Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The special object of this excursion was to study, as far as might be possible during the
short time allotted to it, the glacial deposits of Norfolk and their relation to those of the
North of England.
Assembling the night before at Tucker's Royal Hotel, Cromer, the excursionists took
train to North Walsham and on the morning of Thursday, July 9th, proceeding thence by
carriage to Hasboro' (Happisburgh), at the south-eastern termination of the cliff section.
A pleasant walk of about eight miles along the beach, in delightful weather, which for-
tunately lasted during the whole visit, brought them to Trimingham; there a conveyance
awaited them for North Walsham, from whence they returned to Cromer in the evening.
The Pleistocene beds of East Anglia were divided by the late Searles V. Wood, Jun.,
into Lower, Middle, and Upper, those of the North Norfolk coast, the Cromer Till and the
Contorted Drift, being placed by him in the first division. The Cromer Till, a bed of tough
unstratified boulder-clay, of a dark blue colour, occurs at Hasboro' at the base of the cliff,
there about 30 feet [9 metres] in height, it was seen to contain abundantly fragments of
grey flint and hard chalk from the Wolds of Lincolnshire or Yorkshire, some of the chalk
being scratched or striated, together with many broken shells of recent species, especially
Tellina balthica [Baltic tellin, a widely distributed mollusc, its tolerance of low salinities
explains its presence in the Baltic and hence its name], Cardium edule [Common cockle, a
widely distributed mollusc] and Cyprina islandica [one of the largest bivalve molluscs of
British waters] (Harmer
1904
).
Another notable excursion was made in 1907, to which he had invited leading
geologists from both Britain and mainland Europe, is especially interesting as it is
illustrated with photographs from the 'Frederic William Harmer Collection',
presently held in the archives of the British Geological Survey (British Geological
Survey
2013
). Harmer's residence in Cringleford, Oakland House would have
been large enough to accommodate at least some of the participants including,
perhaps, one of the leading invitees, Professor Albrecht Penck.
The participants included: Professor Knut O. Bjørlykke, Norwegian geologist;
Dr Marcellin Boule, French palaeontologist; Professor Carl H. Credner, German
geologist; Professor Erich von Drygalski, German geographer; Dr Carl C. Gottsche,
German geologist; Professor Thomas M. Hughes, Welsh geologist; Dr Manson,
English geologist; Professor Albrecht Penck, German geologist and geographer;
Dr Robert H. Rastall, English geologist; Dr Jakob Sederholm, Finnish geologist;
Dr Knud J.V. Steenstrup, Danish geologist; Dr Emil E. A. Tietze, Austrian geol-
ogist; Professor Niels V. Ussing, Danish scientist; and Dr W. Van der Gracht, Dutch
geologist.
A photograph album containing pictures which had been taken on this excur-
sion was later presented to Harmer by Penck with the following dedication:
'A souvenir of a beautiful excursion in Norfolk given to his excellent guide
Mr Harmer. Albrecht Penck, Berlin August 1911' (Figs.
3.1
and
3.2
).
