172 



HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G O SSIP. 



that the Red Rock fills up a great hollow excavated 

 by denudation ; this hollow having a very variable 

 and uneven bottom, and that it lies high in the coal 

 measures, and is unconformable to the rocks below 

 and above it. The Whitehaven sandstone of the 

 Cumberland coalfield occupies probably an analogous 

 position in its locality, and is also, compared with the 

 other carboniferous sandstones about Whitehaven, a 

 red or reddish rock. 



The red rock may be visited profitably either 

 about Rotherham or at its southern end, near 

 Kiveton Park railway station, at Harthill. From 

 Kiveton Park station, the villages of north and south 

 Anston with their magnesian limestone quarries, 

 which supplied the stone for the Houses of Parlia- 

 ment and the Jermyn Street Museum, may be easily 

 visited. North of North Anston the spire of Laughton- 

 en-le-Morthen is conspicuous on an outlier of 

 magnesian limestone. A mile north-east of Laughton 



concerned — as it did when first erected. How much 

 of this result is due to purity of air, and how much to 

 careful selection of the stone, can hardly be ascer- 

 tained by us now. 



South of Sheffield, the Midland Railway cuttings, 

 both north and south of Dronfield, showed some very 

 interesting coal measure sections ten years ago, when 

 the line was first opened, and I had the advantage of 

 visiting them while new, in the company of Professor 

 A. H. Green. Should any railway-cutting excursion 

 be practicable, those about Dronfield seem to me to 

 deserve the first choice, though there is no want of 

 interesting sections in the railways on other sides of 

 the town. 



Once, some years ago, while waiting in a train 

 outside the M. S. and L. railway station, and above 

 the broad street called the Wicker, a fellow-passenger 

 remarked, as he gazed down upon the street, "That 

 would be a fine street if there were any fine buildings 



Red rock. 



Magnesian 

 Limestone 

 (Permian). 



Millstone Grit Fault Coal measures (Lower and middle). 



Fig. 135.— Section from a point a little west of Sheffield to the magnesian limestone escarpment. 



o o o o o o 



Red rock. 



Ordinary coal measures. 



\\w\>.\\>.«««»| Millstone grit. 

 Shales. 



■T-TXnttt't I Magnesian limestone. 



brings us to the junction of the two beautiful glens at 

 which the remains of Roche Abbey appear. Here 

 two little streams unite and traverse the magnesian 

 limestone escarpment. For the rivers in this part of 

 Yorkshire, the Don, Went, Aire, and Wharfe, all 

 show that apparent fondness for crossing escarpments 

 characteristic of the streams taking their rise in the 

 Wealden area, and doubtless their course has been 

 similarly influenced. 



On approaching Rotherham, the visitor will not 

 fail to notice the tree-clad hill at, and southward of, 

 the town. It is crowned by red rock. The places 

 near at which it may be profitably studied have been 

 already mentioned. Continuing our journey towards 

 Conisborough for the purpose of inspecting the upper 

 coal measure plant beds, we again find ourselves close 

 to the magnesian limestone escarpment, which is 

 well seen for some miles at Conisborough, on the right 

 hand, looking northward, and forms a part of one of 

 the most beautiful views in the district. Besides a 

 sight of the magnesian limestone in situ we have here 

 a remarkable instance of its excellence as a building 

 stone under favourable conditions. The venerable 

 keep of Conisborough Castle, which is built of it, and 

 is now about 800 years old, looks almost as fresh 

 now— so far as absence of decay in the stone is 



in it " — an odd though true remark. A somewhat 

 similar reflection will probably pass through the 

 mind of almost every person who visits Sheffield for 

 the first time ; he will think, "This would be a very 

 fine town if there were any fine buildings in it." For 

 the natural picturesqueness of the site of Sheffield is 

 very great — second only perhaps to that of Edinburgh 

 among British towns. Unfortunately its smokiness, 

 the meanness of its public buildings, and indeed of 

 the whole business part of the town, are still more 

 difficult to parallel. The suburbs, however, are 

 extremely pleasant, especially those to the west and 

 south-west, and afford an abundance of fine prospects. 

 A good view of the busy part of the town may be 

 obtained from the neighbourhood of the M. S . and 

 L. Station, looking, of course, southward. On the 

 right is seen the main part of the town surrounding 

 the old parish church, and standing mainly on the 

 Silkstone rock which overlies the Silkstone coal. 

 Farther westward, towards Crookes, are the lower 

 coal measures, which at Crookes attain a height of 

 about 800 feet above the sea, or about 650 feet above 

 the alluvial flats of the Don and Sheaf. Looking, as 

 we do, on the dip slopes of the various beds (the 

 dip being from Crookes to the Sheaf) the fall is 

 gradual and gentle. East of the Sheaf, however, we 

 look not on a dip slope but on the escarpments made 

 by the outcrops of the Silkstone and Parkgate rock, 

 with the measures between them. Hence the contrast 

 which must strike every visitor to Sheffield who sees it 

 from this point of view, between the steepness of the 

 eastern, and the easy slope of the western hillside. 



