While at the top of the incline they got—
| FT. | IN. | ||||
| 1. | Gravel | 120 | 0 | New red sandstone, 189 feet. | |
| 2. | White sand rock | 69 | 0 | ||
| 3. | Clod | 110 | 6 | ||
| 4. | Fifth coal | 4 | 0 | ||
| 303 | 6 | ||||
A little beyond the top of the incline is a fault running north-east and south-west, throwing down to the north-west 25 yards.
About ¼ of a mile north-west of this another pit has been sunk, in which they got—
| FT. | IN. | |||
| Gravel | 186 | 0 | New red sandstone, 315 feet. | |
| Ditto and White sand rock | 129 | 0 |
when they came down into the Coal-measures, and were stopped by water; they then bored into a coal just below which was supposed to be the Fifth coal.[1] Farther on, nearly a mile to the north-north-west, in a field of the Birches farm belonging to Lord Lichfield, just south of the Rolling Mill Pool, a boring was made some years ago, the account of which was given me by Mr. George. In this boring they passed down through 418 feet of alternations of "red rock," "gravel," "marl partings," &c. Below that they came into " black marl," and then had alternations of "black marl," "red marl," "white rock," "ironstone," and "red rock," and marls to the total depth from the surface of 612 feet. At a depth of 545 feet they are said to have found a coal 13 inches thick, with a foot of fire-clay below it, and alternations of "red rock," "red marl," and *' blue binds" below that. What these lower rocks were, whether they were true Coal-measures, or whether they were Permian rocks, which, as we have seen, do contain fire-clay and coals, it is exceedingly difficult to say. The mention of ironstone would seem to give it in favour of their being Coal-measures, but there are ferruginous concretions in some of the Permian rocks which in the auger of the boring rods might seem to have been derived from true Coal-measure ironstones.
From the Brereton district, where, as we see, the Coal-measures are partly covered by some beds of the New red sandstone formation, resting unconformably on the edges of the coals, a range of hills runs south-west, ending i in the bold ridge of the Hednesford Hills. All the high 'ground of this range is "composed of beds of soft red and white, sandstone and gravel, which apparently belong to the New red sandstone formation. Along their south-east margin, old coal-pits are abundant, and wherever a little valley cuts into them, the old coal-pits run down it for a short distance. Old coal-pits, with abundance of coal shale on their banks, are found on both sides of the Hednesford Hills, and everything goes to make it probable that at this northern side of the coal-field the
- ↑ I was indebted to the late Mr. Figgins for information as to all the collieries under his care.
No farther operations seem to have been carried on at this boring on Flaxley Common, and I think it exceedingly doubtful whether they reached Coal-measures at all. Any such information derived from boring is always of the most uncertain and untrustworthy character.—(Additional note in 1858).
