ON THE PERHIANS OF THE NORTH-EAST OF ENGLAND. 533 



56. On the Permians of the North-East of England {at their 

 Southern Margin) and their Relations to the under- and 

 overlying Formations. By E. Wilson, Esq., F.G.S. (Read 

 June 21, 1876.) 



The main object of the present communication is to bring under the 

 notice of the Society a capital section (see figure), exposed by the 

 Great Northern Company's Derbyshire Extension line, the peculiar 

 interest of which is that it exhibits the whole series of the Permians 

 of this district, and their relations to the under- and over-lying for- 

 mations. 



The section begins at the Hempshill cutting near Cinderhill, and 

 ends at Kimberley West station. It bears, roughly speaking, north- 

 west for a mile, and then gradually curves round and bears south- 

 west, and throughout corresponds approximately in direction with 

 the dip of the red rocks exposed. 



Going west we get the following succession of strata : — 



Characteristic mottled and obliquely laminated Lower Bunter 

 sandstone (/*), about 30 feet exposed, including its lower brecciated 

 portion. The breccia, which is alternately sandy, marly, and calca- 

 reous, expands near fault No. 1, to 5 feet, including sandy inter- 

 stratifications, but locally disappears on the east, where it becomes 

 very difficult to separate the Lower Bunter from the next under- 

 lying deposit. 



The breccia contains semiangular green, blue, and purple slates, 

 more or less rounded grits, quartzites, quartz -breccia, and numerous 

 white and discoloured slabs and nodular balls of fossiliferous Carbo- 

 niferous-Limestone chert. Seeing that the yellow chert-balls are 

 the chief centres of cementation, and are deeply indented by the ad- 

 hering pebbles, it appears probable that their conversion into chert 

 took place after being deposited in the breccia. Beneath the breccia 

 comes a scries of comparatively hard red-and-yellow-mottled and 

 soft grey sandstones, becoming, after exposure, chocolate-coloured, in 

 beds 1 inch to 1 foot thick, obliquely bedded, and containing lenti- 

 cular purple marls, especially in their lower portions. The Hemps- 

 hill upcast shaft passed through 39 feet of strong red sandstone, 

 nearly all of which must represent these beds. Similar strata were 

 first noticed by myself, several years ago, in Cinderhill brickyard 

 close by, as something different from typical Lower Bunter. 



The question arises, what are these beds ? Are they Permian ? 

 are they Bunter? or are they passage-beds between the two? 

 Little importance need, I think, be attached to the breccia as a line 

 of demarcation, seeing that at Kimberley Knoll, Annesley, and else- 

 where precisely similar deposits are met with at higher levels in the 

 Lower Bunter. I would suggest that they form a connecting link 

 between the Permian and Bunter formations of this district, and are 

 the lateral equivalents of the lower portion of the Lower Bunter. 



