Vol. 55.] PEKMIAJS- CONGIOMEEATES OF THE LOWER SEYEEN BASIN". 97 



7. The Peemiais" Conglomeeates of the Lowee Seveen Basin-. Bj 

 W. WiCKHAi^i King, Esq., F.G.S. (Eead December 7tli, 1898.) 



[Plates XI & XII— Maps.] 



Contents. 



Page 



I. Introduction 97 



II. Distribution of the Middle and Upper Permian 100 



III. General Features of the Middle Permian 101 



IV. Grenei'al Features of the Upper Permian 102 



V. Relationship of the Upper Permian to the Ti-ias 102 



YI. Stratigraphy of the Middle and Upper Permian in 



(1) South-east Shropshire, 1 a | ;Bo^^iiis 1 ^02 



1 b Warshill 

 (2) South Staffordshire, 2 a Olent Hills 1 



2 5 Stour Valley I Ill 



2 c Warley-Barr J 



VII. Conclusions based on the Variation in the Coarseness of the 



Materials 118 



VIII. The Pebbles of the Middle Permian Conglomerates 118 



IX. General Conclusions , 123 



I. Inteodtjction. 



Between the Eiver Severn and the village of Enville in South-east 

 Shropshire, and again round the southern half of the South Staf- 

 fordshire Coalfield, there are certain bands of rocks cemented and 

 hardened by calcareous matter — namely, calcareous conglomerates, 

 cornstones, and calcareous sandstones — which constitute parts of 

 the group classified by the officers of the Geological Survey as 

 Middle Permian. The object of this paper is to trace the materials 

 composing these calcareous rocks to their sources. 



The typical Permian sequence of the Shropshire type is, according 

 to Prof. Hull, as follows, in descending order ^ : — 



(1) Upper Permian. Red and purple sandstones and marls (300 feet). 



(2) Middle Permian (130 to 500 feet). 

 {a) Trappoid breccia. 



{b) Sandstone and marl, 

 (c) Calcareous conglomerate. 

 {d) Sandstone and marl, 

 (e) Calcareous conglomerate. 



(3) Lower Permian. Purple sandstones, often calcareous, interstratified 



with red marls (850 feet). 



Murchison^ stated that at Coton and BowbiUs the calcareous 

 horizons of the Middle Permian consist of ' (a) coarse conglomerate, 

 composed chiefly of fragments of Carboniferous Limestone, generally 

 rounded ; . . . . some of them are of an oolitic structure .... (6) con- 

 glomerate, with fewer fragments of limestone, but pebbles of quartz, 



1 Mem. Geol. Surv. 1869, 'Triassic & Permian Rocks of the Midlands,' 

 pp. 13 et seqq., &descr. of Horiz. Sect. 2, Sheet 53, p. 6, 



2 ' Silur. System,' 1839, p. 48. 



Q.J.G. S. AV 217. H 



