THE DEVONIAN ROCKS OF ILFRACOMBE. 
87 
the beds containing these fossils are high up in the cliff, it is neces¬ 
sary either to take a boat to visit the beach at the foot of the hill, or 
to purchase them in the village of Combe Martin. As my time was 
limited when I visited this interesting place, I made my way at 
once to the house of a miner, from whom I obtained the specimens 
exhibited of Natica and Modiolopsis, and by whom I was taken to see 
the workings of an old lead mine at the summit of a hill 600ft. 
above the sea. At this mine various minerals are to be found, 
specimens of which are exhibited :—Mundic (as it is locally termed), 
from which arsenic may be obtained ; White-iron Ore; Sulph. Lead ; 
hornblende, or tin ; manganese. 
The new road from Ilfracombe to Combe Martin is one of the 
most beautiful that I know. It follows the line of the cliffs for the 
most part, and thus a succession of beautiful marine views may be 
enjoyed the whole of the way, whilst on the other side of the 
Channel the cliffs and hills of Glamorganshire and Pembrokeshire 
are seen in the far distance. 
In the valley of Combe Martin itself, beds of limestone, with 
corals and various Brachiopods occur, such as Stringocephalus 
Burtinii , which has given its name to these beds ; but the only 
fossils which I was able to obtain belonging to them were 
Fenestellce , &c., a slab of corals. But nearer Ilfracombe, at the 
village of Hele, I was able to obtain from a quarryman a Spirifer 
and specimens of Athyris , which occur in an impure bed of lime¬ 
stone that is now used for road metal. It will be observed that 
the valves of the Spirifer have been separated ; in fact, I believe that 
complete and perfect specimens, with the valves in their proper 
position, are not to be found. It will also be observed that the 
testis of the Atliyris has perished, and thus the striae upon the shell 
are not to be seen. At this place I also obtained a beautiful 
Cyathophyllum, the species of which I have not been able to 
determine. Near the village of Hele is Pillage Point, at the foot of 
which, on a small beach, an abundance of pebbles are to be found 
containing Devonian corals, specimens of which are exhibited. 
The beds between Combe Martin and Ilfracombe are very much 
tilted up, as, indeed, they all are in North Devon. They lie for the 
April, 1893. 
