Durham E-Theses Some aspects of the geomorphology of the Durham coast Westgate, W. A. How to cite: Westgate, W. A. (1957) Some aspects of the geomorphology of the Durham coast, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/8519/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. SOME ASPECTS OF THE G-EOMQRPHOLO GY OP THE DUHHAM COAST W.A. Westgate, B.Sc. Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D. in the University of Durham. February, 1957. Itmm?, not ** > \ i3i (i) This research was carried out whilst I was in receipt of a Nature Conservancy Research Studentship "between July 1953 and July 1955. No part of the following material has previously been submitted for a degree in any University. (ii) LIST OP CONTENTS Page INTBOSUCTION 1. Extent, Scope and Aims of Study. (iii) 2. Previous Work and Literature. (vi) 3. Methods of Work. (ix) (For detailed account - see end pocket) PART I. THE NATURAL GEOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL BASIS OP THE DURHAM COAST Chapter 1. Topography and Geology. 1 Chapter 2. Pre-Glacial Drainage Pattern. 20 Chapter 3. Pleistocene Chronology and Superficial Deposits. 36 Chapter 4. Evidence of Recent Changes. 51 Chapter 5» The Development and Movement of Beach Material. 72 PART II. THE INPLUENCE OP HUMAN ACTIVITY 98 Chapter 6. The Development of Collieries. 99 Chapter 7. The Development of Associated Activities. 110 Chapter 8. Other Coastal Works. 159 PART III. THE RESULTING PATTERN OP PRESENT DAY EVOLUTION Chapter 9. 164 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 200 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 209 APPENDIX A National Grid References of all Place Names mentioned in the text. 210 " B Statistical Analysis of East Durham. 216 " C The Man-made Obstructions to Longshore Drifting along the Durham Coast. 226 " D The Foreshores of Co. Durham. 228 " E The Recent Development of the Durham Coast. 231 BIBLIOGRAPHY 232 dii) INTRODUCTION 1. Extent. Scope and Aims of Study The present form of the coastline of Co. Durham results from the effects of both natural and artificial forces and factors, and in this discussion an attempt has "been made to assess their relative importance in fashioning both the general trend and intricate details of the present coast. The Durham coast is one of the most interesting in the country. It has fine cliffs, deep "bays and inlets, :and numerous off-shore stacks; it has submerged forests and possibly raised beaches; it has sand dunes and deeply entrenched river gorges; above all, it has Permian Magnesian Limestone Strata uniquely outcropping " along almost its whole length. But this is merely a statement of the natural features which may be seen along the Durham coast. There are also the artificial or Man-made features which may be locally of dominant importance in determining coastal forms. There are no fewer than three major and two minor harbours in this stretch of twenty-seven miles of sea coast. Each of these has extensive pier and breakwater (iv) works projecting far into the sea, which hinder or prevent longshore drifting of beach material. Numerous sewer outfalls built across the foreshore have similar, though smaller, effects. The seaside resorts and towns have many miles of protecting sea walls and promenades, and these impose completely artificial conditions upon the beaches. The collieries as well as the sea-ports have had an important effect on the development of the Durham coast. Many of the small streams flowing to the coast have increased flows as a result of the running of waste colliery waters into them, and occasionally the stream courses are completely blocked by colliery tip heaps. Bulky colliery waste material from coastal collieries is often dumped directly on to the beaches, adding considerably to the amount of beach material on which sea waves may expend their strength. Before the days of water ballast, colliers coming to the north-east coast ports carried ballast boulders and flints from the south of England, and these have contributed greatly to the supply of beach material. Much ballast was dumped on the land fringing the coast, and this has changed substantially the shape of the contours around such ports (v) as Sunderland and South Shields. Prom this summary it is apparent that a satisfactory way of tackling the problem of coastal evolution in Durham is to consider it in three parts: I. The natural geological and physical basis of the Durham coast. II. The influence of human activity. III. The resulting pattern of recent coastal evolution. (vi) 2» Previous Work and Literature Very little geomorphological work has been done in East Durham and its physical geography is almost unstudied. Geological workers have been more interested, and rightly so, in mapping and classifying the extremely variable Magnesian Limestone rocks, and in attempting to explain satisfactorily the unique structures and forms within those rocks. That they have not succeeded as yet is evidence of the extreme geological complexity of East Durham, a complexity resulting from the varied structures and lithology of one series of rocks rather than from a multiplicity of types of strata. Sedgwick's memoir on the Magnesian Limestone has never been superseded as the classical description of the rocks in general terms, and more detailed local studies have been made by Lebour, Woolacott and Trechmann. No Geological Survey Memoir has been written to accompany the primary geological survey of East Durham, but the geological mapping of East Durham is being revised at present, though the results will not become available for some years. In 'The Coastline of England and Wales', Professor Steers rightly stressed the importance of geological considerations in attempting to explain coastal morphology, (vii) and he made an important contribution to an understanding of the coastal geomorphology of East Durham. Before the publication of that book, there were many isolated references in obscure periodicals and journals to some of the coastal features of Durham, but there has been no broad assessment of the coastal forms. In 1949 and 1950 Dr. C.A.M. King studied wave action and beach processes in Marsden Bay?" this being the first recorded instance of any coastal research being undertaken in the area. The present work was undertaken in an attempt to fill part of this gap in our knowledge of the British coasts, a gap all the more deplorable as it is only in Go. Durham that Magnesian Limestone forms the coastline. There is no other Magnesian Limestone coast in the world. The almost complete lack of geomorphological writings on East Durham has also attracted the attention of Mr. R. Hopkinson, who has been making a detailed study of the whole of the Magnesian Limestone area of Co. Durham. Mr. Hopkinson has made a special study of Tertiary drainage and Pleistocene Chronology, and has made accurate surveys of the long profiles of some of the small coastal streams. 1 Trans. Inst. Brit. Geog. Wo. 19, 1953, PP 13-23. 2 Department of Geography, Birmingham University. (viii) Unfortunately, the results of his work are not available and cannot be incorporated in this work. The sections dealing with these topics have been curtailed to avoid needless repetition, though they are of great interest to the present discussion. (ix) 3. Methods of Work (1) Field Work (a) Field Mapping: The greater part of the field work carried out during this research has "been based on O.S. Six-Inch Maps of East Durham.1 On account of the interests of Mr. Hopkinson, intensive field mapping on this scale has been limited to the northern and eastern areas of the Permian, the most intensive field work being conducted along the river valleys and the sea cliff edge. Before field work was commenced the relevant Geological Survey 2 maps were consulted and much information was transferred from them to the field sheets. None of the field sheets has been presented with this discussion of the Durham coastal morphology as the mass of information is not easily assimilated, and throughout the whole of this work the evidence and information has been presented as clearly, simply and precisely as possible. Whenever possible a map has been drawn, both to clarify the point made and to reduce the length of the text. During the detailed mapping of the cliff face and cliff top it soon became evident that the Six-Inch Maps were inadequate to record satisfactorily the significant 1. All maps required for the field work have been obtained for me by the Department of Geography, Durham Colleges, or by the Nature Conservancy. 2. The Divisional Geological Survey Officers, Newcastle, have been most helpful in all respects. M details of geology and topography. Accordingly, the whole of the Durham coast has been mapped on 25-Inch O.S. Plans to indicate the above features.