Bedford Geological Society Presentation at St James Parish Church
St James Parish Church, School Lane, Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire, MK43 0UY
Paul explains the geological history of Bedfordshire over the last 170 million years, and the impact that this has had on the landscape we observe today. This has mostly involved the deposition of bedrocks which were deposited in ancient seas.
To the north of Husborne Crawley, the rocks are Jurassic in age and were deposited in a widespread sea which existed in this area, and which was teeming with ammonites and marine reptiles. In the brick pits of Stewartby and Bedford, a rich fauna of fossils has been found.
During Early Cretaceous times (100 million years ago), rising sea levels inundated this area again, and led to the deposition of the Woburn Sands (Greensand) – upon which this church stands. As sea levels rose even further, the shallow marine conditions of the Woburn Sands gave way to deeper marine conditions of the Gault Clay and Chalk - which form the Chilterns further south.
Uniquely, the ‘Green’ Greensand of this church represents an unusual preservation of the green mineralogy preserved by diagenetic cementation.
Fortunately the geology of our area can be observed as a series of topographic ridges which can be seen from north to south – a consequence of compression and tilting that occurred 30 million years ago due to plate tectonic movements.
This will also be an opportunity to visit our beautiful medieval church, including the Elizabethan marble tomb of John Thompson and his wife with their effigies – unusual in a parish church.
Refreshments will be provided.
Timings
- Tuesday 15 September:
- 1930 - 2100
Location & directions
St James Parish Church, School Lane, Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire, MK43 0UY
- Contact on day:
- Nick Burton 07930 556012
- Telephone number:
- +447930556012
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
The church has full wheelchair access, but the churchyard has partial wheelchair access. Disabled parking only at the church, please park on the Village greens either side of the road – 50m walk.
