The Coal Measures of Bristol and Somerset

Abstract

The Coal Measures of Bristol and Somerset are in some ways less completely known than those of most other English coalfields. This is partly due to the fact that the Coal Measures are to a great extent concealed under newer rocks, while the interpretation of the sequence has been made still more difficult by the complexity of the structure, especially in those areas where the lowest part of the sequence is exposed. Maps of the area on the one-inch scale were published in 1845, and some revision has been made since; an account of the sequence and structure was prepared by Prestwich in 1871, and a memoir by H. B. Woodward was published in 1876. Since that time sections of colliery shafts have been issued by the Geological Survey (sheets 11, 48-52). Other works on the area are referred to incidentally below.