54 Horace T. Broun — Boring at St rat [ford-on- Avon. 



II. — On a Eecent Boring in the Trias at Stratford-on-Avon. 

 By Hokace T. Brown, F.R.S., F.G.S., F.C.S. 



THE question of the water supply of the town of Stratford-on- 

 Avon has for years past presented many difficulties. The 

 town is situated on the uppermost beds of the Upper Keuper 

 Marls, and the water derived from the wells sunk in these 

 gypseous marls, or from the alluvial gravel of the river valley, 

 contains an amount of solids equal to about 170 grains per gallon, 

 of which about 125 grains consist of calcium sulphate. Up to 

 a very few years ago this intensely hard water was alone available 

 for domestic and manufacturing purposes, but the main supply of 

 the town is now derived from catchment basins and reservoirs 

 at Snitterfield on the adjoining hills about four miles north of 

 Stratford. In years of average rainfall a fair supply of moderately 

 soft water is obtained from this source, but it is one which, as 

 regards organic impurity, bears unmistakable signs of its surface 

 origin, and during dry seasons the town supply has to be supple- 

 mented with the hard well-water I have already referred to. 



Quite recently Messrs. Flower and Sons, who were in search 

 of a further supply of water of a softer character for their Brewery, 

 have put down an Artesian boring through the Upper Keuper 

 Mails, and have reached the Lower Keuper Sandstone, which 

 is found to contain an inexhaustible supply of water of excellent 

 qualitjr, and similar in general composition to that of the Leamington 

 water, which is derived from the same beds nearer their out-crop, 

 at a point about ten miles N.E. of Stratford-on-Avon. 



The position of the boring is about half-a-mile to the north of 

 the town, and is 400 yards east of the junction of the Upper 

 Keuper with the Bha3tic Beds, the line ot division here running 

 almost north and south. If this is not a faulted junction, and there 

 is no evidence of this, the boring must commence very nearly at the 

 top of the Upper Keuper, so that the distance from the surface of 

 the ground to the coming in of the Lower Keuper must approximate 

 very closely, probably within 25 or 30 feet, to the total thickness 

 of the Upper Keuper Marls in this part of the country. 



After taking into consideration all the available geological data 

 I considered it probable that the Lower Keuper Sandstones would 

 be reached at a depth of 550 to 600 feet. The actual depth, as will 

 be seen from the accompanying section, was 604 feet. 



The following is a detailed section of the borino; taken from 

 samples and data carefully obtained by the contractors, Messrs. E. 

 Timmins and Sons, during the progress of the work : — 



No. Feet. 



1 Bed Marl 45 



2 Bed Marl and Gypsuni 15 



3 Grey Marl and Gypsuni .. 5 



4 Bed Marl and Gvpsum ... 83 



5 Plastic Bed Marl 58 



6 Bed and Grey Marl and Gypsuni 10 



7 Bed Marl and Gypsum 9 



8 Grey Marl and Gypsum 20 



9 Bed Marl and Gypsum with a little sand 15 





