JANUARY 1, 1896.) 



KNOWLEDGE 



7 



of no leas than 1000 feet near the foot of Leith Hill, all the 

 result of the accumulation of estuarine or delta deposits. 



Slight undulations in the Weald plain indicate the 

 presence near the surface of thin bands of hard limestone 

 which in places contain fossil shells, Paludina, so abun- 

 dantly that it forms an ornamental stone or marble. The 

 surface levels range from 150 feet above Ordnance Datum 

 to over 350 feet at Holmwood Common, ou the flanks of 

 the northern boundmg uplands. From the impervious 

 character of clay, the whole plain is well watered by rivers 

 and minor streams. The Mole, the Wey, and the Eden 

 each derive much water from its surface drainage, and the 

 northern affluent of the Sussex Arun rises from its northern 

 edge at the foot of Leith Hill. 



The heath district, forming the north-western part of 

 the county, from its generally sterile and open character, 

 contrasts strongly with the Weald Clay Plain, where parks 

 and woodlands alternate with small enclosures surrounded 



home of the author of " Sylva," Holmbury, Abinger, and 

 Albury Parks, and many other beautiful estates. The 

 ground slopes gently to the north in accordance with the 

 dip of the strata, bat has a steep slope to the south, formmg 

 a very pronounced escarpment. 



The long and very beautiful vale of Holmesdale, lying 

 on the northern side of the Lower Greensand ridge and 

 having the lofty Downs dominating it ou its northern side, 

 though nearly forty miles long, has a general breadth of one 

 or two miles only. The vale bottom rests upon a narrow 

 outcrop of the Gault Clay which overlies the Lower Green- 

 sand, and like it dips to the north at a low angle. On this 

 clay, too, oaks are abundant, surface water plentiful, and 

 the ground of a dark coloar, giving to its soils the name of 

 " black-laud." 



But the most conspicuous feature of the whole area of 

 the county is that formed by the long range of hills 

 called the North Downs, which is continued through the 



Seetiou across Surrey, from the Sussex boundary to the River Thames, showing the general geological structure. 



Length of Section, twenty miles. The Vertical Scale ten times the Horizontal Scale. 



(A Section more to the East would show the Lower Greensand Escarpment, lower than the Chalk Escarpment of Leith Hill.) 



SOUTH 



NORTH 



K' Mole 



OrkshvtL 

 Heath 



Thames Valirs' 

 ClufTJuant-. Sshef 





\ hhild rjav z Limn i:runsiuui. 3 Oimll- i I'liiicr ('■mnsuiiil 5 Chalk . s Hmoua tnus Jum/lunC/ay e Stias/ml BeeU: 3 I'aUrf Cmvtis K Jlluniiw 



* Level of the Sea, or Ordnance Datum. 



by luxuriant hedges and abundant hedgerow timber. 

 Underlying the whole of this extensive area are the 

 Bagshot Sands, either lower, middle, or upper, which are 

 of Middle Eocene age. As some of the beds, especially 

 in the Middle Bagshot, are argillaceous, the sterility of the 

 surface soils is not uniform ; for where clayey beds occur 

 at or near the surface, greater moisture gives a richer 

 vegetation. Extensive sandy tracts, however, heath-covered 

 and unenclosed, and dark pine woods, are the general 

 characteristics of this remarkable district. Its surface is 

 undulating and generally moderately elevated, attaining 

 the following summit levels above Ordnance Datum : The 

 Fox Hills, near Chertsey, 235 feet ; Chobham Common, 

 213 feet ; Frimley Eidges, 87G feet ; the Fox Hills, near 

 Ash, and Romping Downs, 390 feet ; and Bagshot Heath, 

 42G feet. The hills are in places covered with gravels, and 

 large blocks of hard sandstone, called Sarsden stones, 

 resulting from concretionary action, are found at and 

 immediately below the surface. 



Much higher land gives large areas in the western 

 expansion of the ridge bounding Holmesdale on the south. 

 It culminates in Leith Hill, 965 feet above Ordnance 

 Datum, and the highest land between the Thames and the 

 sea, and rises to 852 feet at Hindhead. The whole of this 

 area is formed by the Lower Greensand, the uppermost 

 member of which — the Folkestone Beds — constitutes the 

 highest ground and gives the largest area. A considerable 

 acreage is occupied by dense woods, as Hurtwood and the 

 woods of Leith Hill, and open commons, as Hindhead and 

 Frensham Commons, and Blackheath and Farley Heath. 

 The district also comprises Wotton, the ancestral seat of 

 the Evelyns, a richly-wooded demesne as becomes the 



neighbouring county of Kent and terminates eastwards 

 only at Dover Castle. Though not attaining the elevation 

 of the Lower Greensand ridge at Leith Hill, it is neverthe- 

 less of greater average height, and at Botley Hill the 

 summit level is 881 feet above Ordnance Datum. At 

 the Hog's Back, between Farnham and Guildford, the 

 breadth of the hill is only about half a mile, but eastwards 

 of Guildford the Downs broaden to no less than seven 

 mUes at Banstead. Like the Lower Greensand area, this 

 elevated land has a gentle slope to the north and a steep 

 escarpment to the south, at some points the inclination 

 being upwards of sixty degrees, as at Box Hill. The outlines 

 of the range are a series of singularly soft and gentle 

 curves, and in many places the hills display beautifully 

 rounded indentations called Combes, that are carpeted with 

 the most velvet like verdure. Crossing the range in Surrey 

 and dividing it into three well-defined sections are two 

 deep valleys or gorges, through which run the two rivers, 

 the Wey and the Mole, on their northern course to the 

 Thames. 



The Downs area is entirely formed by the great Chalk 

 formation which dips to the north conformably to the 

 underlying beds. The northern slopes and the summit 

 levels are consequently on the Upper Chalk, the Lower 

 Chalk only being seen on the face of the steep southern 

 escarpment, at the base of which the Upper Greensand, 

 with a very narrow outcrop, overlies the Gault. Over large 

 areas the Chalk, especially at the higher levels, is covered 

 with superficial beds of clay and loam or brick-earth, which 

 support more luxuriant vegetation and finer timber than 

 gro.v on the uncovered chalk, and so give many parks and 

 woods of great beauty at high levels. The yew, the box, 



