452 HISTORY OF THE BROTIVNEY VALLEY 



HISTORY OF THE BROWN EY VALLEY. 



A Lecture delivej'ed before the Natural History Society 

 on November gth, igo4. 



By the Rev. Arthur Watts, F.G.S. 



The Browney is but a small river, some twenty miles long, 

 yet it is an ancient river, and its vicissitudes have been great ; 

 moreover it has fallen from a high estate, having once been 

 twice as long as it is now, and of more than twice its present 

 volume. Pretty as its valley still is, it was once much prettier, 

 all its features being on a larger scale, besides adding to its 

 present attractions those of lake and waterfall. 



On a far larger scale, for disregarding the lowering of our 

 hills by the denudation of long ages, we find the Browney at 

 one time cut its way at least 159 feet 4 inches deeper than its 

 present bed, and that not near its mouth but near the middle 

 of its present course, ■ at Langley Park, by Witton Gilbert 

 Station. 



Our purpose to-night is to recall some of those vicissitudes, 

 some of those vanished attractions ; to unravel, to some extent, 

 that ancient history, and through this one little valley to get 

 some idea of the whole North-East of England in byegone 

 times. 



The earlier pages of its history have gone beyond recall. 

 They date back to the Permian times when our county last 

 began to lift its head above the waters of the deep and become 

 dry land, whilst all England south of us was still deep sea. 

 Lideed the south-eastern part of Durham county was under 

 water through Triassic times; and much of our southern 

 neighbour Yorkshire remained deep sea all through Triassic, 

 Liassic, and Oolitic times, whilst its south-eastern portion 

 continued so right through the Cretaceous age, only becoming 

 dry land in quite recent times. Our county's age therefore is 

 most venerable. It has been continuously dry land from the 



