Tag: geology

Down where worms wriggle and microbes squirm, there’s a whole world waiting to be discovered… Under Your Feet delves beneath the Earth’s surface and explores the diverse wonders hidden there. Encounter creatures of the deep and marvel at the mind-boggling size of the humongous fungus – the biggest organism in the world. Learn how one handful of ordinary soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth, and carry out experiments using dirt from your own back garden.

Under Your Feet offers you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of the natural world and soil-dwelling creatures big and … More

Born OTD in 1809, English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, Charles Darwin. His proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted, and considered a foundational concept in science.

Darwin’s theory of natural selection issued a profound challenge to orthodox thought and belief: no being or species has been … More

Back in stock, ‘Building Stone Atlas of Sussex’. This atlas describes, illustrates, maps, and analyses the traditional building stones of Sussex. It is an essential guide and reference for those interested in the building stone landscape of Sussex. In addition to the indigenous rocks of Sussex, stones used for buildings from elsewhere in the British Isles, as well as those imported from France, Belgium and some more exotic rocks from elsewhere, are carefully illustrated and detailed. Nor were the bricks and tiles of Roman construction omitted. The 148 pages of this, very reasonably priced, outstanding book, truly leave ‘no stone unturned’.

Available in store and online.

Commencing with an extremely useful section of 11 pages introducing the reader to the ancient heritage of early Sussex building stones, there follows useful supplementary information, packed with delightful figures in colour. With applicable illustrations, it advises on topics such as ‘The Building Stone Landscape’, ‘Stone Quarrying in Sussex’, ‘Historic Use of Building Stones’, & even to the past coastal & river navigation of about 1000AD that assisted in the distribution of the stone types at that time. There follows a comprehensive, well laid out, easy to use, double-page spread, describing each rock type in stratigraphical order. Occasionally, two double-page spreads are used where the importance of certain rocks, such as the Hastings Sandstone, are involved.

These descriptions are accompanied by excellent colour photographs of the particular building stone, both in its natural geological environment and … More

Not so long ago, our roads, buildings, gravestones & monuments were built from local rock, our cities were powered by coal from Welsh mines, & our lamps were lit with paraffin from Scottish shale. At the height of the empire, British stone travelled across the world to India and China, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Singapore & South Africa. There were thousands of mines, quarries, slag heaps & brick pits across the British Isles. We live among the remnants of those times – our older cities are built from Bath limestone, or Aberdeen granite – but for the most part our mines are gone, our buildings are no longer local, & the flow of stone travels east to west.

Spurred on by the erasure of history and industry, Ted Nield journeyed across this buried landscape: from the small Welsh … More

Not so long ago, our roads, buildings, gravestones and monuments were built from local rock, our cities were powered by coal from Welsh mines, and our lamps were lit with paraffin from Scottish shale. At the height of the empire, British stone travelled across the world to India and China, Sri Lanka and Argentina, Singapore and South Africa.

There were thousands of mines, quarries, slag heaps and brick pits across the British Isles. We live among the remnants … More