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the seventeenth century. “ The Rev. Giles Thomborough, one 
of his Majesty’s chaplains, digging a boring for coal in Slyfield 
Green, found, first of sand and gravel 7 ft. ; then a spring ; 
within a little of that a bed of stones like square caps and 
about 2 ft. every way, on the outside whitish, within full of 
sulphur, out of which was extracted tinn by L. Smyth, of Lon- 
don, engraver. These stones are called at the coal pits at 
Newcastle, 4 catts’ heads,’ lying always (they say) where coal is. 
These catts’ heads are all full of small pipes for the mine to 
breathe through. Next under them lay a body of black clay 
for 15 fathoms ; then a rock of stone about a yard thick, which 
was very hard. Then they came to black clay again for about 
3 fathoms, and then another rock ; after that, clay mixed with 
minerals (of which Prince Kupert hath some, as also had King 
Charles in his closet, which was there placed by the Indian 
oar) ; then cockle shells, muscle shells, and periwincle shells, 
some filled with oar (out of which Prince Rupert extracted tinn 
and other things), and some filled with clay. After this sprung 
a bed of oker, 1 2 ft. thick, a kind of mother-of-pearl ; after 
that, a green quicksand. Then came coal, which how deep it 
is, is unknown, for here the irons broke : thought by Mr. W. 
Lilly (astrologer) to be subterraneous spirits ; for, as fast as the 
irons were put in, they would snap off. This is a kind of 
rocky coal (like that which they call Kennell coal) which burns 
like a candle.” Mr. Thornborough was induced to make this 
trial, because “ there was a kind of stony coal (lignite) that would 
burn, which he found by grubbing up the roots of an old 
oak in his ground there.” After spending 400£. the work was 
abandoned, to be however revived again about a century and a 
half later, in the neighbourhood of Worplesdon. 
The Wealden strata at Bexhill in Sussex consist of a series 
of sandstones, clays, and lignites, which led in 1804 to an ex- 
pensive trial for coal near that village. A shaft was sunk to 
the depth of 164 ft., and two seams of lignite, designated as 
smut coal, 2 J ft., and strong coal, 3J ft. thick, were met 
with. The reputed resemblance to coal measures was kept up 
by the use of such terms as ct church clay,” “ grey bind,” “ blue 
bind with iron ore,” &c., and the presence of a seam of clay 
with impressions of wealden ferns not unnaturally assisted the 
delusion. Fortunately probably for the company, the mine was 
drowned out, and stopped the further extension of the work. 
So recently as about thirty years since, another attempt was 
made to get up a company to establish a colliery at Worplesdon, 
near Woking, in the Bagshot Sands, and to sink a shaft to the 
depth of 1 50 ft. At that depth the projectors would have reached 
the London clay ; but it is certain that no more profitable mate- 
rial would have rewarded their outlay. Any geologist could at 
