Tol. 69.] BEKIES OF THE SOUTH SXAFFOKDSHIRE COALFIELD. 439 



jSTo definite line of demarcation can be drawn between the beds 

 with argillaceous partings and those which are wholly arenaceous. 

 The pebbles throughout possess the same characters, and strongly 

 recall the rocks exposed at the Lickey Hills, for they consist of 

 Cambrian quartzites, Llandovery sandstones, and other rocks which 

 are associated with these in that locality. The Llandovery sand- 

 stone-pebbles are often fossiliferous, and Mr. W. Wickham King 

 has collected typical sjoecimens from them. 



There is a perfect gradation of the lower strata into the upper, 

 and I propose, therefore, to group these together under the name 

 of the Passage-Beds. Their total thickness, as seen on Mucklow 

 Hill, is probably not less than 100 feet. 



The Passage-Beds are well exposed on the summit and eastern 

 face of Furnace Hill. They dip rapidly southwards, and disappear 

 beneath brown and yellow sandstone in a cliff bordering the Paver 

 Stour below Halesowen Church. 



North of a line drawn from Furnace Hill westwards to Witley 

 Lodge only purple marls are found, and south of this line only 

 grey sandstones appear. The presence of a fault may, therefore, 

 be inferred. The published Geological Survey maps indicate a 

 small fault between Furnace Hill and Old Hawne Colliery, while a 

 fault is exposed in the cutting along the mineral railway, imme- 

 diately west of Witley Lodge. In this last exposure Espley Bock, 

 covered by purple marls, abuts against massive grey sandstones. 



Still farther west the fault may be inferred, since, at the spot 

 where the road from Halesowen to Stourbridge crosses the Lutley 

 Brook, a deep ravine, excavated in grey sandstone, occurs on the 

 left hand, while Espley Bock and purple marls are seen on the 

 right. In the ascent of the road towards Colman Hill, the marls 

 are covered by conglomeratic Passage- Beds like those of Mucklow 

 Hill ; and these, in turn, pass under the grey sandstones, which 

 occupy the higher ground. 



Opposite Corngreaves Hall, the outcrop of the Passage-Beds is 

 cut off by a small fault, but reappears at a lower level in the 

 deep gorge of the Paver Stour. From this point the outcrop runs 

 westwards through Cradley, where the Passage-Beds form the 

 steep ridge upon which the church is built. On the northern face 

 -of Homer Hill the beds are again exposed, though much reduced in 

 thickness, the pebbles being also of smaller size. On the western side 

 of the hill the beds disappear entirely. In the inclined tramway- 

 cutting at Oldenhall Colliery, grey sandstones rest directly upon 

 somewhat sandy purple marls'; and at Ham Dingle, on the margin of 

 the coalfield, the junction of the two series is of the same character. 



Wherever they occur, the Passage-Beds constitute a perfect 

 gradation from the Old-Hill Series into the Halesowen Series, 

 thus proving that the relation between the two series is one of 

 perfect conformity. The thinning-out and disappearance of the 

 Passage-Beds westwards, however, is a feature of considerable 

 importance, which should be correlated with other facts recorded 

 -on pp. 449-51. 



Q. J. G. S. No. 275. 2 g 



