FIRESTONE OF SUSSEX. 
I6l< 
resolves itself into the gait beneath. The broadest 
exposure of the great body of malm rock is be- 
tween Sutton and Bury, under shelter of the pro- 
jecting hills of Uuncton and Sutton. The wells 
are from 30 to 100 feet deep, and the average 
depth of the whole stratum may be about 70 oi' 
80 feet.” From Steyning, the firestone, gradually 
acquiring greater breadth and thickness, may be 
traced along the northern edge of the Downs to 
Sullington, Amberley, Bury, Barlavington, Sutton, 
Elstead, Nursted, &c. ; it forms a terrace of con- 
siderable breadth along the eastern edge of the 
Alton chalk hills, and on it are situated Selbourne, 
Binsted, Bentley, &c.* On the southern margin 
of the Hog’s Back, in Surrey (the commencement 
of the North Downs), it is scarcely seen, but ap- 
pears at Reigate ; and may be traced by Mers- 
tham, Godstone, and through Kent, to its termin- 
ation on the coast, near Folkstone, forming a 
boundary line between the chalk hills and the 
gait which constitutes the vale of Hohnesdale. In 
some localities in Sussex and Hampshire a bluish 
chert occurs in this deposit. 
Organic Remains The firestone contains the 
same fossils as the grey marl ; and a few species 
* Mi\ Murchison, in his excellent Memoir on the Geology of the 
North-western Part of Sussex, &c. observes : “ These terraces are 
covered by a tenacious greyish white soil, celebrated for its wlieat crops. 
From the rapid decomposition of this rock the roads are worn into 
deep hollows, and in many places present sections twenty or thirty 
feet deep. The liardcr beds are used for building. The deep and 
woody glens which intersect the escarpment of the firestone, offer the 
most [)ictiires(]ue varieties of landscape.” 
