County Recorders annual meeting, March 10th, 2007

Click here to download a copy of the report

Geology.

I combine my role as Wiltshire Geology Recorder with being Chairman of the Wiltshire Geology Group and these roles fit neatly together with a remit of geological conservation combined with trying to bring geological matters to the attention of the General Public.

Apart from lectures and field trips we have had a good year in other directions. First we have negotiated with British Rail an an agreement to uncover a geological section in a railway cutting near the site of the former important geological SSSI at the Bremeridge Farm Ironstone Pit west of Westbury. The latter exposed two important unconformities (breaks in the geological sequence) as well as the ironstone but unfortunately the pit was infilled with waste material and our efforts to get a section uncovered proved impractical. The new section will partly make good the loss. Eventually it may form part of a Westbury Ironstone trail.

Next, at long last (in August), our information board has been set up and unveiled at the Lafarge Beggar’s Knoll Chalk Quarry. The original unveiling had been arranged for April 2002 but I do not wish to go into the history of the delay!

Next, we organized the uncovering of part of an overgrown quarry at Tockenham Wick, west of Wotton Bassett. This shows highly fossiliferous Corallian strata (Upper Jurassic).

On the publication front, Isobel Geddes has been responsible for the research and publication of two trail guides, namely around the Westbury White Horse and along the Bybrook Valley, north of Box.

Finally, we have negotiated the lease of a small patch of ground immediately adjacent to the site of the Dock’s Clay Pit at Bradford-on-Avon. The pit, which supplied the clay for lining the Kennett-Avon Canal, has been covered by a housing development thereby resulting in the loss of a classic section in the fossiliferous Bradford Clay (Middle Jurassic). We will re-excavate a small section in the Bradford Clay and erect an information board at the site adjacent to the towpath of the canal. This will form an item of a geological trail covering Bradford-on-Avon.

Lastly I would like to pay tribute to our Project Officers, Alan Bentley and Isobel Geddes who have been the driving force behind all these activities.

Gilbert Green.