1869.] MACKINTOSH LANCASHIRE AND CUMBEELAND DRIFTS. 411 



c. Eagherg "ItocJcery.'' —In the Eagberg cliffs, Dorth of Uncle 

 Tom's Cabin, both the laminated sand and pebble -beds have here 

 and there become consolidated into rock as hard as some kinds of 

 millstone-grit*. Owing to the formation of rain-rnts on each side 

 and the washing away of the looser matter underneath, fragments 

 of the sandstone or conglomerate become undermined and fall down. 

 In their descent they either reach the beach or become entangled in 

 the facing or talus of fallen clay. In the latter case they project 

 from a temporary matrix of soft or loose matter, in which they are 

 believed by the country people to have grown. The harder laminae 

 of sand and layers of pebbles project beyond the softer parts, giving 

 rise to fantastic shapes. In their merely fallen state they are, I 

 believe, of comparatively little value ; but when they are reached by 

 spring tides, and smoothly rounded by the waves, they are highly 

 prized as ornaments to enclosures in front of houses &c. They some- 

 times resemble certain styles of architecture, the gothic arch and 

 window included, and often mimic the table and smith's anvil. They 

 are believed to become harder by exposure to the sun. About 

 half a mile (some say a greater distance) from the present cliff-hne a 

 very large split block, called Pennystone, may be seen, at the lowest- 

 water mark. It is a mass of consolidated middle drift, much too 

 large, it is believed, for the sea to displace. It is supposed to lie in 

 the spot where it fell from the then- existing sea-cliff, and is looked 

 upon as an evidence of the removal of half a mile of Eagberg hill 

 by the gradually encroaching sea since the days of Edward II. Near 

 it there is a smaller stone called the Carlin or Witch-stone; and both 

 stones are referred to in the following traditional couplet : — 



Penny stood, Carlin fled, 

 Red bank ran away f. 



Except during exceptionally high tides, the sea does not now 

 encroach on the " Red bank." 



d. Lotver Boulder-clay and Loam. — I have traced this formation 

 under high-water level from a point nearly half a mile south of the 

 New Pier to more than half a mile beyond Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 

 most places it is temporarily, in some places perhaps permanently co- 

 vered with recent sand and shingle ; but it exhibits larger or smaller 

 areas which at any time may be seen swept clean of all loose mate- 

 rials. Near the coast, where its surface slopes a little seaward, it 

 resembles a hard artificial concrete pavement. Further out at sea, 

 and at a lower level, its character is varied. The following notes 



^ It is interesting in connexion with this fact to notice that Mr. Gr. Maw has 

 observed hard blocks of consoHdated sand and gravel occurring at a certain level 

 though not in a connected band, in the drift intervening between the chalk and 

 (Upper) Eoulder-clay of the high ground of Suffolk (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 

 Jan. 23, 1867). This consoUdated sand and gravel is probably of the same age 

 with that at Blackpool. 



t Tor this information I am indebted to the Eev. Mr. Thornber, of Blackpool, 

 a well-informed antiquarian. Eed bank signifies the drift-cliff reddened by the 

 facing of Upper Boulder-clay, which is continually falhng down and obscuring 

 both the middle sand and gravel and Lower Boulder-clay. 



VOL. XXV. PART I. • 2 ^ 



