THE SYENITES OF SOUTH LEICESTERSHIRE. 
11 
felspar. The height of the edge of this quarry I found by 
aneroid to be 320 feet above the sea. 
Making now towards the windmill, some shallow excava¬ 
tions, the “ Parish pits,” are seen by the roadside. A little 
further on, on the left-hand side of the road, is “ Lovett’s 
Pit,” leased by Mr. Marston ; it is almost full of water, but 
we note that some of the stone has a strong reddish tint. 
Crossing a field on the opposite side of the road (in which 
many Boman relics have been found), Cauver Hill Quarry lies 
at our feet. “ Cauver Hole” would be a better name for 
the spot, for the little knoll has been quarried away, and the 
workings are now some 20 feet below the surface. Here we 
noticed a remarkable rounded mass of coarsely crystalline felspar 
(red) and quartz, which had been found enclosed in the syenite. 
Cauver Hill contains the “ syenite nearest to London;” 
it is the most southerly exposure of these old rocks. Betracing 
now our steps, we pass through Sapcote village, and pro¬ 
ceed towards Stoney Stanton. As we near the latter village 
we find an extensive opening called “ Stanton Top Pit,” on 
the right-hand side of the road. It is separated from Stanton 
village by a narrow but rather deep valley. Stanton itself is 
mostly founded on the bare rock—a circumstance which, 
from the value of the stone, may very likely in time to come 
lead to a removal of at all events some of the houses. An 
observation with the aneroid showed the top of the “ Parish 
Pit” to be 330 feet above the sea. Here there are four open¬ 
ings or pits:—(1) Wood’s Pit, immediately adjoining the 
roadside, and of very limited area; (2) the Parish Pit, lately 
purchased by the Mountsorrel Granite Company—(these two 
pits stand on a little eminence called Carey Hill); (3) Stanton 
Bottom Pit (or Clent Hill Pit), where red marl is again seen, 
overlying the syenite ; and (4) Varnam’s Pit, at the back of 
the Blue Bell Inn. 
From Stoney Stanton we can return either to Elmestliorpe 
or Croft Station, each being less than two miles distant. 
5. Barrow Hill .—This point lies about the same distance 
on the north side of the railway from either of the two 
stations we have just mentioned that Stoney Stanton does on 
the south side, and is one and a quarter mile south-east of 
the village of Earl Shilton. A farmhouse and a windmill 
stand on the low rise of ground, which hardly deserves the 
name of hill. The highest point I found by aneroid to be 
395 feet above sea-level. The rock is exposed in numerous 
shallow deserted workings near the mill, and again in a 
“ parish pit” a little further east. The colour of the stone 
varies from a light grey to a decided pink. 
(To be continued.) 
