DURHAM. 



DURHAM 



HI 



Durham has numerous railways constructed by the coal-owners for 

 the conveyance of coals from the piu to the riven Tyne and Wear, 

 where they are shipped. The principal passenger lines aro the York 

 Newcastle' and Berwick railway, and its branches. The main line 

 eaters the county at Croft bridge, and passes through it in a generally 

 northern direction for about 45 miles, forming part of the great 

 railway communication between Scotland and the Metropolis. Its 

 principal branches in the county are the Hartlepool branch, which 

 unites Hartlepool with the main line, the Brandling junction, which 

 connects Sooth Shields and Sunderland with the main line, and the 

 Durham and Sunderlaud branch. The Stockton and Darlington, 

 Wear Valley and Redcar line runs along the south and south-eastern 

 portion of the county, from Cold Kowley to Hartlepool. The Stockton 

 Hartlepool and Clarence railway passes from oast to west through 

 the centre of the county, and like the other trunk lines has several 

 branches of greater or less length. 



Qtotoyy, Mineralogy, Jtc. The lower part of the valley of the Tees, 

 from the junction of the Skerne, and the coast from the mouth of the 

 Tees to Hartlepool aro occupied by the red marl or new red-sand- 

 stone, the uppermost of the formations which are found in the county. 

 Among the strata, of the formation a fine-grained sandstone of a brick- 

 red colour predominates. Some attempts have been made to find 

 coal by boring through the red marl, but without success, though the 

 pit* were sunk to the depth of more than 700 feet The newer 

 magnesian or conglomerate limestone crops out from beneath the 

 north-western limit of the red marl : it extends along the coast to 

 the mouth of the Tyne, and along the valley of the Tees, to the 

 junction of Staindrop beck with the Tees, between Darlington and 

 Barnard Castle : its inland boundary is a line drawn southward from 

 the mouth of the Tyne, gradually diverging from the coast-line to the 

 village of Coxhoe, between Durham and Stockton ; and thence south- 

 west to the Tees. Along the coast the upper stratum of the limestone 

 is a species of breccia, with which wide chasms or interruptions in the 

 cliff are filled ; the next strata are thin and slaty, of a white colour 

 inclining to buff; but lower down the stratification becomes indistinct, 

 the rock is of a crystalline and cellular texture, and of a light-brown 

 colour. The thickness of the limestone formation varies. At Pallion, 

 near Sunderland, it is only about 70 feet thick ; near Hartlepool it 

 has been bored to the depth of more than 300 feet without penetrating 

 through it Along the coast the strata dip to the south-east Galena 

 is the only ore that Mr. Winch observed in this limestone, and few 

 organic remains are found in it In this formation along the coast 

 are caverns and perforated rocks, which appear to have been formed 

 by the action of the sea. 



Of the dykes of basalt or greenstone which intersect the coal- 

 measures of the Northumberland and Durham coal-fields, one crosses 

 the Tyne into Durham county, near the Walker colliery, and another 

 crosses the bed of the Wear at Butterby, near Durham. In the south 

 part of the county is a remarkable basaltic dyke, extending several 

 miles from Cockfield to Bolam, where the coal-measures dip beneath 

 the newer magnesian limestone : a dyke of similar kind and in just 

 the same line intersects the new red-sandstone or red marl, and crosses 

 the bed of the Tees near Yarm into Yorkshire. In Mr. Greenough's 

 'Geological Map of England and Wales' the Cockfield dyke and that 

 which crosses the Tees are represented as parts of one vast dyke, 

 extending from the upper valley of the Tees near Eglestone, through 

 the millstone grit and limestone shale (or, as it is laid down in Mr. 

 Winch's map, the mountain limestone), the coal-measures, the newer 

 conglomerate or magnesian limestone, the red-sandstone, the has, and 

 the inferior oolite, in all 65 miles in an east-south-east direction, to 

 the Yorkshire coast, between Scarborough and Whitby. The coal in 

 contact with the dyke is charred and reduced to cinder; and the 

 sulphur is sublimed from the pyrites near. Besides the fissures filled 

 with basalt, others of a different nature intersect the coal field : these, 

 if large, are also called dykes; but, if small, 'troubles,' 'slips,' or 

 'hitches,' and by geologists ' faults :' by these 'faults' the strata arc 

 thrown, that is, raised on one side or depressed on the other, many 

 feet Other irregularities are observed in the coal-measures. Mineral 

 springs and chalybeate springs are found in various parts of the 



The coal-field of Durham is bounded on the west by the district 

 occupied by the millstone grit This district extends westward up 

 the valley of the Tees to Eglestonc, and is bounded by a line drawn 

 thence northward to Bollihope beck, along that stream to the 

 Wear above WoUingham, and thence north-west to the Derwent 

 at Blanchland. The millstone grit extends northward into North- 

 umberland, skirting the west side of the coal-field ; and southward 

 into Yorkshire where it extends between the districts occupied by the 



newer 

 or m 



conglomerate limestone and the carboniferous 

 e. The 



beds of this formation may be estimated 

 at 900 feet thick ; and this is probably short of the truth. " The 

 prevailing rock of this series is shale, known by the provincial name 

 of ' plate,' with which various beds of sandstone, differing in hardness 

 and texture, and, according to these differences, distinguished a* free- 

 Intone, grind 



- 



stone, and millstone, occur : of the mill- 



tone only one bed is worked, the thickness of which is about 30 feet 

 This is one of the uppermost strata on the Derwent, where it crops 

 not occur farther west" (Phillips and Conyboarc, 



Outlines of the OeoL of England and Wales.') The millstone bed is 

 quarried on Muggleswick Fell, and between WoUingham and Stanhope 

 n Weardale. Towards the lower part uf this formation tw 

 xA of limestone occur, alternating with some occasional seams 



The remainder of the county, west of the district occupied by the 

 millstone grit, is occiipiAl by the carboniferous or mountain limestone. 

 The limestone beds in this formation repeatedly alternate with beds 

 of siliceous grit and slate-clay. Mr. Winch, from whose account we 

 iiave largely borrowed, classes both the millstone grit and the moun- 

 tain limestone formations under the common designation of the lead- 

 mine measures. He estimates their joint thickness at from about 

 2700 feet to 2750 feet, and the aggregate thickness of the limestone 

 beds at 570 feet : deducting the thickness of the millstone grit as given 

 above, that of the mountain limestone will be about 1800 feet or 

 1S50 feet, of which the limestone beds amount to 570 feet : this 

 includes about 250 feet of sandstone and slate-clay, lym,- immediately 

 above the old red-sandstone, which is the formation subjacent to the 

 mountain limestone. The limestone beds are the most characteristic 

 of this formation, and the most important to the miner. The bed 

 called ' the groat limestone' is from 60 to nearly 70 feet thick, and 

 consists of three strata, divided by indurated clay. It is the upp- T- 

 uiost bed in this formation, and crops out at Frosterly, in We;i. 

 between Wolsingham and Stanhope, where it is quarried in large 

 quantities for agricultural uses and building cement, or for ornamental 

 purposes : it is a brownish-black or dark bluish-gray marble, in which 

 bivalve shells are imbedded. ' The scar limestone,' a lower bed 

 30 feet thick, is divided into three strata like the great limestone, 

 which it also resembles both in colour and organic remains. ' The 

 Tyue-bottom limestone,' above 20 feet thick, b also divided into three 

 strata. ' Robinson's great limestone' is above 80 feet thick. All the 

 limestones of this formation appear to contain the encriuus, and most 

 of them also bivalve shells : one of them (the cockleshell limestone) 

 contains oyster-shells of 4 or 5 inches diameter. They seem to agree 

 in every essential character, as well as in their extraneous and native 

 fossils. The beds of sandstone which occur in thU formation are 

 thicker than those in the millstone grit : they are thickest towards the 

 bottom of the series. The beds of shale, or as it is called ' plate,' 

 are very numerous : they arc seldom so much as 40 feet in thickness, 

 but one bed is 60 feet. Clay ironstone is found in Teasdale. 



The carboniferous limestone is the great depository of the metallic 

 veins of the district which comprehends the groat Northumbt-i hind 

 and Durham coal-field. Lead-mines abound in Weanlale and in 

 Teasdale Forest, and there are a few in the valley of the Derwent. 

 Some of the fissures, especially those which range from north to 

 south, are uf great magnitude, but contain very little ore ; those which 

 run from south-east to north-west are most productive. The same 

 vein is productive in different degrees, according to the bed which it 

 traverses : the limestones are the chief depositories of ore, particularly 

 'the great limestone,' which is considered to contain as much as all 

 the other beds put together. Galena is the only lead-ore procured in 

 abundance from this formation ; but white and steel-grained ore are 

 occasionally found : silver is contained iu the ore in different propor- 

 tions, varying from 2 to 42 ounces ill the fotherof 21 cuts. : 12 ounces 

 may be considered as the general average ; and if 8 ounces can be 

 obtained the lead is worth refining. Newcastle and Stockton are the 

 ports at which lead is shipped. (' Geological Transactions,' vol. iv. ; 

 Phillips and Conybeare, ' Outlines of the Geol. of England and 

 Wales.') 



I'/imaie, Soil, Agriculture. The climate of the county of Durham 

 is mild for its northern situation. The sea, which bounds it on tin- 

 east, moderates the cold in winter; and the surface, being hilly with- 

 out any considerable mountains, presents many sheltered valleys, tlm 

 climate of which nearly resembles that of the more southern parti 

 of the inland. The soil varies in different parts ; its general nature 

 is that of a rather strong loam. In the centre of the county there is 

 a moist clay loam of moderate quality, on an ochre sub-oil, wliirli 

 gradually becomes peaty, and joins the western portion of the county 

 towards Cumberland and Westmoreland, the whole of which last- 

 mentioned part of the county is a poor peat or moor, chiefly < 

 with heath. From Barnard Castle to Darlington there is a strip 

 Ixmnded by the Tees on the south, which consists of a dry loam 

 intermixed with clay. In this there are some good pastures and 

 productive farms. In the valleys of the Tees, Skerne, Tyne, and their 

 tributary streams, the soil consists of a good friable loam, which is 

 cultivated at a small expense, and under good management is suf- 

 ficiently profitable to the occupier. The extent of moor and heath 

 land is rapidly diminishing as cultivation advances. The wastes 

 are made profitable by rearing a hardy breed of sheep and cattle. 



The general state of cultivation throughout the county is above 

 mediocrity; and improvements have been readily adopted. The farms 

 are not in general very large : the average size is from 150 to 200 

 acres of inclosed land. Cattle and horses are bred to great advantage, 

 and oxen and sheep are fattened by grazing on some of the < 

 meadows. The soil and climate of this county arc nt favourable to 

 fruit-trees, and except in the gardens of gentlemen of fnrtnn 

 arc not mu<-!< ii re are some good oak woods, and many 



nuw plantations, w :mrc is freehold. 



