A W.J. Harrison, writing in 1877, described the different limestone floors found through a section of a large limestone pit operated by Messrs John Ellis & Sons at Barrow close to the railway:
|
Ft. |
Inches |
Fossils etc. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Soil |
2 |
9 |
Roman remains, pepples & boulders of Forest rock. |
|
2. |
Shale or 'slavin' |
7 |
9 |
|
|
3. |
Limestone 'Bank Hurs' |
0 |
4.1/2 |
|
|
4. |
Shale |
17 |
7 |
Ammonites, Iron pyrites |
|
5. |
Limestone 'Rummels' |
0 |
11 |
|
|
6. |
Shale |
4 |
3 |
|
|
7. |
Limestone 'First Floor' |
0 |
10 |
|
|
8. |
Shale |
11 |
||
|
9. |
Limestone 'Second Floor' |
|||
|
10. |
Shale |
0 |
11 |
|
|
11. |
Limestone 'Hurs' |
0 |
8 |
Jet |
|
12. |
Shale |
0 |
2 |
|
|
13. |
Limestone 'First Hog' |
0 |
3 |
|
|
14. |
Shale |
1 |
3 |
|
|
15. |
Limestone 'Second Hog' |
0 |
8 |
Insects, fish scales. |
|
16. |
Shale |
0 |
8 |
|
|
17. |
Limestone 'Bottom Floor' |
0 |
4 |
Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus. |
|
18. |
Shale |
1 |
7 |
|
|
19. |
Limestone 'Good-for-nought' |
0 |
4 |
Ichthyosaurus |
|
20. |
Shale |
4 |
1 |
|
|
21. |
Limestone 'Four foot' |
0 |
8 |
Insects |
It is interesting to see from the above description that many of the floors were relatively thin compared to the shale deposits in between.
This photograph, taken at the time of the building of the railway bridge at Melton Road clearly shows the various limestone strata or "floors".
Previous menu page: Nichol's description of the Barrow limestone pits
Next page: Limestone Delphs in and around Barrow
Last Updated. 15-April-2019 By admin
