30 KINGTON DISTRICT. 



NO. 11. THE KINGTON DISTRICT, 

 This consists chiefly of the iipper basins of the Arrow, and of 

 Backbrook, one of the tributaries of the Lug. 



From Mortimer's Eock, near Mortimer's Cross, its south-eastern 

 boundary follows a nearly straight course through Shobdon villago 

 to Lyonshall. From this jioint it takes the line of highest ground 

 westward until near Michaelchurch it meets with the boundary of 

 Eadnorshire. The county of Eadnor bounds it on the west and 

 north-west to Presteign. The northern boundary may be roughly 

 taken as a line from Piesteign to Mortimer's Eock; whilst more 

 strictly it may be described as following the turnpike road from 

 Presteign and Byton Cross, thence taking the line of highest ground 

 along Shobdon Hill wood, descending from thence to Mortimer's Eock. 



GEOLOGY. — The Kington district is nearly as interesting as 

 that of Aymestry, and would be more so if we could include a few 

 square miles to the west, and approjjriate the Trap district of Stanner 

 Hocks and Hunter Hill, and the metamorphosed Upper Llandovery 

 rocks of Old Eadnor. Kington, like so many other small towns and 

 villages, of Herefordshire stands on or near the junction line of the 

 Old Eed roclcs and the uppermost Silurians, My friend, Mr. Eichard 

 W. Banks of Eidgebourne, rendered important sen^ice to Silurian 

 and Old Eed geology, by detecting in the Passage beds between the 

 Old Eed and Silurian systems a series of fossils that proved beyond 

 fl doubt that fossils are not so distinctly characteristic of particular 

 formations as they Avere formerly supposed to be. The Passage 

 rocks between tliese two systems of rock deposits have lately 

 furnished to the investigation of geologists organic remains of 

 animals which evidently existed both in the Upper Silurian and 

 Devonian times. The Pteraspis is found in the Lower Ludlow rocks, 

 and ascends higli into the Cornstone strata, while one or two species 

 of Cephalaspis occur as low down as the j^assage rocks, or Tilestones 



pf MURCHISON. 



There are quarries of fine building stone at Penhros, near Kington ; 

 find the Lower Old Eed of Kingswood contains the same Lingula as 

 the Auchenaspis passage beds at Ledbury. There is an outlier of 

 Old Eed resting on the Upper Silurians at Park "Wood, near Kington, 

 ftnd again at a place called Little Foyce, south of Gladestry, and west 

 of Huntington. The boulder rocks of the Huntington district 

 j-equu'o attention md investigation. Kuill, and KniU Garraway near 



