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part 3] STRUCTUREOF 'rilE CLEVEDON--PORTISIIE&D .,tREk. 44~

1S. Tl, e GEOLOt~ICAL STRUCTURE o f the CLEVEDO.N-PORTISHEAD

A~E,~ (SoMEJ~SET). By Prof. SID~E~" Hu(~It REr.~OL1)S,
M.A., Se.D., F.G.S., and E~W:~RD GICEES-LY, [Link]., F.G.S.
(Read J a n u a r y 9th, 192~.)
[PLATE XXXIX--MAPs.~
CONTENTS,
Page
I. Intro3uction ................................................... 447
II. The Portishead-Clevedon Ridge northwards from Dial
Hill, Clevedon ............................................. 448
III, The Eastwood Ridge .......................................... 453
IV. Summary of the Tectonics of the Portishead Area ... 455
V. The Clevedon Area .......................................... 457
VI. Summary of the Tectonics of the Clevedon Area ...... 465
VII. General Interpretation of t!m Dynamics .................. 465

]. INTRODUCTION.
'TILE area described in the following paper is, in the main, a promi-
nent ridge some 4 miles long, forming the extreme north-western
portion of Somerset and stretching from Portishead in the north-
east to Clevedon in the south-west (P1. X X X I X , fig. 1). I t is
sepalated from the Clifton-Clevedon ridge hy the Gordano valley;
but, as one proceeds south-westwards, the two ridges are seen to
approach and eventually colne together at Clevedon.
The main part of tim ridge is geologically very simple, consisting
of Old Red Sandstone overlain by the Carboniferous Limestone
Series dipping south-eastwards; 1)ut at each end the structure
becomes very complicated and difficul~ of interpretation. Owing
to this fact,"it has been t h o u g h t desirable to describe the main part
of the ridge first.
The district was mapped by Sanders on the scale of 4 inches to the
mile, and the Geological Survey for the l-inch map made but slight
alteration in his lines. Little has been written, except about the
Portishead end of the ridge. This, however, was described in con-
siderable detail by Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, 1 and, as his paper deals
fully with the earlier work, it ~'ill not be necessary to repeat the
references to this subject. A r t h u r Vaughan's~ work on the
pal~eontological sequence in the Carboniferous Limestone of the
Bristol area led him to determine the horizon of the rocks at
the chief exposures throughout the district, but he did not a t t e m p t
any general explanation of the geological structure. Some accoun~
of the chief exposures will be found in the Geological Excursion
Handbook for the district by one of us (S. H. R.).
1 , Contributions to the Geology of the Avon Basin : IV--On the Geology
o!' Portishead' Proc. Bristol Naf. Soc. n. s. vol. v (1885-$8) pp. 17-30.
Q. J. G. S. vol. lxi (1905) pp. 228-30.
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z~S PROF. REYNOLDS AND DR. OREENLY: OEOLOGICAL [VO1. l x x x ,

I I . T H E PORTISHEAD--CLEVEDON RIDGE .N'ORTIIWARDS F R O M

DIAI, HInL, CT,EVEDOX. (S. H. R.)
I n the following pages the succession is described with only
sufficient detail to make the account of the structure compre-
hensible.

(a) F r o m D i a l H i l l , C l e v e d o n , to N i g h t i n g a l e V a i h : y ,
Weston-in-Gordano.
Throughout this tract, which has a length of about 8 miles, t h e
geological structm'e is very simple. The area is a ridge of Old lied
Sandstone and Carbonife~'ous rocks striking north-eastwards, and
bounded on both seaward and landward sides by t h e Triassic
conglomerate. Tongues of this conglomerate extend up the
valleys, and isolated patches occur near Walton (a,stle. Through-
out this area the Palmozoie rocks dip south-eastwards at angles
varying from 30 ~ to 60 ~ The Old Red Sandstone, which forms a
tract of high ground, covers the largest part of the ridge, the width
of its outcrop increasing from only a few yards near Clevedon
Pier to two-thirds of a mile north of Nigl;tingale Valley. The
Cleistoi)ora Beds form, as a rule, a grassy depression, the Za-
phrentis and [Link].q~'is Beds a second tract of high ground.
The Zaph~'entis Beds and the C'a,~inia Oolite are generally well-
wooded, while the lami,wsa dolomite (which is rarely exlmsed ) is
more frequently under cultivation.
The best sections arc
(1) In the neighbourhood of Walton Castle. from Castle Farm to Holly Lane.
The upper part of K~. 5, and the lower part of Z are seen immediately
east of Castle Farm, while there are exposures of CI (laminosa dolo-
mite) in Holly Lane and quarries in C1 (Ca~ti,ia Oolite)at the bottom
of the lane.
(2) At Walton-in-Gordano there is a fine section ranging from B to Z.,. The
lower beds are seen in Plumley's Quarry, the upper beds in the roadside
quarry at Walton and in the crags overlooking the road.
Several small dip-faults shift the strata, the southernmost of these extend-
ing from Ladye Bay to Holly Lane. A second affects the outcrop of the K
and Z beds north of Walton-in-Gordano, while a third occurs in Nightingale
Valley.

(b) T h e N i g h t i n g a l e V a l l e y a n d W e s t o n B i g W o o d
Exposures.
A fairly good section ranging from tile Brvozoa-Bed (horizon a)
to C 2 (Ca;li;tia Dolomite) is seen here. "A small quarry near
the road east-nmgh-east of Manor Farm exposes the Bryozoa-
Bed and the lower part of K 1. The whole of the Zaphrentis Beds,
from fi to 7, is fairly well seen in exposures by the side of the road
traversing the wood. The old quarry near the bottmn of the road
affords a fine section of the whole of tlle Canima Oolite, while the
top of the lami;~osa dolomite and the base of the Caninia Dolo-
mite (a horizon not, as a rule, exposed in the Clevedon-Portishead
area) are also seen. All these rocks dip south-eastwards at a
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part 3] STRUCTURE OF TtIE CLEVEDON--1)ORTISHEAD AREA. 449

moderate angle; but, if we pass on to the Weston Big Wood

quarries half a mile to the east, they are found to be opened in Ze
and y, lying vertical or sometimes slightly overfolded.
As regaMs the explanation of this reappearance of the Z beds, it
is clearly due ~o the rocks being folded into a syncline (see figs. 1
& 2, pp. 450-5[). Owing to the wooded character of the ground,
it is very difficult to trace the outcrops of the several bands,
although it is-possible to do so in the case of the Ca~ziJ,ia Oolite.

(c) The Fore I f i l | Exposures.

The puzzling arrangement of the rocks at Fore Hill and in the
adjacent lanes (fig. 1) has been fully described by Prof. C. Lloyd
Morgan. In the lower part of the lane south of Fore Hill (St.
Mary's Lane) dolomitized crinoidal limestone (fi or ZI) with a low
south-eastward dip is seen near Greenfield Farm. Farther up, in
the neighbourhood of Wetland's Lane, the Palmozoic rocks are
hidden by the Triassic conglomerate. Still higher up, near Cape-
nore Court, Old Red Sandstone is well exposed. At the top of the
lane, near the point where it bends eastwards, Cleistopora Beds
are seen, red limestone (perhaps attributable to the Bryozoa-Bed)
being fairly well exposed on both sides of the road.
If we pass now to the lane north of Fore Hill, the Bryozoa-Bed
is found exposed at the very top, and a little lower down greatly
disturbed reddish shale witt{ bands of sandy limestone, all repre-
sc,nting the K,, beds, occur. Slightly lower down, vertical Old Red
[Link] is seen. In both these lanes, then, sections of the base of
the Carboniferous and top of the Old Red Sandstone are seen, the
rocks lying ahnost vertically and being considerably disturbed.
The rocks are exactly on the strike of the highly inclined strata of
Weston Big Wood Quarry, and are clearly affected by a con-
tinuation of the same sharp synelinal fold. But, while at Weston
Big Wood nothing is seen below Z2, at Fore Hill the fold brings
the lowest K beds and Old Red Sandstone to the surface. This is
doubtless due to a south-westward pitch of the axis of the fold.
The limestone mass of Fore Hill remains for consideration (see
fig. 3, p. 451). It consists of t~ and Z l, and the upper strata are note-
worthy for the large amount of chert that they contain. They dip
at about 20 ~ south-eastwards, and all observers have agreed that their
position can only be explained by faulting. Prof. Lloyd Morgan
considered that the Fore Hill mass was brought by a normal fault
with a low hade ' from the limestone mass which, ere denudation
removed it, occupied its normal position over what is now West
Hill.' In view, however, of the evidence of thrust-faulting which
the district affords, a simpler explanation would seem to be that the
Fore Hill mass is analogous to that described by one of us (E. G.)
at Dial Hill, Clevedon, and is thrust forward from the south-east.
The limestone exposed in St. Mary's Lane near Greenfield Farm is
clearly part of the same mass. and it is probable that a patch of
limestone with silicified crinoids on the hillside west of Fore Hill is
also a thrust mass.
Q. J. G.S. No. 819. 2~
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452 PROF. REYNOLDS Xl~I) DR. GREENLY: GEOLOGIC/IL Evol. lxxx,

(d) Exposures in t h e N e i g h b o u r h o , : d of Woodl,ill.

After being concealed for a space by the overstep of the Trias,
the Pal~ozoie rocks reappear with the same strike at Woodhill
(PI. X XXIX, fig. 2 & text-fig. 4), whieh, as was recognized by.
previous observers, is clearly a detached portion of the main ridge.
The rock~ forming the nol~h-western limb of the fold are seen
in several old quarries, the Old Red Sandstone being well exposed
in the grounds of Fireliff, while the Bryozoa-Bed ( , ) is seen in the
~rounds o f ' The Gnoll.'
The roeks forming the trough of the fold are seen in a series of
small abandoned quarries in the fields south-west of Royal Terrace.
The southern one is in K l beds dipping at 18 ~ south-eastwards,
and containing the normal fauna ; the other quarries are mainly in
the Brvozoa-Bed (a), considerably disturbed. The soutl,-eas;tern
limb of the fold is seen in the old overgrown quarry opposite
Portishead Station. The rocks here, although eoloured as Lower

Fig. 4.--Section from Baller.~/ Point to Porli.~head Slaliml

(Section I I I in PI. X X X L 2 \ , f i , q. 2.)
N.W. S.E.
Woodhill
Battery Point
9"-" ~ 1" Portishead
...,,,ffi~l
/ - ~ ~ . . . . . . . . T. . . . . . . . . ~ ~ " ~~",~.~&.'c,c~c-_'~Rr
xax~'~-'~..,~O~.~x. S io
tat n

[Scales, horizontal : 6 inches = 1 mile ; vertical, greatly exaggerated.~

O.R.S.=Old Red Sandstone. K=CleistoporaBeds. Z=Zal)hre~tisBeds.
T = Trias.

Limestone Shale in Prof. Lloyd Morgan's real), are clearly Ohl Red
Sandstone, the dip of which at the top of the bank is 65 ~ u:est-
north-westwards, while lower down the rocks arc practically vertic~d.
The south-eastern limb of the fold is again seen in the old quarry
behind the factory near Portishead Pier Station (figs. 5 & 6, pp. 453,
45-t). At the northern end the Triassic conglomerate rests upon
beds affolxling a passage from the Old Red Sandstone to the Car-
l)oniferous, and the exposure is esl)ecially interesting from the fact
that these strata are not exposed elsewhere in the neighbourhood
of Portishead, heing hidden by alluvimn in the Woodhill Bay
Section. The Old Red Sandstone passes up into red calcareous
saudv beds and impure limestones, succeeded by the lh'yozoa-Bed,
which forms the rear wall of the main part of the quarry. At the
southern end the Old Red Sandstone overlain by Trias is again
exposed. While at the northern end of the (luarrv the rocks have
the normal but very high dip of 80 ~ west-north-westwards, farther
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part 3] STRUCTUREOF THE CI,EVEI)OI~-roR'rIStIEA-D AREA_. -~53

south an apparent dip of 80 ~ east-south-eastwards may be noted:

t h a t is, the rocks are slightly overfolded, and really dip at 100 ~
west-north-westwards.

I I l . THE EAsTwooD RID(~E. (S, H . R . ) [See P1. X X X I X ,

fig. 2, & text-figs. 4-6, pp. 452-54.~
Near the northern end of Woodhill Bay the Bryozoa Bed (,,)
is well exposed in a low cliff, and is I)rought by a reversed fault
over the upper K.~ beds, which are well seen immediately to th~
north thrown into a series of five small anticlines and svnclines.

Fig. 5.--Sketcll-map of the "neijl,boarhood of

Portishead Pier Station.

[Scale : 12 inches = 1 mile, or 1 - 5280.~

1 = Old l~ed Sandstone. 2 = Cteistopora Beds (K). 7 = Trias.

A second section of the disturbed beds in the neighbourhood

of this thrust-fault is seen in the shallow cutting at the northerl~
end of the Esplanade, and a third at the northern end of the new
road encircling t h e ' Marine Lake.' The rocks are greatly
folded and distm'bed in both the sections, which are ahnost
entirely in the Bryozoa-Bed. In addition to the thrust-fault
bringing the Bryozoa-Bed over Kz, it is clear from the dip ill the
rocks of the road-section t h a t the Old Red Sandstone is thrust
over the lower K beds (see fig. 4, p. 452).
We may now return to the foreshore section. An interval
without exposures separates the disturbe~l K z beds from Battery
Point, fonued by horizon /3. Z t succeeds t3, and these bed's
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-~5/~ PROF. REI'NOLDS AND DR. t;[Link]: GEOLOGICAL [[Link],

extend eastwards below a tongue of Trias for about 300 yards,
until they di~ppear, and the Trias forms the cliff as far as a
point a shol~ distance east of the house called ' Eastwood.' Here
Pakeozoic rocks, but in this case Pennant Sandstone, not
Carboniferous Limestone, emerge from beneath the Trias, and
extend with a northward dip as far as the neighbourhood of the
Pier. Three small patches of Pennant Sandstone appear t h r o u g h
the Trias on the foreshore, west of the main outcrop.
The prominent wooded ridge of Eastwood (fig. 6), rising steeply
to a height of about 200 feet, consists of Carboniferous Limestone,
and seems (although exposures are ver S bad) to be composed
throughout of Z
Fig. 6.--Section f~'om Portishead Pier Station beds. Except in
to Eastwood House (Section I I - i n PI. a little old quail T
X X X L I : ft.7.2). near the south-
eastern margin of
N.W. S.E the ridge, where
Eastwood the dip is about 40 ~
north , westwards,
near ~ -I- Pier the rocks ale
Ea s t w o o a : ~ t i o n
everywhere vel~i-
eal or even slightly
over'folded to the
co " ors
north.
'- I
[ Length = a b o u t 300 yards. 2
The observations
recorded above
show that the
O.R.S. = Old Red Sandstone. northern margin
K = Cleistopora Beds.
Z = Z a p h r e n t i s Beds.
of the area here
CD (should be C M ) = Coal Measures. described, from
T = Trias. Battery Point to
the Pier, consists
of Carboniferous Limestone (Z beds) fringed on the northern side
bv a strip of Pennant Sandstone, the junction between the two
rocks being concealed by the Trias. Below the Pier Hotel, how-
ever, it is clearly seen that the Carboniferous Limestone is thrust
over the Pennant Sandstone, the limestone in the neighbourhood
of the fault being verS much shattered. It is probable that, as
is indicated in the ma l) (P1. XXXIX, fig. 2), this thrust is a con-
tinuation of the northernmost of tile two that h~verse the rocks
south of Battery Point, and which there brings the Bryozoa-Bed
(a) over K s. Tile overthrust Carboniferous Limestone mentioned
above, although clearly a continuation of the mass folaning East-
wood, is reduced to a band onh, about 40 yards wide, being cut
off on the south by a second fracture, which brings it against the
Old Red Sandstone of the Pier Station. This fault continues
westwards along the southern margin of Eastwood, and it is
probable that, as is suggested in the map, it is a continuation of
the southernmost of the-two overthrusts south of Battery Point.
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part 3~ STRUCTURE OF T H E C L E V E D O N - I ' O R T I S H E A D AREA. ~55

IV. SUMIk[&RY OF T H ETECTONICS OF T H E PORTISHE,tD

h~x. (S. H. R.).
The main Clevedon-Portishead ridge is formed by the north-
western limb of a [Link] fold which extends the whole way
from Clevedon to Woodhill, Portishead. While the direction
of dip remains very uniform, the amount varies much, but is
never greater than 60 ~ The south-eastern limb of the syncline
is not seen in the south-western part of the ridge, being first
met with in the Weston Big Wood quarry (see fig. 2, p. 451).
The exposures in the lanes at Fore Hill, at Portishead Statioll,
and at the Pier Station belong to this limb. The dip of the
rocks is everywhere very much higher than in the north-western
limb. Thus, in the Weston Big Wood quarry, the dip varies
from about 80 ~ to 100 ~ In the Fore Hill lanes the rocks are
much disturbed, and the dips very high. In the Old Red Sand-
stone quarry at Portishead Station the dip is very high, and in
part of the quarry vertical; while the small quarries on Woodhill
afford evidence of consideluble disturbance. Lastly, at the Pier
Station, the dip of the Old Red Sandstone and the K .... beds is
very high, and in part of the quarry the rocks are overfolded.
Vv'hile in the south-western part of the area the rocks forming
the trough of the syncline are Syringothyris Beds, farther
north-east nothing is seen above K 1. An explanation of this may
be found by assuming a south-westward pitch of the axis of
the fold.
The south-eastern limb of this syncline forms at the same
time the north-western limb of an anticline, the arch of which is
broken through by a thrust that brings a fragment of the south-
eastern limb (the Fore Hill mass) over the north-western limb
(see fig. 3, p. 451).

The Eastwood ridge, with its east-and-west strike, remains for

consideration. The [Link] part of it is formed of Carboniferous
Limestone (Z) which at the western end (Battery Point) has
a northward dip of 55 ~ while throughout the main part of the
ridge the rocks are nearly vertical or even slightly overfolded
northwards (see fig. 6, p. 45z~). At the western end there is
clear evidence of thrust-faulting from the south, the Bryozo~-
Bed being thrust over K~ and the Old Red Sandstone over the
Bryozoa-Bed (see fig. 4, p. zk52). It is clear also that the
relation between the disturbed K beds south of Royal Terrace,
Woodhill, with their general south-eastward dip at a moderate
angle, and "the Z beds of the old quarry in Eastwood west of
Royal Terrace, where the rocks are vertical and strike east and
west, must be a faulted one. Near Portishead Pier Stztion
there must Certainly be a fault, between the Old Red Sandstone
exposed near the pla~orm and at the entrance to the old quarry,
and the Garboniferous Limestone seen on the foreshore a few
yards away to the north.
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L~ C~
C~

c~
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part 3] STRUCTURE OF T H E C L E V E D O N - P O R T I S H E A D AREA. ~57

The details mentioned above can be understood if the Eastwood

ridge is regarded (fig. 7, p. 456) as the terminal portion of the
northern limb of an anticline, over or against which the southern
limb has been thrust along the fault-line between Battery Point
and the Pier Station. The whole Portishead area would then
represent two converging anticlinal folds, each of which has its
arch broken through by a thrust from the south-east. The
junction between the strip of Pennant Sandstone bordering the
northern shore and the limestone of Eastwood is also faulted,
the limestone being seen below the Beach Hotel to be thrust over
the Pennant Sandstone.

V. TilE CLEYEDON AREA. (E. G.) ~P1. X X X I X , fig. 3.~

(a) Tile C o n v e r g e n c e of the Ridges.
The PMseozoic rocks crop out on two distinct lines of strike,
which have given rise to two ridges, each about 270 feet in
height, one running westwards from Bristol, the other south-
westwards from Portishead: the Trias-floored hollow between
them being known as tile Vale of Gordano. These two ridges
converge at Clevedon, their limestones coming together oil the
high platform east of Dial Hill.
The Palmozoic succession is complete on the nortll-western
ridge from the Old Red Sandstone to the CauiJtia Oolite (the
C(tninia Dolomite being reached near Hillside Lodge); but on
the southern ridge, although the (;'auinia Oolite is again [Link],
the Old Red Sandstone, the K beds, and the base of the Z beds
are missing. Moreover, along the curving junction from the
'Court H i l l ' to the Hill Road, in less than three-quarters of
a mile, the Z beds dip, first off Coal Measures, then off the
Ca,~iuia Oolite, then off Coal Measures again, and finally off
the (Talliaia Oolite once more. Further, on the southern side
of the line the horizon is not constant, changing from Z~ to the
upper part of Z 1 as we pass south-westwards. The width of the
Coal-Measure outcrop, too, is reduced (without rise of d i p ) f r o m
990 yards to nothing in a distance of only 590 yards. Plainly,
the convergence is a rupture, but what is the nature of that
rupture? That it is not a normal fault is at once suggested
by its curvatm'es, while the dips on both ridges (varying from
30 ~ to 40 ~, commonly about ~0 ~ are in the same generally
southward direction.

(b) 'l'he Sections at E a s t Clevedon Ga !) (fig. 8, p. 458).

Now, where the line of junction between the Coal Measures
(Pennant Sandstone) and the limestones crosses a huge gap, 240 feet
deep, in the southern ridge, which may be called ' E a s t Clevedon
Gap,' it curves back southwards as much as 170 yards. On the
wooded western crags of the Gap (known locally as S t r a w b e r r y
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~" u,i

N --'~ ........... ~I',,. o r~

--~t . . . . . . . . . . . . . k. ~
~.~ II II

~'f~ --~~
I ~ ~" ~ ~~~

N .......... ~ ~" ~ ~

o ........ "- ~
~o=~ ~o ~
9 a~z~
Z
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part 3] STaVCTURE OF THE CLEVEDON-PORTISttEAD &liE&. ~59

H i l l and B e l l a V i s t a ) , the Ganinia Oolite forms a rugged vertical

escarpment, the base of which, running down through the woods,
has curved back southwards 50 yards where it is crossed by the
upper pathway, so that for 50 yards, walking upon Coal Measures,
we look vertically up to the mass of Caninia Oolite. Fragments
of Coal-Measure sandstone occur on the steep slope at the foot
of the oolite escarpment. Manifestly, this mass of Caninia
Oolite is resting upon Coal Measures and on a plane inclined
at quite a moderate angle. The actual junction does not seem
to be exposed at present, although there are exposm-es within
2 or 3 yards on both sides of it on the upper p a t h ; but I have
an old note (written in 1887) and illustrated by a sketch, that
there was then a low section across it on the pathway showing it
to have a southward inclination of 37 ~ Looking at this great
feature (especially in the winter, when the woods are leafless)
from the other side of the Gap, the angle was found, on an
average of several measurements, to be 35 ~ from the horizontal. I
In short, it is clear that the rupture is a true thrust-plane,
and the features to which it gives rise resemble in every way
those of the North-West Highlands of Scotland. I t may be
designated t h e B e l l a - V i s t a T h r u s t - p l a n e (see fig. 8, p. 458).
The bedding of the Caninia Oolite riding on this thrust-plane
dips at no less than~65 ~ so that the beds must be truncated by
the thrust at an al~gle of 30 ~ The Coal Measures below it
undulate at angles varying fl'om 14 ~ to 35 ~ rising to 90 ~ close to
the thrust, where they are described in my old note as contorted,
and the dips now visible indicate this contortion to be a sharp
isoelinal oveffold. The Canii~ia Oolite at the thrust is traversed
by lines of mvlonitic deformation, and its texture is to a
considerable degree obliterated. This mass of oolite, which does
not reappear on the eastel~ side of the Gap, and also dies out
rapidly south-westwards, is thus a double wedge or lenticle, about
60 feet thick, the internal structures of which are inclined at a
much higher angle than that of the wedge as a whole.
The wedge of oolite, thinning down the dip, is seen to pass
under limestones belonging to the upper part of Z~, to which we
can look up vel~ically from it as we can to the oolite from the
Coal Measures. The plane whereon they rest is consequently that
of another thrust. This also does not appear to be exposed, but
its inclination seems to be a degree or two higher than that of the
Bella-Vista Thrust-plane, and it may, therefore, be regarded as
truncated by and carried forward on the latter. A few yards
farther south-east, the Z beds are seen to be crushed and traversed
by steep minor thrusts.
What, now, is the nature of the western boundary of the Coal-
Measm'es'? They end at a place where there is an abrupt change
in the direction of the steep-wooded bluff, and (dipping 22 ~ south-

I The features on the eastern side of the Gap are less pronounced ; but the
line, as traced down ~ h ~ o u ~ t l ~ s t e e p woods, indicates the same angle.
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-~0 PROF. REYN~ AND DR. (IREENLY: GEOLOGICAL [vol. lxxX.

eastwards at the foot of the bluff, east of the quarry ar O.D.

19-~'9), fail to i~ss u 1) m~ the dip over the limestones of the
Portishead-Clevedon ridge. The change of feature is, therefore,
determined by a strike-fault, which, however, cannot be traced on
towards Clev[,don, and does not seem to have a throw of more than
50 or at most I(X) feet. Quickly eseal)ing (by reason of a south-
westwar~l rise of the basal 1)lane) from this fault, the b~mndary,
marked by a pronounced escarpment, curves round on the high
1)are down, and is truncated against the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane,
for the Coal Measures (tlaeeable 1)v fragments in the ploughed
land across the road) wedge out a|)out 140 valxls beyond Park
Cottages, and have disappeared on the crag near Haml)ton House.
Manifestly, they too rest on a moderately inclined plane.
Whether, as believed by A. Vaughan and F. Dixev,~ there be
unconformity, the whole ()f the VisPan, with at)l)arent]\- the Lower
Coal Measures as well, having t)een locally remove}l 1)y inter-
Carboniferous erosion, is a question that will not be discussed in
this paper. But, indel)endently of that question, there is reas(m to
SUSl)eet that the l~ase is cut out, for the lowest visible sandstones
on the wooded bluffs are buckling over, as if driven forward on a
thrust-plane. Should serious unconformity be eventually proved,
this thrust need not be of much tectonic iml)ortanee. In any ease,
the plane, whatever its nature, is overstepped hv the Bella-Vista
Thrust-plane at the l~)int indicated.
The last of the ruptures which emerge upon the wooded bluff is
()ne that determines another sudden change in the direction of that
1,1uff, at the nook of Bennett's Ripple, where tire features clearly
indicate that its inclination is south-eastward. Yet, suddenly
widening the outcrop of the C, ninia Oolite, it lllUSt be an upthro~v
to the south-east, and is therefore interpreted as a minor thrust.
There are indications that the overriding beds, which cannot be
far from the base of the oolite, and exhibit the characters of the
passage from the lamiJ~osa dolomite, are sharply ovel~olded. But
this minor thrust soon dies out south-westwards.
(c) 'Pl~e Park Road.
The l)osition of the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane can awain be tlxed
to within a few yards in a small gully of the crags below the upper
Park Road, a lit'tle to the east of Hampton House, where its angle
appears to be reduced to about 15 :. Here, having cut out the
upper thrust and overridden the Coal Measures, it is driving Z l
beds of the southern ridge ou to undisturbed C, Mnia Oolite, not
of that ridge, but of the northern ridge: that is to say, on t o a
m u c h lower tectonic horizon than that of the oolite-wedge of East
Clevedon Gap.
(d) L i t t l e h a r p and Salthouse Bays.
Minor distm'banees, such as em-vature of the strike, have long
been visible in places upon the Clevedon coast. But the stormy
Q. J. G. S. vol. lxi (1905) pp. 228, 232 ; Geol. Mag. 1915, pp. 312-16.
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p a r t 3] STRUCTURE OF TIlE CLEVEDON--PORTISHEAD AREA. ~(~1

tides of January 1920, by laying bare the foreshore in Littleharp

and Salthouse Bays, showed that the K o beds and the Clathratus
subzone of Z 1, instead of disappearing finally on the dip at the end
of the great foreshore section of Clevedon Bay (described by
A. Vaughan), are twice repeated. 1
Thus, the apparently abnormal thickness of Z beds was accounted
for, and the existence of two considerable ruptures was revealed.
The inclinations of these ruptures; which are exposed only on the
foreshore, have not been, so far, clearly observable; but on the
north side of Littleharp Bay, immediately below the northern one,
there is a belt of unmistakable minor thrusting, underlain by a belt
of sharp folding, which leaves no doubt that both of them are true
[Link]. They strike towards the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane ;
an interruption, caused by a disturbance l)resently to be described,
makes it difficult, however, to be sure of the precise tectonic
horizons.
(e) Dial Hill (fig. 9, p. 458).
This conspicuous hill, which nearly reaches the '100-foot contour,
presents a curious problem. It rises to a height of 60 feet above
the elevated platform of the Old Park, and that with singular
abruptness, being bounded on all sides by steep, sometimes even
craggy, features. Its rocks dip at about tl~e same average angle as
do those of the surrounding platform, with, however, sharp local
variations. But when, starti,g from the Z~ beds at the roadside
overlooking the Congregational Church, we proceed along the
strike, we tind that these beds, instead of ranging over the summit,
suddenly disappear at the foot of the bounding feature, where we
meet with C~t~inia Oolite, underlain by a rock which is regarded
as a crystalline modification of the la~i~wsa dolomite, although
its upper part may be a modification of the lower beds of the oolite
itself, developing iocally in the vicinity of disturbances. Precisely
the same relations reappear at Old Park House at the other end of
the hill. Further, we tlnd that the base of the unbroken laminosa
dolomite at the roadside above the Congregational Church runs
up against the same bounding feature, and disappears in like
manner. Dial Hill itself is composed of the Caninia Oolite and
lami~wsa dolomite aforesaid, save that on its north-western
escarpment a wedge of crinoidal limestone of the type eolnmon in
horizon 7 rises from beneath the latter. I t is, however, only some
25 feet thick, and not only does it wedge rapidly out in both
directions, but laminosa dolomite rises again from beneath it.
The beds on the hill, which dip at angles varying from 85 ~ to 50 ~
show signs of disturbance.
Is a tectonic interpretation of these phenomena feasible?
Plainly, as before, there is rupture ; but what is its nature ? Let
The local details of this interesting discovery have been communicated
to the Bristol Naturalists' Society. Here it may suffice to say that the
occurrence of the characteristic Z 1 faun~ and of Cleistopor~ aft. geomet~:ic~t
places the two horizons beyond all doubt.
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462 PROF. RE~ZNOLDS AND DR. Q R E E N I , Y: (}EOLO(~ICAL [[Link],

US compare the probabilities of normal faulting and overthrusting, l

For the first method we must postulate a pair of faults running
north-west and south-east in the same general direction as the
post-Triassic fault of Ladye Bay, which is about half a mile away
to the north. Now, where such faults must cut the boundaries
of the sevel~l zones and sub-zones (not to mention the base of the
Trias of the seaboard if the faults be post-Triassic), perhaps a
dozen intersections in all, those boundaries show no signs of
displacement. Nor would the faults account for the wedge of
crinoidal limestone, or for the curving boundaries near Old Park
House. Significant also is the fact that, whereas the Ladye Bay
fault ~ gives rise to a strong feature all along its course, these do
so only at Dial Hill itself,and develop no featm~s whatever in
the rest of their course. W h y should two faults cross a tract
composed of a nmnber of rocks with very different powers of
resistance, and yet produce n~) [Link] whatever except, in each
case, just at the sides of the mass which they are postulated to
explaiu ? They also raise a difficulty in connexion with the Hill-
Road-C1~g disi~urbance which will be considered later (p. 464).
Is any simpler hypothesis available ? W e know that over-
thrusting does exist in several parts of Northern Somerset, as at
Weston-super-Mare, Vobster, and Radstock; while the overthrust
at Clifton is on one of the two Clevedon lines of strike. W e now
know, too, that there is powerful thrusting less than 200 yards from
Dial Hill. The Radstock thrust, moreover, is at an extremely low
angle, if not horizontal. Now, from whatever direction we look
at Dial Hill, its aspect is, despite the high dip of its beds, in every
respect that of an outlier. Let us suppose it to he, like m a n y
such hilltops in the North-West Highlands, 3 an outlier from a
major thrust-plane (see fig. 9, p. 458). All the phenomena that
it reveals become at once intelligible. Even its little wedge of
crinoidal limestone, so curiously overlying part of its lami~osa
dolomite, receives an explanation as a wedge driven up on a minor
tlu'ust, piling up the beds which ride upon the major thrust-plane.4
But of what thrust is it an outlier? F r o m the low angle of the
sole the maiu outcrop is not likely to be close by. The most likely
one is the dominant thrust of Clevedon, the Bells-Vista Thrusi~-
plane, whereon one wedge of steeply-dipping rocks at any rate is
visibly riding. W e have already seen reason to suspect that the
angle of the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane is lowering in a south-
i The adjective'normal' seems to suggest a sort of presumption in its
favour. But, in the absence of junction-sections,no such prima-facie
presumption is admissible. Indeed, there are districts,the No~h-West
Highlands, for example, in which overthrustingis reallythe 'normal' type of
rupture, the other kind being but an s,eceasory.
This faultought, on the [Link] reduction,to have been drawn with slight,
but distinet,curvature.
See 'The Geological Structure of the North-West Highlands of Scotland '
Mere. Geol. Surv. 1907, fig.25 & others.
4 .Confirmation of this view .#ill be found in connexion with another
structure to be discussed farther on ; see footnote on p. 464,
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part 3] STRUCTURE OF THE CLEVEDON--PORTISttEAD /LREA. 463

westerly direction. Let it bend over in a manner for which

there are numerous precedents in the classic region of the North-
West Highlands} and an outlier from it could easily be taken in :
on a gentle syncline at Dial Hill. The foregoing theory seems to
possess the advantage of not being in conflict with any strati-
graphical evidence, and of being in harmony with the general
structure of the district.

( f ) The H i l l - R o a d - C r a g D i s t u r b a n c e .
Running completely across the town of Clevedon is a great
line of crag, which overlooks the ' Hill Road,' with a height, in
places, of as much as 100 feet. Its trend being from nol~h-
west to south-east, is at right angles to the dominant strike,
and it terminates the high platform about a quarter of a mile

Fig. 1 0 . - Section a c r e s the Hill-Road-Crag disturbance,

on the scale of 12 inches to the mile.

S.W. Dial Hill N.E.

7 Z LD
i BVT
K LD LD .t!
o n ; , ,
Z i' I,
t i !
' I I I i I
I I I
9 , ~ - - ~ ~ ~ - _ ~

[Hill Road is at the point marked by T.]

K : CLeistopora Beds. Z----Zaphrentis Beds9
LD = Laminosa dolomite. T-----Major thrust.
t-- Minor thrust. BVT----Bella-Vista Thrust-plane.
south-west of the convergence of the two ridges. Above Christ-
church it bends round from south-east to east, and dies away
rapidly towards Mount Elton. That it is determined by a belt
of disturbance is evident upon the map, where sub-zone after
sub-zone is seen to be truncated at it. This disturbance is of
pre-Triassic age, for it does not emerge upon the sea-cliffs of
Dolomitic Conglomerate, and it passes beneath the base of that
formation at Stancliff without causing any displacement. I t is
not simple, but includes three principal axes, with an aggregate
width of about 50 yards. An attempt at a section across it
is given in fig. 10, but attention is asked to the circumstance
that, while crossing the strike within the belt of disturbance,
Op. cir., Mem. Geol. Surv. 1907, figs. 27 & 48,
Ib/d. fig. 49.
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A~_~ PROF. RI';YSOLI)S AND D r . IJREENL*t': (;EOr, OC;ICAL [vo]. lxxx,

tile section is along the strike outside t h a t belt, so t h a t those
parts are merely diagrammatic. The beds within the belt are
wrenched round through 90 ~, so as to strike directly across tile
dominant trend of the couutrv. They bend down south-eastwards
in a sort of large monocline, but this is followed bv a sharp
svnclinal axis, and that by a rupture (nowhere exposed) at which
t'he disturbance ends. Moreover, the monocline must be com-
plicated by. a subsidiary isocline, for a short narrow strip of
the lamiJtosa dolomite appears within it, and there is evideutly
also a suhsidiarv rul)ture in the middle of the belt. Where
the crag-feature'bemls eastwards, tile disturbance must be dying
out, for at Mount Elton it seems to be represented merely by
a few fohls of small amplitude. T h a t the whole of this t]'ans-
verse wrenching is later than the thrusting is certain, for it cuts
off the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane completely near Hampton House,
and t h a t plane has not vet been identified with certainty on the
south-western side.
The most striking feature of the belt, when s t u d i e d on the
map, is the long band of laminosa dolomite which has been
traced along it from Hampton House to the Stancliff Trias. 1
Whence has this long band of tim dolomite heen In'ought ?
Certainly it cannot have come from the ordinary outcrop Of
t h a t sul)z~ which is seen at Newton House and Hallam Hall.
Moreover, the nip of dolomite at the isoelinal infold in the
monoeliue must rest, not on Z., or 7, lint on Z I beds 250 feet
l o w e r ill horizon, which is all impossible overlap! We have
seen, however, t h a t wedges of the C-Zone, repeated and driven
one upon the other, have been brought forward, probabl S on
the Bella-Vista Thrust-plane, as far as Dial Hill. T h a t hill
we have seen reason to regard as a mere outlier, and similar
wedges may well have extended 300 yards farther, if not much
more than that. Suppose them bent over on the curve of the
monocline. '1'hen, in view of the gentle inclination of the thrust-
plane at the outlier, which would kee l) their sole down to the
300-foot contour, quite a moderate displacement could bring
them into the required position. The Bells-Vista Thrust-plane
seems, aceordingl.v, to have rolled over southwards on this
remarkahle (hsturbance.-
" "~
Owing to the monoeline, tim downthrow of the disturbance,

I Further investigation may show that this band is not really continuous.
but interrupted by wedges of other sub-zones, such as Z.. or the Cani~d~t
Oolite. Except in the public zigzag path which goes up the crag from the
end of Bellevue Road, the whole belt of disturbance emerges in private
gardens and backyards. All of these were examined, but in such places
obscure exposures are liable to be missed.
IncidenLxlly (see p. 462), this carries confirmation of the proposed inter-
pretation of Dial Hill. For, bad the laminosa dolomite of the outlier
been merely part of the ordinary outcrop of that sub-zone thrown forward
bet~een two faults, the high dip of their base (38 ~ to 40 ~) would preclude
them from being brought down in the necessary manner. In addition to
which, there would be the impossible overlap on to Z t already mentioned.
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par~ 3] STRUCTURE O~' TliE CLEVEDO~N*--~ORTISlIEAD AREA. 4(J~

as a whole, appears at first sight to be south-westwalxls. But a

consideration (see P1. X X X I X , fig. 3) of the zones and subzonex
which it brings against each other shows that its net effect is a
considerable up-drive on the south-western side. and thus t h a t
the final rupture must more than counteract the effects of the
monocline. In view of the evidence pointing to north-eastward
isoclinal folding, that rupture may be regaMed with probability
as a steep nm~hward overthrust, along the overdrive side of:
a deep isocl~nal infold.

V I . SUMMARY OF THE TECTOS-ICS OF TtIE CLEVEDON

AREA. ( E . G . )
I t thus appears that the tectonics are of true North-West:
Highland type. The Bella-Vista Thrust-plane drives various
horizons of the Limestone Series on to the Coal Measures and
on to limestones of lower tectonic horizons. Although its angle
is as high as 35 ~ at East Clevedon Gall , there is evidence that,
it bends over westwards, and that it survives as a gently
syne!inal outlier on Dial Hill. The rocks, both above and below,.
are several times repeated by minor thrusts. The thrust-plane,.
rolling over south-westwards as well, is driven back and up again
on the transverse disturbance of the Hill Road Crag. Folding is
evelTwhere subordinate to thrusting.

VII. GENERAL I:NTEI~I)I~E'rATIO~~ OF :['ltE DYNAMICS.

Let us now attempt a generalized picture of the dynamic.
significance of these phenomena.
The two Paheozoic rklges, with the Vale of Gordano between
them, may be regarded as the remains of a large isoclinal infold
with northward overdrive, deep enough to take the Coal Measures.
into its core. But it is really composite, for, towards Portishead,
an isoelin~l infold, which ta]~es in beds as high as the Caninia
Dolomite, is succeeded by an anticline, part of which is perceptible
at Fore Hill. From the existence of Coal Measures at Clapton,
we may infer that another syncline intervenes between the Fore
Hill anticline and the main southern ridge. At Clevedon also,
though everV fold seems to be ruptured, the existence o[ two
isoclinal infolds with an anticline between them is still discernible,
Towards Portishead there is an evident south-westward pitch;
but at Clevedon it is a rise of lower beds on pitch which nips
out the Coal Measures, brings up the K beds in Littleharp and
Salthouse Bays, and is the true meaning of the convergence of
the two ridges. Here, therefore, we have the south-western rim
of the syncline, with a north-eastward pitch. Thus, considered
as a whole, the major infol(l must be boat-shaped. The attempt
to produce pure isoclinal folding was, however, unsuccessful. It;
found expression for the greater part, not in inversion, but in
a succession of overthrusts, wilereon the southern limbs were
driven across the cores of the folds on to their north-western
Q. J. G. S. No. 819. 2t
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4t~6 l'lt_}[Link] .tND DR. (;REE.~-LY: GEOLOOIt'.tL [VO]. lxXX,

limbs, the limestones of the south-eastern limb of one major

infold being driven (as seen at Dial Hill) completely across the
Co~l Measures. where they nalTowed on the rising pitch, on to
t h e limestones of the north:western limb.
A t each end of the district there is transverse disturbance.
T h e north-east and south-west strike, though locally dominant,
is, regionally considered, subordinate to the general east-and-west
Armoricau strike. At Portishead there seems to have been an
a t t e m p t to resume the regional strike. But this resulted in
rupture; and, as the local boat-shaped infolds were in this latitude
rising on their pitch, they were driven along a succession of
thrusts (figs. 3 & 4, pp. 45] & t 5 2 ) over those beds in which the
regional strike had been established.
At Clevedon there was a~onin an a t t e m p t to resmne the regional
strike, resulting again in transverse disturbance with a generally
northward impulse. I t is to be noted, moreover, t h a t the Bristol-
Clevedon ridge, being itself on the regional Armorican strike, is
unaffected by this movement, the Hill-Road-Crag disturbance
dying out .iust where the limestones of the two ridges come
together. Thus, transverse disturbance comes iuto being where
the local strike was turning round into the regional, and only
there. At Clevedon, moreover, it was the beds wherein the
regional strike had been resumed t h a t were driven Ul)wards over
those which retained the local strike. Finally, in this case, a
major thrust-plane of the local strike became itself involved,
being doubled into and driven u l) along the transverse CO,Tugation.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIX.

Fig. 1. Generalized geological m~p of the Clevedon-Portishead area, on the
scale of 1 inch to the mile, or 1 : 63,360.
2. Geological map of the Portishead Promontory, on the scale of 6 inches
to the mile, or 1 : 10,560.
3. Geological map of Cleve~on, on the scale of 6 inches to the mile, or
1 : 10,560.

DiscussioN.
Dr. J. A. DOUGL&S referred to certain isoclinal infolds of the
Zaphre~ttis Beds in the laminosa dolomites, and asked whether
any indication had been observed of inversion of these beds. One
of the diag,~ms exhibited by Dr. Greenly suggested t h a t these
were small plunging anticlines, connected with the overthrusting,
rather than normal pinched-in svuclines.
Dr. J. W. Evx.x-s asked wlaat were the relative ages of the
folding with an east-and-west strike and of t h a t striking north-
east and south-west. Ill the South-West of England the Armo-
rican folding alternated between those two directions, but in both
cases appeared to date from the same period of disturbance. The
paper illustrated the great debt which geological science owed to
the work of the late Dr. A r t h u r Vaughan, in elucidating the
[October 4 t h , 1924.]
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University on July 8, 2016

part 47 STRUCTUREO1~ TIIE CLEYEDOh'--I'ORTISHEADAREA. 467

stratigraphy of the Lower Carboniferous, and thus assisting in the

solution of problems presented by structures in which those rocks
were involved. His comparatively early death had been a severe
loss to British geology.
Prof. O. T. JOI~ES remarked that many of the structures, such
as sharp folding and overthrusting from the south, described by
the Authors, were familiar features of the Carboniferous rocks
much farther west in Pembrokeshire. The transverse fault
described by the Authors as later than one of the main strike-
faults reminded the speaker of a tear-fault. Such faults commonly
accompany intense folding and overthrusting; but, although ir~
general later than these structures, which may be cut by them,
they must be regarded as part of the same system of movements
as the other structures, and are not necessarily an indication of
recurrence of movement at a considerably later period.
Dr. GREENLY, in reply, said that he did not think that there
was any general inversion within the belt of transverse disturbance.
A t the isocline, indeed, there was no decisive evidence locally ; but
the Z beds on its south-western side, bending over, passed under
the laminosa dolomites of the principal infold of the belt, and
rose again from under them on the farther limb. I t was, however,
four years since he had seen the exposure.
With regard to the relative ages of the two strikes, there was room
for speculation that one of them had been pre-determined by some
older folding of Caledonian trend ; but evidence was lacking, and
he was inclined to agree with Dr. Evans's suggestion that the
trend of the Portishead-Clevedon ridge was no more than a local~
deflection of the regional Armorican strike. He joined cordially in
Dr. Evans's appreciation of the zonal work initiated by the late
Arthur Vaughan. Without that zonal work, indeed, the study in
tectonics now submitted would have been impossible.

Q. J. G. S. No. 320. 2 ~: