Mineral Resources Map for Surrey
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60 70 80 905 00000 10 20 30 40 50 60 FULLER’S EARTH BRICK CLAY BUILDING STONE CHALK BGS publications covering Surrey and the London Boroughs of Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton The term 'fuller's earth' is used to describe clays composed essentially of the clay mineral The term 'Brick clay' is used to describe clay used predominantly in the manufacture of bricks Rocks of Lower Cretaceous age have been important source of building stone in Surrey. Chalk is a relatively soft, fine-grained, white limestone, consisting mostly of the debris of calcium-smectite, which exhibits a unique combination of properties on which its industrial and, to a lesser extent, roof tiles and clay pipes. These clays may sometimes be used in cement Sandstones from the Lower Greensand Group were quarried for local use around Godalming, at planktonic algae. In Surrey, it forms the prominent natural feature of the North Downs. Almost the applications are based. Calcium-smectite can be easily converted into sodium-smectite manufacture, as a source of construction fill and for lining and sealing landfill sites. The suitability Hurtmore (working material known as 'Bargate Stone'), and at Witley and Hurtwood. Ironstone entire outcrop of the chalk is within the Surrey Hills AONB. The Chalk is divided into the Grey 285 1:63 360 and 1:50 000 (bentonite) by a simple sodium-exchange process and most fuller's earth is used in this form in of a clay for the manufacture of bricks depends principally on its behaviour during shaping, drying beds within the Lower Greensand (known as 'carstone') were also once a source of local building Chalk Sub-Group, and the White Chalk Sub-Group and is up to 320 m thick in this part of South 269 HOUNSLOW 270 271 map published papermaking and foundry bonding applications. Fuller's earth deposits formed as result of the and firing. This will dictate the properties of the fired brick such as strength and frost resistance material in the Oxted area. Today, only a single quarry in the Hythe Formation of the Lower East England. The White Chalk Sub-Group is the most extensive with the Grey Chalk forming a alteration of volcanic ash deposited in seawater. The accumulation and preservation of volcanic and, importantly, its architectural appearance. Greensand Group (at Hurtwood near Cranleigh) produces sandstone for building purposes. thin band, on average 50-75 m in thickness, along the base of the south-facing scarp. KINGSTON UPON THAMES ash into thick beds involved a complex set of geological processes and consequently fuller's earth Report 39 1:25 000 map published deposits of potential economic interest have a very restricted distribution in Britain. Most facing bricks, engineering bricks and related clay-based building products are manufactured A limestone within the Weald Clay (known as 'Bethersden Marble') was formerly quarried for The Grey Chalk is characterised by relatively high clay content, particularly toward the base, and (Industrial Minerals in large automated factories. These represent a high capital investment and are increasingly decorative use at Russ Hill and Charlwood, on the southern boundary of the county near Gatwick. is classified as 'low purity' (<93% CaCO3). The overlying White Chalk is of a higher purity (93-98% Report 39 RICHMOND CROYDON Assessment Sand and UPON THAMES SURREY The fuller's earth deposits in the Redhill - Nutfield area of Surrey are by far the largest in Britain dependent therefore on raw materials with predictable and consistent firing characteristics in CaCO3). Flints are common in the upper part of the White Chalk Sub-Group. Gravel Resource Map) and have been worked for many centuries. They have accounted for an estimated 65 per cent of order to achieve high yields of saleable products. Blending different clays to achieve improved The most important building stone quarries in the county were formerly those in the SUTTON total UK cumulative output of fuller's earth of about 9 million tonnes. However, production ceased durability and to provide a range of fired colours and textures is an increasingly common feature Reigate-Gatton-Chaldon area. These produced a distinctive siliceous sandstone from the Upper Although long established, only limited quarrying of chalk now occurs in Surrey. Currently, chalk Current digital availability of these sheets in 1998 due to the exhaustion permitted reserves. of the brick industry. Continuity of supply of consistent raw materials is of paramount importance. Greensand Formation. This was also known as the 'Reigate Stone' or 'Firestone' or 'Malmstone'. extraction is carried out at one site working White Chalk near Oxted. (comprising Surrey and the London Boroughs of can be found on the British Geological PEDL25-1 286 287 Survey website: www.bgs.ac.uk INDEPENDENT Lenticular beds of fuller's earth have been traced almost continuously between Reigate and The Cretaceous Weald Clay crops out extensively across the south of the county and forms the The Upper Cretaceous Chalk succession has yielded a small amount of flint for local building. The The Chalk is a major aquifer and is the most important source of groundwater in the county. Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, PL182 TATSFIELD 1 Oxted, a distance of some 13 km. However, production has been confined to an area between basis of a regionally-important brick manufacturing industry based in this part of Surrey and the Palaeogene ('Tertiary') succession in the north of the county has yielded quartz-cemented 'sarsen' PEDL25-3 STAR ENERGY Richmond upon Thames and Sutton) Redhill in the west and Bletchingley in the east with the bulk of production being between Redhill area immediately over the county boundary in West Sussex. The Weald Clay consists of a sandstones in the past. INDEPENDENT PALMER'S WOOD 4 and Nutfield. Fuller's earth of commercial interest is confined to a distinctive unit of calcareous sequence of mudstones and silty mudstones up to 450 m in thickness. They are often interbedded STRAT A1 LOWER KINGSWOOD 1/1A PALMER'S WOOD 1 to 3 ML18 PALMER'S WOOD 5 PL235 ML21 sandstones at the base of the Sandgate Formation within the Lower Greensand. Individual fuller's with sandstones and locally, limestones which brick makers tend to avoid. The mudstones consist NORMANDY 1 STAR 1 EDINBURGH STAR 80 earth beds vary considerably in thickness, quality and extent. Between Redhill and Nutfield only predominantly of kaolinite and illite, a combination which is ideal for the manufacture of facing 50 DL004 80 BLETCHINGLEY 3 BLETCHINGLEY 4 Mineral Resource Information in Support of National, the lowest, thickest bed has been worked; it averages 2 to 3 m in thickness with a maximum of bricks. Weald Clay is extracted at several sites in the Ockley area south of Dorking for the STAR BROCKHAM 1 BLETCHINGLEY 2 BLETCHINGLEY 1 ALBURY 1 LEIGH 1 5.5 m. In the Nutfield- Bletchingley area, two fuller's earth beds were formerly worked. manufacture of facing bricks. Stanwell II (Stanwell SHALFORD 1 EXL189-1 Regional and Local Planning 284 285 COXBRIDGE 1 INDEPENDENT Moor Road East, RMC BRAMLEY 1, 1Z The Sandgate Formation between Redhill and Oxted is shown on the map as the area where The Wadhurst Clay has a very limited crop in the south-east of the county and is up to 70 m thick. COLLENDEAN FARM 1 PL055 Stanwell II) (Sg) Mineral Resources fuller's earth resources may occur. As the beds dip northwards resources may also occur beneath Although this clay is not currently worked in Surrey, it is used for the manufacture of bricks and INDEPENDENT the sands of the overlying Folkestone Formation. A significant part of the resource has already tiles at nearby sites located in Kent, and in East and West Sussex. Stanwell Moor Road PEDL25-2 Heston Aerodrome (Sg) EXL189-2 INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT been worked out and other sites have been shown on investigation either not to contain fuller's West (Spout Lane) (Sg) Stanwell III (Park Scale 1:100 000 Rectory Farm (Sg) PEDL26 PEDL25-2 earth in commercial quantities or to have too high a mineral to overburden ratio to be of economic INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT PEDL96-1 Road) (Sg) Cranebank (Sg) 303 EXL291 INDEPENDENT interest. However, in 1985 a planning application to extract a reported one million dry tonnes of Stanwell I (Rosary Farm, Horton Road) (Sg, Cl) 301 302 & BLACK ROCK MIDMAR Compiled by A.J. Bloodworth, D.G. Cameron, G.K. Lott, D.J. Evans, S.E. Wood, C. Simpson Hatton Lampton Park (Sg) GODLEY BRIDGE 1 fuller's earth at the Waterhouse Farm site, near Bletchingley and 0.59 million dry tonnes at the GODLEY BRIDGE 2, 2Z and D.E. Highley. Jackass Lane site, near Tandridge were submitted. The application was refused in 1989 following Lower Mill Farm (Sg) Farm (Sg) ALFOLD 1 Beaver’s Farm (Sg) a public inquiry. However, these two deposits represent the largest unworked resource of fuller's Hithermoor Pit (Sg, Cl) West Bedfont Project Leader: D.E. Highley. 5 earth in Britain that are likely to be of commercial interest. Elsewhere in Surrey no fuller's earth of (Broadview Farm) (Sg) North Feltham (Sg) Redlees Park (Sg) 00 Yeoveney Lodge Farm (Yeoveney Hounslow Digital cartography by N.A. Spencer, British Geological Survey. commercial interest has ever been reported. Blenheim Park (Sg) Borrow Pit) (Sg, Cl) Heath (Sg) Crane Avenue (Sg) Published 2003. Twickenham (Sg) Moor Lane (Sg, Cl) 17 Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence issued under the Petroleum Hounslow Heath 3 (Sg) Hydrocarbon Well PEDL26 Clockhouse 14 15 (Production) Act 1934 (as at March 2002) This map comprises part of a summary of the ’Mineral Resources of South East England Region’.