228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Apr. 7 



notwithstanding the many hard blows it received, and of which the 

 marks remain on the bark. In fact, all down the valley, trees, chiefly 

 ash, have stood, where buildings have given way. It is also to be 

 observed that, although many have been uprooted, few have been 

 broken down. These results probably are due to the branches 

 having been in most cases above the reach of the flood, and to the 

 absence of foliage. 



At Digley Mill, the valley contracts to a width generally not much 

 more than sufficient for the passage of the stream, and continues so 

 for nearly a third of a mile. The mill, which was a substantial stone- 

 building, four storeys high, stood at the entrance of this pass, and at 

 the other end of it, but rather on one side, was Bank End Mill. 

 The flood swept the first mill entirely away, with the exception of the 

 tall massive square chimney, which remains almost uninjured ; whilst 

 the last-named mill is cut in two, the remaining half presenting a 

 clean open section. The ruins of these mills and the debris derived 

 from the denudation of the sloping banks of the pass are thickly 

 scattered for a distance of half a mile along the valley where it again 

 expands above Holme Bridge. The church of this village stands 

 in the valley, which is here 700 to 800 feet wide. One of the stone 

 posts placed at the entrance of the church-yard was broken in two, 

 and one part, 6^ feet long by 1^ foot square, I found at a distance of 

 150 yards lower down the valley. All the slabs on the tombs were 

 removed to distances of from 50 to 200 yards ; and this occurred 

 where the waters having spread out had lost much of their force. All 

 down this part of the valley, as far as Holmfirth, a distance of 2J- 

 miles from Digley Mill, are found pieces of a peculiar dark- grey 

 micaceous flagstone, 6 to 12 inches in length and 2 to 3 inches 

 thick, both in a rough state and in squared blocks used for building. 

 This bed crops out close by the above-named mill, and was used in 

 its construction. The rocks in this second pass consist of grits and 

 sandstones. 



At Hinchliife Mill, between Holme Bridge and Holmfirth, the 

 valley is again contracted, and at this point a row of six small 

 stone houses was entirely swept away. The height to which the 

 water rose above its ordinary level was here 26 feet. Below this 

 the valley again becomes wider, and presents for a distance of l^mile 

 a surface covered with wreck, but to a less extent than higher up. 

 The walls and fences are levelled, and some houses swept away ; but 

 the five or six mills have sustained comparatively little damage. The 

 fields are covered with gravel and fragments of rock, but none of the 

 fragments are of a very large size ; a few only may be 1 to 2 tons in 

 weight. In Holmfirth, at which we next arrive, the bridges were 

 dismantled, and several buildings levelled to the ground or partly 

 destroyed ; but most of the debris remains in situ. In the church- 

 yard, which stands rather above the river, some large flagstones were 

 however removed to a distance of from 50 to 100 yards down the 

 stream. 



Below this spot the effects of the flood are less marked. Stone 

 walls have been thrown down, some small buildings and bridges de- 



