POr.OMITTC CONOLOMUliATE OF IMUSTOL, 



211 



Wells and Slioj)toii Mallet, a (lisiaiicc of about twenty-live 

 miles, keeping on the Conglomerate nearly the whole of the 

 distance, without once leaving it. A curious instance of 

 the way in which the Dolomitic Conglomerate follows the 

 range of the Mountain Limestone, is shown at what is known 

 as the Shut-shelve, between Winscomhe and Axhridgo, 

 where the spu.r, running out from Cheddar to Compton 

 Bisliop, which has an average width of about a mile, narrows 

 suddenly on the south side to a width of scarcely a tenth 

 of that, and is followed almost completely round by the 

 ('onglomoi-ato on both sides of the ridge. Between Sand- 

 ford (up to which point the Limestone ridge from the direc- 

 tion of West Harptree follows a north-westerly direction) 

 and Winscombe there is a gap of about a mile and a half to 

 the soutli, during which the Sandford spur returns again in 

 the direction of West Harptree, with an average width of 

 little more than half a mile for a distance of about six miles, 

 returning again to the Shnt-shelve, having performed a 

 circuit of about twelve miles, although the extreme distance 

 between the points is only the mile and a half before stated. 

 The Limestone in this inlet is protected from the following 

 up of the Dolomitic Conglomerate, which bridges over tiie 

 gap of one and a half miles between Sandford Hill and the 

 Shut-shelve, spreading out in the direction of the inlet for 

 about hali' the distance, where it lies against the Old lied 

 Sandstone, which completely tills up the remainder of the 

 inlet in the Limestone, and forming what is known as Black 

 Down. One of the small gaps left in tlio circuit of the main 

 Limestone ridge of the Mendips referred to, is at the Cheddar 

 Cliffs gorge, where a gap is left, by the thinning out of the 

 deposit, of about a quarter of a mile, through which the 

 Mountain Ijimestone runs directly into the Rod Mar], on 

 which Ihe town of Cheddar stands. 



