134 
CIIILLESFORD CLAY, 
There is nothing in the list to fix the age of the deposit, though 
Tellina balthica is missing. At this spot the underlying Crag 
disappears beneath the sea-level for some miles, and we can no 
longer ascertain the total thickness of the Chillesford Clay, except 
by boring. 
The coast-line is now occupied by Alluvium and by Easton 
Broad for about a mile, but this gap is largely bridged over by 
outcrops along the borders of Easton valley. Good sections are 
visible at the Frostenden and South Cove brickyards, though in 
neither pit is the base of the Clay reached. 
In Covehithe Cliff the Chillesford Clay has been exposed 
continuously for about a mile. It is described by Mr, Whitaker 
as loams with occasional sands,” and in one place he notes'^'' some 
curious contortions which seem to be cut off by bedded sands 
also belonging to the Chillesford Series. 
There Is now another gap of about two and a half miles, only 
partially bridged over by inland outcrops. At the northern end 
of Covehithe Cliff the Clay can be followed continuously round the 
edge of the small valley to within half a mile of Benacre Church. 
Another doubtful patch has been mapped north of Benacre, and 
loamy clay has been dug to a depth of 10 feet north-east of 
Flenstead Hall Farm. On the north side of the valley Mr. Blake 
has found a small outcrop on the border of the marsh south-west 
of Kessingland Church. 
We now enter the district in which the fresh-water and 
estuarine beds known as the Cromer Forest-bed undoubtedly 
appear; but before continuing the description of the Chillesford 
Clay in the Kessingland and Pakefield cliffs, it will be advisable 
to allude to the divergence of opinion which exists as to the 
relation of these deposits to each other. Mr. Blake considers 
that the Chillesford Clay alternates with the Forest-bed series, 
and he identifies with the Norwich Crag some gravel with 
mammalian remains, underlying laminated clays.f After a careful 
examination of the coast, and after putting down borings in 
various places, I am unable to accept this view, for the Forest- 
bed seems always to rest on an irregular channelled surface of 
Chillesford Clay or Crag, as it does near Cromer. Part of the 
clay identified by Mr. Blake with the Chillesford Clay appears to 
be fluviatile or estuarine clay of the Forest-bed, and the under¬ 
lying mammaliferous gravel is merely the base of the deposit. 
The mammalia are characteristic Forest-bed species, not Norwich 
Crag forms. This subject will be returned to in the next 
Chapter. 
At the point where the cliff recommences, at Beach End, 
Kessingland, the Chillesford beds reappear with the same 
character as at Covehithe, consisting of laminated micaceous 
grey clay and buff sand, resting on orange loamy sands with a 
few stones. The sands were so full of water that the borings 
could not be carried below the level of mean tide, but I think 
* Geology of Southwold, &c., plate, section C. 
f Horizontal Section, Sheet 128 (Geological Survey); and Explanation, Svo.; 
Presidential Address, Vroc. Norwich Geol, Sac., vol. i., pp. 137-160. 
