550 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 
periods 1801-1911 and 1881-1911. Different periods of greatest growth in 
Coventry, Leamington, and Rugby. 
The Upper Avon basin is crossed by several important lines of communication, 
mainly from S.E, to N. or N.W. The Watling Street and the Fosse Way are 
no longer used as main roads, but, in addition to these, certain main roads 
cross the district. They run mainly across uplands, in contrast to-the railways 
and canals, which often follow valleys. 
2. Notes on the Geography of Shropshire. 
By Professor W. W. Warts, F.B.S. 
3. The Midland Plateau and its Influence on the English Settlement 
of Britain. By P. EB. Martineau. 
The Midland Plateau lies between the Severn, Avon, and Trent. It is of 
oval form, and measures 46 miles from N.N.W. to 8.S.E. by 34 from E.N.E. 
to W.S.W. It is nearly 130 miles in circuit and its area is almost exactly 1,000 
square miles. 
It is part of the Triassic plain of Middle England, and owes toa rim of hard 
rocks by which it is enclosed its resistance to denudation, and its consequent 
elevation above the general level of the plain. This rim has also the effect 
of making the plateau’s frontier a steep escarpment, easily distinguishable on 
the map and in the field. 
The river Tame on the north and the Stour and Alne-Arrow on the south 
have cut wide and deep valleys through weak parts of the rim, without 
destroying the continuity of the plateau. The Tame drains more than half the 
plateau, and to it the ground slopes gently inwards from all parts of the rim. 
The other streams named are marginal. Erosion by them has been rapid and 
the sides of their valleys are steep. 
The outward escarpment is marked on the map by the 300-ft. and 400-ft. 
contour lines, which are close together. The 500-ft. line is generally close by, 
and the high ground of the plateau is disposed round its edge. This is 
especially the case on the southern side, where are found two points over 
1,000 ft. and many of 900 and 800. Water-level in the Severn is 100 ft. at 
Bridgnorth Bridge, and the 100-ft. contour line comes up the Avon to within 
four miles of Stratford. The south edge of the plateau is thus not only steep 
but of considerable height, and is a serious obstacle to travel, as is shown 
by the Midland Railway’s Blackwell bank of 1 in 37.5 and the Great Western’s 
Old Hill bank of 1 in 50. 
During the fifth and sixth centuries the English (or Anglo-Saxon) settlement 
of Britain was gradually completed, and the southern edge of the plateau 
marks the meeting of the two main waves of colonists, who may be described 
for convenience of reference as the Humber (or English) and the Southampton 
(or Saxon). 
To some extent modern county boundaries follow the crest of the escarpment 
and preserve the ancient line of division, but they are often misleading and 
the older diocese frontier is a better guide. Best of all are parish and manorial 
boundaries, which not only mark the main tribal frontier, but also show separate 
outposts and defensible positions. Such outposts are Tardebigge, Clent, and 
Forshaw to the south, and Oldbury and Dudley to the north of the frontier line. 
Wherever there is a divergence from the rule that the crest of the escarpment 
is the frontier, geographical reason for that divergence can be adduced. 
4. The Growth of Birmingham. By W. H. Foxatu. 
The early history of Birmingham is somewhat scantily recorded. Situated” 
on the outskirts of Arden Forest, the hamlet lay considerably off the main 
Roman roads, but a connecting-link between the Watling Street and the southern 
part of the Fosse Way was in close proximity. 
The determination of the town’s position was due wholly to geographical 
