26 MK. L. KICHARDSON ON THE EH^TIC OF [Feb. I9H, 



& Etheridge — no less than 115 feet of deposit, of which I surmise a 

 thickness of about 14 feet belongs to the Sully Beds. 



Lilstock section. — The last section to notice in the Watchet 

 area is that on the coast at Lilstock (Little Stoke, auctt.). From, 

 the stratigraphical standpoint it is by far the most satisfactory, for 

 the beds are undisturbed by faulting, landslides, or accumulated 

 talus. The Pteria-contorta Shales are particularly well displayed 

 and easily accessible. 



Lilstock has been mentioned by Etheridge as a locality where 

 4 the lihsetic beds are developed with great distinctness,' and he has 

 also given a diagrammatic section to show the disposition of the 

 beds in the cliffs around the little bay. 1 But, except for this brief 

 notice, the section has been hitherto ignored — probably because of 

 the difficulty of reaching it. Williton, near Watchet, is the nearest 

 railway-station, and that is about 7 miles distant. 



Having arrived at the cottage by the old and partly destroyed 

 landing-stage, the observer will notice that the first portion of the 

 cliff (immediately to the east of the buildings) is just capped by 

 the Pteria-contorta Shales ; while the marlstones of the Sully Beds, 

 being harder than the overlying shales, have resisted denudation 

 better and project, forming a prominent feature. Eastwards the 

 beds gradually descend, and continuing in that direction the observer 

 will find a place where the greatest stretch of talus occurs, and where 

 therefore it is easiest to reach the deposits at the junction of the 

 Cotham and the Langport Beds. It is here that the relationship 

 of the equivalent of the Cotham Marble to the superincumbent 

 Langport Beds can best be studied. 



Below, but a little farther east, and standing out conspicuously, 

 are the marlstones of the Sully Beds ; and yet a short space beyond, 

 is the place where the complete sequence from them to the Lower 

 Lias can be quite satisfactorily studied. 



Capping this portion of the cliff is the massive Lower Liassic 

 limestone, corresponding to the ' Bottom Lias ' of Dunball. Its 

 conspicuousness affords additional guidance to the position of the 

 section under consideration. 



Erom this point around the little bay the rocks are extraordinarily 

 faulted ; but, as the prevalent inclination is to the south, or some- 

 what west of south, it follows that by proceeding along the eastern 

 side of the bay the geologist will encounter lower and yet lower 

 deposits, until just before the Keuper and Bhaetic deposits are 

 brought into juxtaposition with the Lower Lias by means of another 

 fault, he obtains a glimpse of the true Tea-green Marls alongside 

 the fault-plane close down to beach-level. 



Returning to the main section, I will deal first with the Sully Beds. 

 They are easy to examine, well-developed, and more than usually 

 fossiliferous. Organic remains have been found as far down as 

 7 feet 9 inches below the base of the Pteria-contorta Shales, so it is 



1 Proc. Cotteswold Nat. F. C. vol. vi (1871-77) p. 39 & fig. 1. 



