HERTFORDSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
XX111 
tinned through the park and the adjoining Rectory grounds, distant 
views of hilly woodland scenery calling forth remarks on the de¬ 
pendence of this scenery upon the geological structure of the 
country. At Sherrard’s Park Wood the Tertiary outlier already 
alluded to was encountered, a deep cutting in the line from Hat¬ 
field to Dunstable exposing a section of the Reading Beds reposing 
upon the Chalk and overlaid by boulder-clay and pebble-gravel. 
The Ayot brickfield was then entered, and a good section of the 
London Clay and Reading Beds was seen. This section, described 
by Mr. Whitaker in his memoir on the ‘ Geology of the London 
Basin/ * is as follows 
Sandy contorted pebble-gravel (at highest parts), 8 or 10 feet shown, but a 
greater thickness said to have been found. 
Brown clay, sometimes laminated, 8 or 10 feet shown, but as much 
as 14 feet said to have been found. 
Basement-bed. Brown loam, mostly with green grains; a bed of 
pebbles, about 3 inches thick, at or near the bottom, 4 to 4J feet. 
Light-coloured sand, for the most part white, but partly brown and 
buff, with thin layers of pale grey clay; false-bedded at one place. 
The uppermost 6 or 12 inches sometimes clayey and ferruginous ; 
the middle part sometimes with lines of pebbles “ mostly well 
rounded, but some not, mostly black, but some green-coated” 
( Topley ), 14 feet shown, but said to have been worked to a depth 
. of 20 feet without reaching the Chalk. 
The section was now clear to the Chalk, a depth of about 24 feet 
of sand being exposed. The false-bedding was very evident. 
After a few fossils had been found, and more had been “acquired” 
in the cottage of a labourer near, the members walked to Welwyn, 
visiting a chalk-pit on the way ; and at Welwyn a gravel-pit in the 
Middle Glacial, at about the same horizon as the one previously visited. 
Some time was then spent in the church, which is chiefly in¬ 
teresting as being the scene of the labours of Dr. Young. In the 
old rectory near by he wrote his celebrated ‘ Right Thoughts.’ 
In his time Welwyn was celebrated as a watering-place, a mineral 
spring, then considered to be of some value, rising in a corner of 
his garden, and he welcomed visitors to it and for them built an 
Assembly Room. The present rectory is on the other side of the 
Mimram, the grounds of each running down to the opposite banks 
of the river. 
In the grounds of the present rectory, where the Rector, Canon 
Wingfield, received the party, is Mr. Blow’s bee-garden, which 
was inspected under his guidance. The rectory was then entered, 
and the members of the two Societies were most hospitably enter¬ 
tained at tea by the Rector and Mrs. Wingfield, to whom a vote of 
thanks was accorded on the proposition of Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., 
seconded by Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S. 
The members then returned to Welwyn Station, having made a 
circuit from it of seven or eight miles. 
* 6 Mem. Geol. Survey/ vol. iv, p. 237. 
London 
Clay. 
Beading 
Beds. 
