greatness, and of making it at once the "gem and the wonder of the earth" and these treasures have been of infinitely more benefit to the world than the mines of Mexico or the riches of Golconda. The eastern boundary of this coal-district extends from Nottingham in a direct line to the west of Mansfield, through Bolsover, Laughton-en-leMorthen, and Conisbrough, and traverses the county of York northwards, towards Newcastle-upon-Tyne; its western limits being formed by the edge of the millstone grit, as before mentioned. In this strata are included numerous seams of coal, varying in thickness, separated by beds of freestone, bituminous shale, and indurated clay, some of which are found to intervene between every coal-seam and the next succeeding. These seams are about thirteen in number, beginning at the lowest, in the millstone grit, to the uppermost, which immediately underlays the red sand-rock: they are generally found to rest upon beds of clay, in different degrees of induration, provincially termed clutch bind, &c., and an extremely hard rock, called crowstone or gannister, upon which the third coal-seam is incumbent, and which forms an excellent material for road-making, as well as possessing, when pounded fine, the properties of fire-clay, in the manufacture of crucibles. The coal-seams vary in thickness from one to six feet and upwards, and frequently contain small masses of iron pyrites imbedded in their substance, from which copperas or sulphate of iron is obtained. Layers and nodules of ironstone frequently occur in this strata, and are productive of ore in various proportions: for the smelting of which, numerous furnaces are scattered over the country between Leeds, Sheffield, and Derby, in the coal-district; and from which the manufactures of Hallamshire are in a great measure supplied. The beds of free-stone, which are about twenty in number, vary materially in their thickness, and no less in their quality; in general, however, they are of a fine texture, and calculated for building-purposes, flags, or slates, save where their substance is so soft, as to moulder away on exposure to the air. The bed which rests immediately upon millstone grit, is in general more valuable than the rest, and frequently more durable; and from the fineness of its texture, is well calculated for the grinding of some branches of cutlery. The great coal-field has been apparently more subject to fractures and dislocations than any other body of strata, save the mountain limestone: they extend in every direction, are in general perpendicular, but frequently inclined; and almost invariably interrupt the regular declination of the strata: the same bed being often found several feet or yards lower on one side of the fracture than on the other. These sides are most commonly straight, and the intermediate space filled with extraneous matter-clay, sand, or gravel; which substances, generally stopping the course of the water in its percolations betwixt the layers, force it to the surface, and are thereby one great cause of the numerous and invaluable springs of water, which are blessings to the country in which they flow. The coal-seams which are found in the millstone grit on the western declivities of the mountains of Derbyshire, are similar to those which are found in the like situation on the eastern side; and the extensive coal-field in Lancashire is no way esentially different from this in the vicinity of Sheffield, save that cannel-coal seems in the former more abundant. The productions of the coal-district are as follows: The soil of the coal-districts is extremely various in its quality, from the wet and argillaceous, to the arid and rocky, which is often found upon the eminences; industry has, however, in some measure compensated the deficiencies of nature, by converting its surface into a fruitful garden through the labours of the husbandman; whilst the miner obtains by his perseverance, treasures more inestimable to the prosperity of Britain, than were ever the gold and diamonds of the Indies. The advantages which are concentrated in the coal-districts, have made them the seats of the arts and manufactures throughout the nation; and accordingly we find that Birmingham and Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds, are all situated, where the streams of wealth and luxury are supplied from the bowels of the earth, to diffuse their riches upon the surface, for the benefit of man-streams, which by their daily increase threaten to inundate this empire at some future period, and ultimately sweep it into that gulph where Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the ancient seats of commerce and luxury, are sunk to rise no more. 6. Red sand-rock, or salmon-coloured grit, is a stratum lying in the great coal-field, but possesses characters so distinct, and peculiarities of situation, as to require particular description. It occupies a small tract of country betwixt Rotherham, Conisbrough, and Harthill in Yorkshire, and though in itself regularly stratified, is generally found in detached patches, on the summits of the hills, instead of one regular continued stratum; it ap pears to have been originally an uniform deposition, but fractured by convul sions, and washed away by the action of rivers, which have left it like sand-banks on the tops of the principal eminence. The town of Rotherham stands upon its north-western extremity, and at the corner of the most exten sive, uninterrupted body of the strata which is to be met with in this district; from this place its north-western boundary runs parallel to the river Dun to Hooton-Roberts, but north of that river this strata has never yet been discovered: at Hooton-Roberts, it abruptly unites with the magnesian limestone, but does not appear to rise from under it; its southwestern limits extend from Rotherham in an irregular and interrupted Course through Whiston, and Aston, to Harthill, where it again unites in an equally abrupt manner with the magnesian limestone, but is separated from it by a fracture, which has brought their surfaces to the same eleva tion. Where this stratum is entire, its thickness is very great; it produces 1 considerable quantities of grindstones, which are sent to Sheffield; and though in general of a soft texture, is frequently used for building purposes. The soil upon it, is sandy, of a red colour, and fruitful in excellent corn and vegetables. This stratum is very remarkable in its situation, none having been yet discovered analogous to it in any other part of England; the red sand-rock of Cheshire succeeds the millstone-grit, that of Penrith the mountain-limestone, and that of Nottinghamshire and the east-side of Yorkshire is incumbent upon magnesian limestone; but none other is yet known to occur in the coal-district beneath the last-mentioned stratum. There is, then, every reason to suppose that it is a partial and local deposition, but in what manner it has been formed muşt still remain in the bosom of obscurity. 7. Crystallized granular or magnesian limestone is the most regular and uniform stratum within the prescribed limits of this district, and the most distinctly marked upon the surface, its western edge, where it is seen re posing upon the coal-strata, invariably rising in an uniform acclivity. This edge extends in a direct course from the point of its commencement near Nottingham, through Hardwick-Hall, Bolsover, Anston, Langhton-en-leMorthen, and Conisbrough; extending northwards by Knottingley, Bro therton, and Wetherly, across the county of York, into Durham, where this suratum forms the sea-shore near Sunderland. For the whole of this distance, it preserves a general breadth of not more than six miles upon an average, and has a uniform and gentle declination to the eastward, which is seldom interrupted by the dislocations to which the mountain-limestone has been subject, yet, like it, this stratum is intersected by numerous' deep and narrow vallies, apparently formed by the action of the rivers, in forcing a passage through the calcareous rock into the low countries to the eastward;-many of these vallies are beautifully romantic; their rocky sides are clothed with bushes, and their woodland recesses afford true gratification to the lover of picturesque and secluded scenery. The general thickess of this stratum is about 100 yards, consisting of calcareous beds of a straw or light-blue colour, and frequently of a bright yellow. The lower beds, being mostly blue, abound in shells and organic remains, which are scattered in smaller proportions throughout the whole stratum. When burnt, it produces a lime, excellently adapted for buildingpurposes, but in general inferior in agriculture to the mountain-limestone, its lowest beds producing lime of the best quality, Its structure is frequently granular, and when it is so, will but slightly effervesce with acids. The soil on the surface of this stratum, though varying in fruitfulness, is generally productive; frequently covered with but a shallow layer of vegetable mould, and this is intermixed with gravel. To the eastward of this stratum, no coals have yet been discovered between it and the German ocean it is, however, chiefly remarkable for the uniform plane of its surface, and the rocky valleys which transversely intersect it, through its whole extent, and which contain some of the most delightful and enchanting scenery which this country can afford, decorated by shrubs and trees, of which it is remarkably prolific. 8. And lastly, succeeds the gravel-sand and alluvial depositions, which extend over the greatest part of Nottinghamshire, and a part of the eastern extremity of Yorkshire. Their western termination beginning at Nottingham, preserves a regular course through Mansfield, Worksop, Doncaster, Thorne, and northwards into Yorkshire; covering the yellow limestone through its whole extent. The whole depth of this stratum is from 200 to 300 yards, consisting in some parts of alluvial sand and rounded pebbles of quartz and silix, which are irregularly arranged in layers, but do not appear to be portions of any strata in England. The alluvial sand is generally concreted into a soft rock, which is mostly unfit for building purposes, and upon which the town of Nottingham is built. Similar to this, though differing in colour, is the sand-rock upon which stand the towns of Stockport and Manchester; and the wole mass of gravel and sand, which extends over Cheshire, and the south of Lancashire, bears a great resemblance in composition to the alluvial district in Nottinghamshire. The meadows by the sides of the Mersey, the Dun, the Derwent, and the Trent, are almost wholly produced by the soil which is brought down from the hilly countries by the floods, forming the most luxuriant pastures in the country. In the interior of Sherwood-Forest, the gravel is supposed to cover the coal-strata, which are found reposing upon magnesian limestone in SouthWales and Dudley in Worcestershire; but through its enormous thickness, they have never been discovered in Nottinghamshire. Succeeding to the alluvial district in Lincolnshire, are found the strata of oolite, lias-clay, chalk, &c. which extend, in a regular course and succession, from the southern parts of England to the east coast of Yorkshire. To account for the formation and deposition of the strata which compose the crust of the earth, is beyond the powers of human intelligence, and every attempt, however plausible, is equally presumptuous; we almost universally find the bowels of the earth fraught with treasures which are attainable by the industry of man, and disposed, not in the confusion of chaos, but with the greatest regularity, and we are all convinced that nothing less than the Omnipotence of an Almighty Architect could have created and arranged the structure of the earth, at the commencement of the periods of time, as Sheffield, 1818. When in his hand He took the golden compasses, One foot he center'd, and the other turn'd H. DRONFIELD CHURCH. To the Editor of the Northern Star. DRONFIELD church is dedicated to John the Baptist, and its clear value is £50 2s. There is no mention of any church at Dronfield in Domesday, but Dr. Thornton makes mention of a deed made about the years 1250 or 260, and witnessed by Thomas persona de Dranefend, and Peter Capellanus de eadem villa, by which he proves the existence of the church at that time. Indeed from the pedigree of the Braylesford family, it appears probable that the present structure was erected by one of them soon after the Norman conquest, as they had the right of presentation. In the year 1399, Pope Boniface IX. appropriated the rectory of Dronnesfeld to Beauchief Abbey. As an equivalent for this rectory John Burghill, Bishop of Litchfield, received 13s. 4d. per ann. from the monks of Beauchief. In 1291 this living was worth 60 marks per annum. In 1403, the convent of Beauchief built the present chancel, which is reckoned to be the most elegant of its kind in the whole county of Derby. In the church are several modern monuments; and under an arch between the chancel and the nave of the church is an alabaster tomb, with a recumbent figure in armour upon it, supposed to be to the memory of one of the Braylesford family. On the floor is a brass plate with the figures of two priests over it, to the memory of a rector of Dronfield who died in 1390, but whose name is obliterated; and also to Roger Braulisford or. Braylesford, also rector of this church, who died in 1300. Near this is another plate, with the following inscription, in black letter, upon it :-" Hic jacet Johannes Fanshawe de Fanshawe-gate et Margareta uxor ejus filia-Dyer qui obierunt circa ætates suas septuagenta et quatuor, animaru' et habuerunt filios et filias viz. Elizabetham et Thomas Gemellas Elizabetha obiit circa ætatem suam quatuor animaru' Thomas est Renumerator Elizabethæ reginæ de scacario suo Marguretam uxor Rici Castle Henricu' qui obiit natus circa anno quoque Robert vincatem apud Fanshawe-gate et Godfridu' unu' clicor de predicto scacario." Over this are the figures of John Fanshawe and his lady, with the dates 1573 and 1578, and the arms of Fanshawe, viz. Or, a chevron between three fleurs de lis sable. In the windows are some remains of painted glass, with the arms of Alfreton, Grey of Codnor, and De Fincourt, and the words Sanctus Jacobus, Sanctus Johannes, Sanctus Thomas, by which it is probable the figures of those saints were originally painted in the windows. The register of this church commences in 1560. In this town is a grammar-school, founded by Henry Fanshawe, Esq. in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. SHEFFIELDIENSIS. |