14 FAUNA OF THE CORNBRASH. 



] 9. Steventon, Bourne End Bletsoe, and Rushden. — In the first two localities 

 the Cornbrash forms the base of Oxford Clay brickpits, which contain doggers of 

 large size such as occur in the south. At Rushden, on the contrary, we see the 

 underlying beds in abundance, and the Cornbrash is everywhere covered; only 

 local traces of it can be recognised by the curious matrix of its fossils. This is in 

 aspect very like the rock at Scarborough, and is sub-oolitic in character. A large 

 number of fossils were obtained while building was going on. 



20. Thrapston. — The original quarry whence most of the recorded fossils were 

 obtained is situated by the side of the Midland Railway station. It is not now 

 worked and is somewhat obscured by age. It has been described by Woodward. 

 There is now a newer quarry a mile and a half west of the town, opposite the 

 Islip furnaces, which may go by the name of Thrapston to save confusion with the 

 Islip in Oxfordshire. It shows a freshly worked face of about two hundred yards, 

 yielding the following section : 



Boulder clay — derived from the Oxford Clay. 



1. Hard brashy limestone . . -\ 



2. Loose and clayey brash, with broken shells . I 



3. Rather solid brash, with Marrocephalites . . j 



4. Softer brash, with Waldheimia lagenalis . .1 



a. Great Oolite Clay, 12 feet. 



b. Massive Great Oolite Limestone, 11 feet. 



Here no confusion between one horizon and another is possible (except in the 

 spoil heaps). It may be noted that the Macrocephalites is rather in the upper 

 portion of the five feet to which the Cornbrash is limited. 



21. Barnwell and Oundle. — On the north side of the village of Barnwell, 

 Northants, beyond the Castle, there is a quarry worked for the Great Oolite. 

 This is a massive rock, and is covered by about eight feet of blue-black clay. The 

 surface of this is bent into a low festoon, having a maximum thickness of about 

 two feet six inches, which is filled with a fossil if erous rubble of Cornbrash fossils, 

 with harder bands at the top and bottom. At Oundle there appear to be no 

 exposures of Cornbrash : the only quarry in work on the north side of the town 

 shows nothing higher than the Great Oolite Clay — the others are all grassed over. 



22. Fineshade. — In the railway cutting between Fineshade Abbey and Kings- 

 cliffe there is an excellent section giving a complete view of the succession about 

 this district, the beds dipping gently to the east : 



Feet. 

 Oxford Clay, with doggers widely separated . 40 



1. Loose, dark-coloured brash, Alectryonia abundant . 1 



2. Two courses of purplish massive limestone . . .4 

 a- Clay .... .10 

 h. Five courses of Great Oolite Limestone ... .10 



