146 



On the Angular Gravel of theCotteswolds, hy E. Witchell, F.G.S. 

 Bead at Birdlip. 



The Angular Gravel of the Cotteswolds has been frequently 

 alluded to in the Transactions of the Club and elsewhere, and 

 various opinions have been expressed as to its origin ; but 

 the manner in which the Gravel beds have been deposited in 

 the positions in which they are found, and their relative age, 

 are still involved in some obscurity. No apology, therefore, is 

 necessary for again introducing the subject to the notice of the 

 Club, and inviting further discussion upon it. 



The Gravels of the Cotteswolds may be separated into three 

 kinds, namely : the Angular Gravel of the slopes, the rolled 

 Oolitic Gravel of the river valleys, and the Northern Drift. It 

 is the former only which is the subject of the present paper. 



The earliest reference to angular detritus which I have seen 

 is that contained in the " Geology of Cheltenham," as revised 

 by our Colleague, Professor Bxtckman (Ed. 1845.) It is stated : 

 *' Heaps of this rubbish, which have been washed down by 

 storms and rain from the escarpments, often hide from view the 

 real position of the Lias in the sloping escarpments of the 

 Cotteswolds." It would appear from the section to which 

 reference is made, that this remark is intended to apply to 

 the whole mass of detritus which everywhere covers up the 

 slopes of the hills, and not merely to the Gravel. 



Mr. Hull, writing upon this subject in the Memoir of the 

 Geological Survey of East Gloucestershire, published in 1847, 

 mentions several localities where the Gravel is exposed. His 

 impression was that the Deposits were the remains of sea 

 beaches, indicating a sea level of 700 feet higher than at 



