246 W. H. HucUesfon — Creechharroiv in Pnrback. 



The address concludes with the following remarks : — 

 " But we cannot say what the hill itself consists of, for the whole 

 hill, especially the top of it, has been thoroughly sophisticated. 

 I have not the remotest idea of what the original surface of the 

 summit consisted. This tumulus, which forms such, a convenient 

 shelter, is composed of those very large flints which have been 

 gathered from all around. But the greatest annoyance is that a house 

 has been built on the top of Creechbarrow, and the foundations and 

 walls make it utterly impossible for anyone to judge what may have 

 been the original composition of the summit. It has been sophisticated 

 by man, and the only way I can see of ascertaining the true structure 

 of Creechbarrow is to drive a horizontal level right in to see what 

 the hill is really made of. If the Dorset Field Club would like to 

 vote a sum of money for that purpose, I will undertake to see that it 

 is properly spent. But I am afraid that this is hoping rather too 

 much." ^ 



II. Investigation. 



Acting on my own suggestion, as conveyed in the preceding 

 paragraph, having first obtained the permission of the owner and 

 occupier, I set some men to work digging in October last, and we 

 very soon arrived at most unexpected results. The remarkable 

 greensward on the very summit of Creechbarrow, so different to the 

 vegetation of the typical Bagshot districts, where heather and 

 Iceland moss afford a meagre diet to the rabbits, had always pro- 

 voked my suspicions. No one, however, had ever suspected that the 

 actual summit of Creechbari'ow consists of limestone, but now we 

 perceive that the calcareous nature of the soil is chiefly accountable 

 for this unwonted greenery at such an elevation. 



Altogether some seven or eight pits were dug within the limits 

 of the 600 feet contour. It is not intended to specify in the Geological 

 Magazine the particulars of these, but it is hoped that such details 

 as may be of interest will appear in the forthcoming volume (No. 23) 

 of the Proceedings of the Dorset Field Club. The first pit (No. 8a)- 

 was dug in the eastern flank of the summit ridge, some distance 

 below the actual summit. Here a calcareous talus was encountered 

 before the solid geology of the hill was reached. This calcareous 

 talus created great surprise, and many were the conjectures as to its 

 origin. The material was mainly in a chalky condition, and as there 

 were no fossils to guide us we concluded that some chalk had been 

 brought up to the top of the hill. Then, again, remembering that 

 the foundations of the house formerly existing on the summit con- 

 sisted of dressed Purbeck stone, we fancied that a sufficient quantity 

 of Purbeck stone might have slipped down to form a talus — and this 

 seemed the more probable, as the less perished stones had rather the 

 look of a fresh-water limestone : so the theory of a Purbeck, or even 

 a Portland origin, prevailed over the original supposition of derivation 

 from the Chalk. At that stage of the investigation we never dreamt 



' Yol. cit., p. lix. 



2 These figures refer to the uumbering ultimately adopted. 



