THE GEOLOGIST 



JTNE, 1858. 



THE lEOKSTONE EOEMATIOi^ OE THE EOEEST OF DEAK; 

 WITH A SKETCH OF THE GEISfERAL GEOLOGY AND 

 INDUSTEIAL HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT. 



By De. J. "W. "WatsOxV, F.G.S. 

 It is an old remark, that much of the prosperity attending the manu- 

 facture of iron in Great Britain has resulted from the circumstance that 

 the ore, the fuel, and the flux are mostly associated minerals in the 

 same locality; and, although this is typically true as regards the 

 mineral basin which forms the subject of the present article, it is some- 

 what curious that, in all probability, the discovery of the fuel in this 

 instance dates much posteriorly to the employment of the ore, so that 

 iron-making had become an active branch of industry in this district 

 long prior to any of the numerous seams of coal being worked ; and, 

 what is equally likely, before even their existence was known. If we 

 look into any of the early histories of Gloucestershire, we find that, 

 while abundant mention is made of the iron-mines and the smelting 

 furnaces, no notice whatever is afforded of the coal, fully warranting 

 the supposition that the discovery of the deposits had not then been 

 made. It will, perhaps, form an interesting preface to this paper, if, 

 in connection with this latter circumstance, before entering upon the 

 geological and lithological features of the ironstone formations, which 

 are special and of the greatest interest, I give a sketch of the commer- 

 cial history of the locality, past and present. 

 In tracing the progress made in the metallurgy of iron in this coun- 



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