deposits; here are some pics:
Nubbins View
Silurian Triassic Junction Martley Rock
Coloured Carboniferous on top of Raglan Mudstone (Silurian)
Coloured Carboniferous on top of Raglan Mudstone (Silurian)
The Chandlery was invaded by the Wichenford Local History Society Monday last on one of their Monday Meanders. Well not the whole gang but four enthusiasts in search of lime kilns. Trouble is they started producing older and older maps, laid out on the kitchen work surface and off we went on all sorts of displacement activities. On exuent, Ian kindly volunteered to accompany them to sites that he/we know of mainly through our work on local footpaths, but geology too. He verified later that the name given to the Monday activity was most apt.
Recognise those Legs?
Lime kilns were used to ermm fire limestone quarried from our local hills, firing to make quicklime for mortar and for adding to fields to make them less acidic. All limestone quarried as far as we know from the more Easterly ramparts, and all being Wenlock series (why no Aymestry–next hills across to the West–any ideas?) of the Silurian period i.e. around 420 million years age, laid down in warm, balmy shallow seas with myriads of shell fish and plants. Sounds lovely as I write this looking out on teeming rain and putative snow. We know of five or six kilns and can assume there were more, perhaps many more, as quarries are abundant in the area. HERE and HERE are links. Please send us the results of your research ladies, maybe to form another blog.
Martley’s Connections with Erupting Volcanoes and Volcanic Ash
Thomas Jones, he of local residence and schooling, keen to pass on something of the work he does in a rather esoteric branch of geology but one that concerns us all, and the more you fly the more it should concern you. The perils of volcanic ash and in particular its effect on aircraft engines is providing Tom with a route to a Masters at Bristol and employment that sees him working much of the time in Germany. The university there I believe, houses Europe’s best equipped lab capable of replicating forces inside an erupting volcano. This uses raw material ground from real lava which under controlled temperatures and pressures is released into the atmosphere (of the lab of course). The resultant tiny particles made up of crystals both fractured and whole of divers materials enables, through close microscopic examination, conclusions as to how the particles might affect aero engines (and for that matter, lungs and other more personal equipment). A most interesting discovery is that fact that other molecules bind to the surfaces of the crystals, giving them unexpected and sometimes undesirable properties.
Tom your talk was just great, thanks, and your illustrations and clear explanations made for a talk that we all came away from feeling we had learned much. Great to see your parents there and Bob Allison too, who we understand taught you geology and started you off on what will without doubt be a most successful career.
Matthew Blakely
On January 27th Matthew Blakely, ‘a potter from Cambridge’ came and went a very long way indeed to collect nine sacks of different coloured clays recovered in January from temporary trenching at Martley Rock field AND to talk to us about his work and the results of test firings with local materials. My deliberate epithet ‘a potter from Cambridge’ does not in anyway give credit to the exploratory science that Matthew conducts in his determined quest to discover different and fabulous clays from all over the country, Cornwall to Edinburgh and beyond. It was immediately apparent that we had the privilege of listening to a real expert who had brought along beautiful works of art uniquely shaped and fired to hues unimaginable by those not familiar with this art form. It was unfortunate that time was pressing as we would all have liked to have heard more. Matthew’s work extends into archaeology, as evidence is that Martley mudstone was used in the Iron Age to make pots. His work suggests that indeed some of the clays would have been usable in this regard. HERE is a link to Matthews web site and HERE is a link to his blog on test firings with local clays (Jan 14th).
Thank you so much for your visit Matthew I know that many will follow up your work.
One of our members, Mike Riggs, takes a sketch pad with him wherever he goes and here are links to PAGE 1 and PAGE 2 for Tom’s talk and PAGE 3 for Matthew’s. Thanks Mike for this novel way of remembering the evening and for your skill in producing it!
TVGS Member Georgia Jacobs, is holding a second textile exhibition at Bewdley Museum from May 17th to June 22nd, Georgia’s aim is to use a wide variety of British Landscapes as a source of inspiration for textile art.
The emphasis is on geology, important locations within the Geoparks and special sites of geological interest in the British Isles. Georgia has asked if any Teme Valley locations should be included, so let’s hear from you for ideas!
As stated in earlier post, it is recommended that the GeoParkWay along the river at Kingswood is avoided owing to severe subsidence. There are notices at each end-Kingswood Lane and by the weir and the recommended route is along the Worcestershire way that is well surfaced and above all of the subsidence.
Penarth on Cardiff Bay, a delightful seaside town with many elegant Victorian buildings, and in the opinion of my wife, the best pier in Britain. She should know as she has visited all 50 (odd) of them. The cliffs are dramatically stratified, with brightly coloured beds from the Triassic (Mercia Mudstone) and early Jurassic periods–many fossils to be found. All along this coast, particularly at Barry Island the layers are unbelievably visible and accessible, tho’ at Penarth one often sees minor and not so minor rock falls, so care needed. Here are a few pictures and a link to find out more.
Today I had the great fortune to meet Michael Brooks of Brooks Designs, a very clever chap who writes things called ‘Apps’ that work on Smart phones both iPhone (and iPads) and Androids. Michael spent a huge amount of his own time writing 17 separate ‘apps’ covering the GeoParkWay–just because it sounded interesting and he wanted to! This included walking the whole route, taking thousands of photos, accessing masses of data from the British Geological Survey on the geology of the area, making maps, animated landmasses and a full description of the route. With the right ‘kit’ as you walk photos jump up of where you are and the local geology is presented. How clever is that? Mike specializes in apps for geotourism and geoconservation, and at least, unlike the committee of TVGS does have a geological degree to his name. His web site is here and you may download the GeoParkWay apps from the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iPads/iPhone) by searching on ‘brooksdesigns’. One or two of the 17 apps are free, the rest £1.49 each and such is the generosity of Mike that he is donating proceeds to H&WEHT for the Geopark Way (thanks Mike). I thoroughly recommend you try these out. Our plan is to bring Mike in to demonstrate the technology and to allow any of those interested to use it ‘in the field’. We have plans for apps for our trails but that will need funding.
