Hull Geological Society

[Report of field meeting] September 8/88 Hull Geological Soc. Excursion to Hornsea.

[Transcriber’s Note – this is the original version with its original spellings and lack of paragraphs. There are pencil alterations in a different hand that this transcription has ignored. At the time local geologists were keen to find and define Tertiary age rocks in our area; we now know that they are all Quaternary. ]

Hornsea. Saturday September 8^th 1888.

We left the Paragon Station at 1-25 and an hours ride brought us to Hornsea, from which place our intention was to inspect the cliffs as far as Skipsea, but once on the sands our company was dispersed, some down at the waters edge gathering seaweeds and shells, others doing nothing but enjoying the sea breeze: some of them were young geologists, out almost on their first excursion and did not know what a treat was before them in the tertiary cliffs on our left; perhaps the finest section of the tertiaries in the kingdom; beginning at Spurn with the London Clay (Eocene) and at Whithoe Hole (Skipsea) post-tertiary; I do not say that all the series are to be found from the beginning of the Eocene to the port-Pliocene but many of them are between those two places. Let us try to describe the cliff in one place, as an example of some miles which differs in height as in composition. About half a mile north of Hornsea the cliff is about 30 feet high, the lower half is the result of glacial action and nothing is easier to determine, you may tell it at some yards distance by the colour, it has a grey cold look, a great part of it is small mixed with “sundaries”, boulders, from half a ton in weight to half an ounce, gravel, sand, consisting of granite, winstone, lias, chert, flint and chalk (red and white); and chalk is in the majority; in some places you may see a very thin layer of powdered chalk which has been ground by the movement of the frozen mass and run off until it has found a resting place just the same as whiting is manufactured at the present time; above this is some six feet of clay, pretty clear of pebbles (would make bricks) and has been deposited by a large river or estuary, such as the Humber is laying up more on both banks. Above this is a band of about eighteen inches thick of river deposit, consisting of sand and well rounded pebbles, mostly chalk, and all impregnated with iron. Above this is about 6 feet of clay pretty clear of stones and would make bricks; this must have been deposited by a large river or estuary what the Humber is now depositing and has left in the neighbourhood of Hull, Marfleet, Newholland & Barton. Above this rests some two feet of sand and gravel, and over that about four feet of soil mixed with sand and gravel. ___ This is one section taken vertically and shows planly that the land has been subjected to many changes; if you move a hundred yards north or south you will still find it variable all along the coast, here a lacustrine deposit, there a peat bog, then boulder clay and to you come to Skipsey Gap where the cliff is not four feet high and is a bog or has been; you may take the branches, leaves and seeds out of the face of the cliff. We found one had time to get to Skipsea so at Atwick we ascended and retraced our steps on the top of the cliff which was not altogether uninteresting, for there were many heaps of boulders which had been raised for road mending purposes (the beach supplies a large quantity) hammers were quickly at work and so we redeemed the scattered and straggling appearance we showed on the sands and got into something like a complete body we could talk to each other and I had many more questions asked than I could answer, for everyone wanted to know what every stone was composed of and where it had come from, besides I was very busy gathering a winter stock of Plantago major which grows very bold and plentiful on the footpaths, for my birds. In about an hour we were back again at Hornsea by twilight with time for refreshment, but I cannot recommend Hornsea ale.

Geo. Silabon.

[Transcribed by Mike Horne, September 2026]

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