KATE OF EEOSION OF THE SEA-COASTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. 851 



2. The Estuary of the Colne. 

 By John Bateman, Brightlingsea. 



1. The estuary of the Colne. 



2. A fringe of flat salt-marshes overflowed at high tides. They form small cliffs of 



about 5 feet, and then soft mud reaches to low-water mark. 



3. N.E. to S.W. 



4. S.W. 



5. a. East. to. and c. No shingle. 



6. Same as at mouth of Thames. 

 8. Mud entirely. 



14. Yes. a. Almost without exception from mouth of Thames northwards, and 

 eastwards certainly at Mersea, Brightlingsea, St. Osyth, and Clacton. b. Cliifs 

 only commence at Clacton. c. The area of one salt-marsh of about 10 acres 

 has diminished bj- nearly one-third in twenty years, d. Tithe Commutation 

 Map of Brightlingsea, 1832 (.') shows ' West Marsh Point ' to have been 

 something like 100 yards seaward of its present situation, e. Yes ; just 

 locally. 



16. Something like 700 acres of Brightlingsea were enclosed from the salt-marshes, 



1700-1800. No record is preserved of exact dates, but a map of 1780 shows 

 much now enclosed to have been then subject to occasional tidal overflow. 

 There are also curious isolated ' hills ' of shingle and clay on some of the en- 

 closed marshes, evidently washed together by sea action. 



17. Dunes fringe the coast of St. Osyth for 2i miles, infringing perhaps 50 to 150 



j-ards on the marshes, a. St. Osj'th beach, locallj' ' T'oosy beach.' b. 12 to 

 15 feet. d. No. e. A long salt-water ' crik,' locally i~o called, runs close 

 behind them inland. 



3. The Deben to the Colne. 



By Petek S. Beufp, M.Inst.C.E., Engineer Harwich Harbour Conservancy 



Board, Ipswich. 



1. Suffolk and Essex Coasts, from River Deben to near River Colne. 



2. Various; cliff, flat 'denes,' and embanked marshes, a. London Clay, sometimes 



capped with Crag, gravel, or sand. b. (1) C8 feet. (2) 37 feet. (3) 6 feet. 



3. N.E. to S.W. 



4. S.E. to S.W. 



5. a. N.E. to S.W. b. Varies locally from E. to W. (N. to W. at Walton.) c. N.E. 



to E. 



6. N.E. to S.W. 



7. (1) a. 11 feet 6 inches, b. 8 feet. (2) a.' Deben to Orwell, 25 yards. Walton- 



on-the-Naze, 230 yards. Clacton, 150 yards. 



8. From Deben to Orwell, sand and shingle with occasional layers of cement stone 



at foot of beach. From Orwell to Colne there is a clay flat at foot of beach 

 uncovered at low water. 



9. a. About 30 to 40 yards at Felixstowe and Clacton. b. Sometimes evenly dis- 



tributed, sometimes in patches with sand between, c. N.E. to S.W. d. A 

 small proportion as large as hens' eggs, the majority much less. e. There is a 

 ridge formed by the spring tides, and also by the neaps ; the heights above 

 the respective tide-marks vary according to the state of wind. The average 

 height would be about 2 feet above the tide-marks. 



1 0. Where not protected by groynes the shingle is diminishing. 



11. No. 



12. a. Generally at right angles, b. From 30 to 40 yards, c. Various, d. Too 



varied to summarise, e. Timber-piles and planks. There are some stone 

 groynes at Walton-on-the-Naze. f. Between Deben and Orwell they arrest 

 the shingle very effectually, and prevent the loss of foreshore and land. At 

 Walton-on-the-Naze the same in a less degree. 



* At a part of this there are rocks of ' septaria,' unsovered at low water, extending some 

 distance beyond the average of 25 yards. 



3 I 2 



