I30 PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1910 



at Longfords Mill, Nailsworth," he wrote, " contains a bed of 

 Pea-Grit, in which the grains are in a soft marly paste, over- 

 lying a bed of pisolitic limestone charged with several species 

 of NerincBa, the whole being about five feet thick." ' 



The other quarry, a little further on, affords much the 

 same section ; but the " Top-Beds " are exposed for a greater 

 thickness, although somewhat difficult of access. There are 

 some seven or eight feet of Upper Trigonia-Gx'\i with the basal 

 Clypeus-Gxii beds above. 



At Balls Green the Freestones are being worked by the 

 United Stone Firms Ltd., in surface and underground workings 

 — now, principally in the former. The Prospectus of the 

 Firms states : 



" Until acquired by this Company these Quarries were held by Messrs 

 Andrews and Provis, of Coleford, and Mr C. Essex, of Avening, near 

 Stroud. 



The Stone is very little known to Architects and Surveyors, owing 

 to the Quarries having been worked on a very small scale in the past, 

 and almost entirely for local purposes. 



The Stone is of the Oolite formation, and resembles Portland in 

 quality and appearance, so much so that the difference is hardly dis- 

 cernible. It is very considerably cheaper, and great hopes are 

 entertained that when it is well-known it will be extensively used in 

 London and the Provinces in preference to Portland. 



The possibilities of these Quarries are enormous. The beds of rock 

 are entirely free from defects, and can be obtained in huge sizes, thus 

 giving a splendid average cubical measurement for Random Block. It 

 is very mild working when freshly quarried, but hardens very consider- 

 ably and quickly when brought to the surface, and is very hard after 

 a few weeks' exposure, when the moisture has evaporated. 



It is an excellent durable Stone for external and internal purposes, 

 and weathers well. It is a particularly desirable Stone where cost is a 

 consideration, as it can be supplied at a very low finished cost without 

 any risk as to strength, quality and durability." 



Commercially it is known as " Nailsworth Stone." 



On the north side of the Nailsworth Valley is the old Scar 

 Hill Quarry (Plate XX., fig. i). Ascending the hill from the 

 Railway Station, the Cotteswold Sands are seen in the left 

 bank of the road. On the Common the Lower Limestone is 

 exposed in a scarp above the road, and is capped by Pea-Grit, 

 which is of the same general facies as at Longfords, containing 

 amongst other fossils Plicatula tuberculosa, Morris and Lycett, 

 Rhynchonella subangulata, Dav., Teri pisolitica, S. Buckman, 

 etc. 



I Quart. Joum. Geol, Soc, vol. xlii. (1886), p. 266 ; Proc. Cotteswold Nat. F.C, vol. ix., pt i 

 (1885-86), pp. 21-37. 



