Survey of Suffolk Crag Exposures: 1953-1959

SURVEY OF SUFFOLK CRAG EXPOSURES: 1953-1959 Appendix 2 ALL but a few of the sites listed have been inspected but there is no guarantee all remain open; a few have been noted as having been ploughed over since inspection and there may be more.

Coralline Crag Since the revision of the Plio-Pleistocene boundary at the 1948 International Geological Congress in London this deposit is the only Pliocene formation in Britain. Only remnants of this formerly more extensive deposit exist. T h e evidence of destruction consists of the great quantity of derived Polyzoan fragments (and an undoubted quantity of molluscan remains which are difficult to determine) in the Red Crag far from Coralline Crag exposures. This is particularly true of the Newbournian Zone.

It is evident the Coralline Crag represents only a marine phase of the Pliocene and not the earlier part of the epoch. This is indicated by the presence of highly mineralised terrestial and marine mammalian fossils in the Basement bed below, i.e., teeth of Mastodonts and antler bases of Axis pardinensis.

Coralline Crag exposures are few and are mostly not good for collecting.

ALDEBURCH

T h e Aldeburgh Brickworks, G . R . 452571. T h e only site regularly worked and this Coralline Crag is exceptional in consisting of 90% Polyzoan remains with Echinus woodi and calcite shells only occur.

Red Crag, fossiliferous and Baventian Clay (unfossiliferous) are also exposed.

Aldeburgh Warren, 300 yards W. of Golf House, 44505775, Rock Bed only, mainly overgrown.

Leiston Road Market Garden in old pit, 458580.

Partly obscured by talus, etc., a good site for Polyzoa and Pecten spp.

Crag Pit Farm, 459583, entirely overgrown.

T h e r e is another exposure between the Brickworks and the R. Aide, 449572.

GEDGRAVE

Gedgrave Hall, 406485. Part filled with rubbish and obscured by eiders, below the trees shells may be extracted with care.

T h e former pits at 40554860 and 40554870 are useless.

Richmond Farm, 412492. Rock bed only showing weathered bedding.

Red House, 300 yards E. of, 435547, partly overgrown. Polyzoa, Pectens, etc., Echinoderms.

Fairly rieh.

Stanny Farm, 438562, section mainly hidden under grass and weeds. It might be worth digging?

High Street, 100 yards E. of, 434552, completely overgrown.

IKEN

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Castle Pit, 418498, mostly overgrown. Much of the rock from this pit was built into the Castle.

Crag Farm, 431S23. Former farm buildings were cut out of the rock bed. Polyzoa, etc. A long section was re-opened 1953 200 yards W . of farm, 428523.

Polyzoa (fairly rieh), Echinoderms, Baianus.

Sudbourne Park, 407513. Originally a large richly fossiliferous pit now partly filled in. Part is to be preserved by arrangement. Mainly grassed over.

Shells obtainable by excavation below grass in middle. Small species in section with Polyzoa and Crustacean remains.

Road junetion, opposite Park Gate, 415518. Now planted with conifers. Rock bed section sometimes yields fossils.

Sutton Knoll, S. of Pettistree Hall, 304440.

Section of rock bed, floor of quarry mainly overgrown, sandy zone below turf richly fossiliferous.

Section near cottages, 30554405, re-opened 1953, partly obscured by nettles.

Tattingstone Hall Farm, 14253735. Coralline Crag not normally exposed. An excavation below floor of Red Crag pit had comminuted shell cemented with calcite.

Red Crag T h e R e d C r a g , f o l l o w i n g t h e revision of t h e P l i o c e n e - P l e i s t o c e n e b o u n d a r y in 1948, c o n s t i t u t e s t h e e a r l i e s t s u r v i v i n g d e p o s i t of t h e latter epoch. T h e c o n t e m p o r a r y m a m m a l i a n fauna indicates this m a r i n e s e r i e s p r o p e r l y b e l o n g s t o t h e first i n t e r g l a c i a l .

T h e high sea level t o g e t h e r w i t h e r r a t i c m a t e r i a l in t h e B a s e m e n t B e d s u g g e s t t h e first g l a c i a t i o n (of t h e A l p i n e series) w a s a p r e - R e d C r a g e v e n t . I t is p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e d e r i v e d C o r a l l i n e C r a g m o l l u s c a g a v e a n e r r o n e o u s p e r c e n t a g e of e x t i n e t a n d r e c e n t species.

ALDEBURGH ALDERTON

Aldeburgh Brickworks, 452571. T h e only regularly worked crag site. Sand rieh in Lamellibranchs with occasional echinoids and dolphin vertebrae.

Buckenay Lane and Farm, corner of lane, 348422, largely overgrown with nettles. On the W. side a 12 inch shelly bed occurs half way d o w n section.

Large bivalves.

Field N. of lane, 356424, a 10 feet section of exceptionally shelly crag rather hard and specimens difficult to extract.

Pit 400 yards S.E. of farm, 359419, poor and may have been ploughed over.

Duke's Lane, 500 yards N.E. Alderton House, 329412. Pit S. side of lane. Section kept fresh by removal of occasional loads. Rieh in mollusca and Echinocyamus pusilus.

Grange Farm, opposite, 338417, shallow section not rieh.

Opposite Duke's Lane, 334418. Mainly overgrown.

331431, shallow and overgrown.

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BAWDSEY

Red H o u s e F a r m , E. side of field at rear, 348405.

Ploughed over.

Bawdsey Cliff, 3438. T h i s sea cliff remains t h e finest Red Crag exposure. Before the formation of a shingle beach between 1938 and 1945 cliff falls kept sections fresh b u t the storm crest now prevents erosion a n d a talus obscures m u c h of the cliff. T h e best exposures are at t h e S. e n d . Fossils a b u n d a n t , mollusca, vertebrate remains, etc.

BATTISFORD

Pit o n Valley slope opposite Hascot Hill, 061538.

Pebbly deposit constituting beach of Red Crag Sea at 150 feet O . D . indicating a high sea level. Base not exposed but deposit exceeds 11 feet, only casts of mollusca in u p p e r part b u t increasingly fossiliferous below 7 feet. E n c r u s t i n g species of Polyzoa on stones.

Valley F a r m Pit, 058535. Partly overgrown, y o u n g trees. Pebbly deposit, no fossils noted. ( K e y m a y be borrowed at farm.)

BEALINGS, L I T T L E

N . bank of stream, Kesgrave b o u n d a r y , Hall & Co.'s pit, 227463. Lower part of Red C r a g so highly ferruginous it f o r m s a soft sandstone in which fossils are represented by impressions.

Site now used as tip by Ipswich Corporation.

BELSTEAD

G u s f o r d Hall, 141425. U p p e r part decalcified and poor shelly crag below fioor of pit. Crag rests on Reading Clay. Site obliterated and built over.

BENTLEY

F a r m y a r d , near Station, 122367. T h i s formerly useful section is overgrown and obscured by a fall.

Latterly it proved poor.

All other exposures badly overgrown.

BLAXHALL

Pit 250 yards S.E. Beverlev railway crossing 361579. W o r k e d d u r i n g 1954. Decalcified C r a g below gravel apparently increasingly shelly below floor of pit.

BOYTON

386475, Pit in Red Crag, overgrown.

BRAMFORD

B r a m f o r d Chalk Pit, 130482. Unfossiliferous (shellless) C r a g Sand. T h i s site has p r o d u c e d Cervus (Ctenoceros) falconeri and C. tetraceros, Ursus cf. arvernensis, beaver and cetacean remains, all c o n t e m p o r a r y fossils.

Old Brickyard Pit, 131476, a b a n d o n e d 1940, overgrown. Basement bed of C r a g only.

Mammalian fossils as above.

BRIGHTWELI.

Hillside Pit, 25054305. Very red Crag, decalcified b u t shelly below floor of pit. Enlarged for new road. Sand taken to Felixstowe D o c k .

Brightweli Hall, 251435, overgrown.

BUCKLESHAM

400 yards N . N . W , of Hill F a r m , 26454165. grown.

BUTLEY

N e u t r a l F a r m Pit, 372511. T h i s large pit is mainly overgrown b u t a section at t h e E. end remains owing to removal of occasional loads. Richly fossiliferous. T y p e section of Butley zone.

Over-

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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 15, Part 4 Mill Lane Pit and Butley Mill Pit, 381514 and 386516. Both overgrown, shells formerly thrown out from rabbit scrapes, the latter now used for chickens.

Priory Pit, 371495. Shelly Red Crag not rieh in species. Re-opened 1956 and the removal of much crag sand made this one of the deepest inland sections.

385505, S.E. of Lower Farm. Overgrown as are all the former small pits which have not been ploughed over.

Blythburgh

Union Farm, 445759, 441757, and 445755, all overgrown but are said to be Worth excavation.

N O R W I C H Crag.

Heathland E. of A12, 448745 and 448748, the latter overgrown. T h e former re-opened 1955, cetacean vertebrae have been found in sand. (Unmineralised bone.)

In the first Survey Memoir, Whitaker was unable to decide if the deposits were Crag or Glacial.

Recent observations and discoveries prove Westleton Beds above Norwich Crag. T h e r e are no mollusca. An elephant scapula has since been found here.

Chillesford

Orford Lodge, 900 yards W. by S., 39155075 and 390508. Shelly Red Crag, top deealeified. Partly grassed over.

Church F a r m Pit, 383522. Chillesford Beds on Red Crag. Both beds fossiliferous.

Dovercourt, Essex

No permanent exposure. porary sections.

Falkenham

Sink Pit, 29653895 and 296394, completely overgrown. T h e Archidiskodon meridionalis teeth in the Ipswich M u s e u m are from this parish; also the tusk (5 feet 9 inches long)? T h e upper part is deealeified.

Ham's Farm, 286387. T u r f e d over.

Felixstowe

ClifT E. of Spa Pavilion, 638346 behind Cliff House.

Typical shelly Red Crag where not obscured by walls and gardens.

Council Pit, 295349. Filled up. Crag exposed in the railway cuttings at times.

Foxhai.l

Miniature Rifle Range, 200 yards N . W . Monument Farm, 22304335. Shelly Red Crag part deealeified.

Good shells occur. N o w in poor condition. (No trespassing.)

22254335, partly overgrown, shelly.

Foxhall Hall Pit. Entirely obscured. Notable as site of discovery of the Foxhall h u m a n jaw, 1855.

Purdis Farm, 217431, partly obscured by talus and Vegetation. Section S.E. side but N . under talus apparently richer.

217433, possibly worth excavating u n d e r talus.

Hemley

200 yards S. of church, 286422, overgrown.

Ranglin's Pit, N. of Reddenpit Hill, 278426, overgrown.

May be seen in tem-

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HOLLESLEY

Virtue's F a r m , 34054340 ( S S S I ) . Typical Red Crag, very shelly b u t not a rieh fauna.

Pits S. of Boyton Hall, 38254615, shelly b u t overgrown.

Hollesley Bay Colony, by entrance, 366449, said to be a good exposure, shells mainly broken.

D u m b Boy Cottages, 364441, pits with trees and nettles.

W a l n u t T r e e F a r m , 34604435, pit now used as stackyard, section entirely obscured. T h i s was once an excellent site.

34454365, S. side of Alderton Road, small exposure with shells.

IFSWICH

Beggar's Hollow—Valley between Clapgate L a n e a n d L a n d s e e r Road, 17954210. W a t e r bearing crag with a very rieh fauna. M u c h derived Coralline C r a g debris. T h i s site is b u r i e d u n d e r a r e f u s e dump.

G y p p e s w y k Hall Pit, 152435, site now p a r t of Council Estate. Shelly Crag.

Cliff Brewery, 171430, site not accessible.

This Red C r a g is actually inclusions of crag in glacially d i s t u r b e d deposits.

H o g h i g h l a n d , 169424, deealeified sand only.

Dales Brickfield, 155465. Unfossiliferous crag sand. N o t e d for J. Reid M o i r ' s investigations for evidence of p r e - C r a g M a n . Site obliterated for building 1959.

MARLESFORD

300 yards N . E . of Station, 324575. crag sand.

NEWBOURNE

Large Pit, 275433, completely overgrown.

Type section of N e w b o u r n i a n Zone.

L i m i t e d section in cottage garden below church.

Street F a r m , 276431, is now a poor section.

ORFORD

R a y d o n Corner, 425250, shelly Red Crag partly overgrown.

RAMSHOLT

Peyton Hall, three overgrown pits, 318414, 314414 and 311414.

R a m s h o l t C h u r c h , 400 yards W . of, in wood, 303422. Rieh crag fauna. Part h i d d e n by talus.

Ramsholt A r m s I n n , 306415. River cliff mainly h i d d e n b u t sometimes exposed; exceptionally shelly in parts.

RAYDON

W . e n d of W a d e ' s Lane, Barrow Hill. crag at b o t t o m of section, unfossiliferous.

RENDLESHAM

H i g h H o u s e F a r m , 200 yards N . of, 327538. Roadside section mostly overgrown. A p p a r e n t l y c o m m i n u t e d shells. Occasional loads removed.

SHELLEY

Shelley Hall, 50 yards W . of, 02703825. Shelly Red Crag, section said to be clear u n d e r trees. T h i s site is across the Valley f r o m Barrow Hill.

SHOTTISHAM

700 yards S . W . of Hall, 312432. m o s t southerly fossiliferous.

Unfossiliferous

Possible

G r o u p of pits,

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BUCKLESHAM

Valley Farm Pit, 115433. Thick deposit of mainly white sand with rare sand casts of univalve molluscs, passing down into typical shellv Red Crag a little above water table. Similar white sand occurs behind Hollesley Garage and to a greater extent in Creeting Sand Quarries.

247383. Reputed to be one of the first pits opened. It was worked to 1956. A rieh fauna difficult to extract. Plentiful derived Coralline Crag debris.

T h e Grove, 154345, a small exposure in the garden has been ruined by fowls.

Jordan's East Street Chalk Pit, 879476. T h e most westerly Crag section known. It is very red and the shells are brittle. At the W . end of the quarry the crag is exceptionallv ferruginous and unfossiliferous.

Sutton Hall, three pits N . W . of, 303453-5. Comminuted Red Crag. Overgrown.

Pettistree Hall, pit near barn toward river (Pit "C" of Prestwich, "Chicken Pit" of some collections).

30204395, mainly overgrown with eiders, a small area workable at far end, richly fossiliferous. Red Crag with blocks of Coralline Crag.

Cliff Farm, 285461, mainly overgrown, some shells.

Pettistree Hall, 30554395, large pit S.W. of cottages, Pit " D " of Prestwich, the "Bullockyard Pit".

Overgrown but very shellv if excavated.

Little Sutton Hoo, 2856895, the good section of 1939 has been completely overgrown.

Tattingstone Hall, 143374, the former deep section is largely hidden by talus. Shelly strata contain Mya, Glycimerus, Cardium, and Neptunea.

Crag Pit Farm, 133379, this once useful pit has been used as a dump.

Roadside pit S.W. of White Horse Inn, 1327538050.

A shelly pit completely overgrown.

Crag Hall, abandoned and overgrown.

Capel Hall Pit, 288374, a fairly deep section partly overgrown. Shells said to be fragmentary.

Deep pit N.E. of churches, 282373, shelly crag m u c h overgrown. Polyzoa on Lamellibranchs.

Noted for discovery of antlers of Megaceros verticornis. Chalk pebbles occur.

Cordy's Lane, 50 yards N . W . of. Red Crag overgrown with bracken. Shelly.

Wherstead Hall, 168405, completely overgrown.

Thorington Hall, the former pit has been ploughed Near Water Mill (Lower Hacheston), 309570.

Mainly deealeified crag sand with occasional decayed remnants of shells; may be more fossiliferous in lower bed. Sometimes loads of sand are taken.

Partly overgrown.

Near Heath Cottages, Woodbridge Road, 255410.

Partly overgrown pit mainly unfossiliferous but some shells in lower part.

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Norwich Crag N o r w i c h C r a g is a t e r m c o m m o n l y u s e d f o r t h e n o r t h w a r d e x t e n s i o n of t h e C r a g S e r i e s f r o m A l d e b u r g h .

L a r g e a r e a s of t h i s c r a g a r e u n f o s s i l i f e r o u s b u t b e d s of m o l l u s c a o c c u r i n p l a c e s .

T e r r e s t i a l m a m m a l i a n r e m a i n s o c c u r m o r e f r e q u e n t l y t h a n in t h e R e d C r a g a n d t h e y differ characteristically in t h e i r fossil c o n dition.

O n l y species well k n o w n f r o m t h e C r o m e r Forest Bed series are f o u n d .

COVEIIITHE

A small section, S. of the m a i n cliff, w h e n exposed yields shells and occasional m a m m a l i a n fossils. It is the only crag site to p r o d u c e a tooth of " S a b r e toothed T i g e r " . 810526.

DUNWICH

Cliff, 479680-705. S a n d y beds with lenticles of stones pass d o w n into fossiliferous beds below beach. W h e r e n o t covered with Lowestoft Till, Westleton m a r i n e pebble beds rest conformably on the sands. Antlers of crag deer have been collected f r o m an exposure of the lower crag d u r i n g a storm.

E A S T O N BAVENT

Cliff, 515775-790. T h i s section changes frequently owing to falls and resulting talus. W h e n clear sands with gravelly beds are to b e seen above a rieh molluscan Zone at t h e base, this is sometimes h i d d e n b y shingle. T h e site is noted for m a m m a l i a n

SIZEWELL

Rifle Range, several overgrown pits, a small exposure n e a r t h e 100-yard firing p o i n t is richly fossiliferous.

T h e f a u n a is unlike that usually f o u n d in N o r w i c h Crag. T h i s interesting site m a y be endangered by the proposed A t o m i c power Station.

WALBERSWICK

T h e r e is no exposure b u t N o r w i c h C r a g m a m m a l i a n bones are cast ashore d u r i n g storms.

WESTLETON

Westleton. T h e type section of t h e Westleton Beds is not n o w worked, t h e site has been m a d e tidy. Excellent sections r e m a i n . Fossils are of t h e greatest rarity.

T h e W e s t l e t o n Beds extend N . to Reydon, S o u t h w o l d ; S. to M i n s m e r e and W . to b e y o n d H o l t o n , Haiesworth. T h e y occur at H e n h a m , 459782, and at W e n h a s t o n C o m m o n . Sporadically M a m m a l i f erous in places.

T h e f e w mollusca recorded suggest this deposit is p a r t of t h e N o r w i c h Crag. T h e M a m m a l i a n fauna is identical.