GREAT OOLITE: MINCHINHAMPTON. 279 
Fx. IN. 
in places. Purpuroidea near 
base in bottom layer. [Plank- 
ing] - - - -80 
4. Parting with Lima cardiiformis. 
3. False-bedded white shelly oolite 
[= Soft white stone]- 4 to 6 
{2. Current-bedded stone with 
shelly layers and comminuted 
shells, Lima, &c. [-Weather- 
stone and Shelly Beds] 12 to 15 
Fullonian - - 1. Clay (not seen). 
According to Morris and Lycett the stone-beds to which they apply the 
general terms of " Shelly Beds " ar.d " Weatherstone series," here rest on 
the Fuller's Earth " without any appearance of Stonesfield Slate ; " they 
add however, that " as a general rule, throughout the district, the Great 
Oolite, near to its base, has one or more beds, which possess all the 
essential characters of Stonesfield slate " ;* and this fact is noted by Prof. 
Hull, who observes that "At the base of the Great Oolite, along the 
margins of Stroud and Nailsworth valleys, a few inches or feet of brown 
sandy slates with partings of clay may frequently be observed.""]" 
Bed 2 in the above section is now known to the quarrymen as the 
Weatherstone. It corresponds with beds C., D., and E. of Lycett' s section, 
which he divides as follows : 
FT. IN. 
C. Soft yellowish oolite, much false-bedded ; numerous 
holes bored by Lithodomus. Known to the work- 
men as Oven Stone. The softness enables it to be 
sawed into ridge -tiles and copings for walls. It is 
termed " Soft Shelly Sandstone " by Morris and 
Lycett- - - - - - - 6 
D. Weatherstone, in two or three beds, full of shells, 
Ostrea, &c. - - - - - -60 
E. Basement-bed, with Ostrea - -04 to 09 
Bed 3 is the soft pale calcareous oolite with occasional sandy partings 
(Bed B. of Lycett), described, I know not why, as " Thin-bedded yellowish 
sandstones " by Morris and Lycett. Astarte angulata occurs here ; and 
Ostrea, Tancredia, and other shells are abundant towards the base. The 
ttfickness noted by Lycett is 10 to 14 feet. 
Bed 5 corresponds with the main mass of Planking (Bed A. of Lycett), 
in which he obtained a large number of organic remains. AmoDg these 
are Ceritella, Cerithium, Cylindrites, Natica, Nerincea, Nerita, Patella, 
Pileolus, Purpuroidea, Trochotoma, Trochus, Turbo, Area, Gervillia, Lima, 
Limopsis, Ostrea, Pecten, Sphcera, Tancredia, &c. together with fragments 
of Echinoderms, Corals, Crustacea, Fish-remains, and Lignite. 
Cephalopoda, Brachiopoda, and Mollusca of the Mya-group are stated to 
be rare. Specimens from Minchinhampton of Ammonites subcontractus, A. 
arbustigerus, A. Waterhousei, and A. bifiexuosus, are preserved in the 
Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge. The occurrence of Pholas oolitica 
has been noted at Minchinhampton and Bisley Commons.^ 
Speaking of the Weatherstones, Morris and Lycett state that "The 
shelly relics often constitute a considerable proportion of the whole mass ; 
they are converted into crystalline carbonate of lime, which frequently 
fills the interior of the univalves ; and it is to the abundance of this 
mineral, disseminated everywhere, that the weatherstones owe their 
superior durability upon exposure to the atmosphere. As a general rule, 
therefore, the beds which contain the greatest abundance of shells are 
those which are most fitted to resist the action of frost ; water percolates 
* Gt. Oolite Mollusca (Palseontogr. Soc.), p. 4. 
t Geol. parts of Wilts and Gloucestershire, p. 12. 
j Lycett, Cotteswold Hills, pp. 93, 94 ; and Proc. Cotteswold Club, vol. i. p. 17 
Morris and Lycett, Mollusca of the Great Oolite, pp. 3, &c. 
