Lawrence, D.J.D., Vye, C.L. and Young, B. 2004. Durham Geodiversity Audit. Durham: Durham County Council
Archives and materials collections
A comprehensive review and evaluation of an area's geodiversity cannot be restricted to those geological features which exist on the ground, or which remain within the area. In a country like Great Britain, many years of geological observation, recording and research have created an enormous archive of information, published and unpublished, and collections of geological materials. Although these collections and archives may now reside at locations remote from the source area, they are, nonetheless vital parts of that area's geological heritage, and thus essential elements of its geodiversity. Such collections may include information on, or specimens from, locations or features which are no longer accessible or available for study: they may thus offer the sole means of investigating these parts of the area's geodiversity.
A knowledge of the scope and whereabouts of the most significant geological archives, relevant to County Durham, is essential to the successful implementation and future monitoring of geodiversity within the area.
In this section these archival sources are considered under the following headings:
- Documentary sources
- Materials collections
Documentary sources
The British Geological Survey
As the national geological survey, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has an incomparable archive of information and materials collections relating to County Durham, dating back to the earliest years of geological mapping and research in Northern England in the final quarter of the 19th century. County Durham has been a focus for studies by BGS (and its predecessors) over the succeeding years. At the time of writing the county remains an important theatre of research activity by BGS.
Information sources held by BGS include original field maps (field slips), published maps, memoirs, reports, open-file maps and reports, borehole records, mine plans, fossils, rock samples, thin sections, hydrogeological, geochemical, geophysical and geotechnical data and photographs.
BGS small, medium and large scale maps are available on the BGS Maps Portal
BGS publications are available of the BGS Publications viewer.
The following BGS publications provide information on the surface geology of the county:
Geological maps
The following BGS geological maps cover, or include, parts of County Durham:
Small Scale Geology maps
1:625 000 scale
United Kingdom North Sheet, Solid geology, 1979
United Kingdom North Sheet, Quaternary geology, 1977
1:250 000 scale
54N 04W Lake District, Solid geology, 1980
54N 02W Tyne-Tees, Solid geology, 1986
Medium Scale Geology maps see
1:63 360 scale
Sheet 27, Durham, Solid and drift, 1965
Sheet 32, Barnard Castle, Solid and drift, 1969; Solid with drift, 1969
1:50 000 scale
Sheet 19, Hexham, Solid geology, 1975
Sheet 20, Newcastle upon Tyne, Solid and drift, 1992; Solid with drift, 1989
Sheet 21, Sunderland, Solid, Drift, 1978
Sheet 25, Alston, Solid and drift, 1973
Sheet 26, Wolsingham, Solid and drift, 1977; Solid with drift, 1977
Sheet 27, Durham, Solid with drift, 1992
Sheet 31, Brough under Stainmore, Solid and drift, 1974; Solid with drift, 1974
Sheet 40, Kirkby Stephen, Solid and drift, 1997 [Provisional edition]
Sheet 41, Richmond, Solid and drift, 1997 [Provisional edition]
Medium Scale Geological maps are produced in a variety of styles, appropriate to the area concerned.
'Solid' maps show only the solid (bedrock) geology in colour. Drift deposits may be omitted or shown only as uncoloured areas indicated by pecked lines; small drift areas may not be indicated.
'Solid and drift' maps show both the solid and the drift geology, merged to represent the surface geology. Geological lines and symbols for the surface outcrops of both solid and drift deposits are shown, but details of solid deposits that are overlain by drift are normally abridged.
'Solid with drift' maps also show the solid and drift geology; but the drift deposits are uncoloured or only have coloured outlines. The buried geological boundaries of the solid deposits occurring beneath the drift are shown in full.
Large Scale Geology Maps
1:10 000 and 1:10 560 scale
Details of the original geological surveys at these scales are listed on editions of the 1:50 000 or 1:63 360 scale geological sheets. Copies of the fair-drawn copies of earlier geological surveys may be consulted at BGS libraries at Edinburgh and Keyworth and at the BGS London Information Office in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London. Copies of these maps may be purchased directly from the British Geological Survey as black and white dyeline, Xerox or photographic copies.
Books and reports
BGS books, memoirs and reports relevant to County Durham are listed in the reference section.
County Durham lies within the Northern England area of the British Regional Geology series of publications (Taylor et al., 1971). This is currently out of print and a new edition is in preparation. Other aspects of the general geology can be found in British Geological Survey Memoirs for the following BGS 1:50 000 sheets:
Sheet 20, Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Consett (Mills and Holliday, 1998)
Sheet 21, Sunderland (Smith, 1994) Sheet 27, Durham and West Hartlepool (Smith and Francis, 1967)
Sheet 31, Brough under Stainmore (Burgess and Holliday, 1979)
Sheet 32, Barnard Castle (Mills and Hull, 1976)
In addition, important descriptions of the county's geology are contained in the following two British Geological Survey Economic Memoirs
Geology of the Northern Pennine Orefield Vol. 1 Tyne to Stainmore (Second edition) (Dunham, 1990)
Geology of the Northern Pennine Orefield Vol. 2 Stainmore to Craven (Dunham and Wilson, 1985)
Further details of publications, data sources and information are available from the British Geological Survey can be accessed on the BGS Web Home Page at www.bgs.ac.uk or contact BGS at: Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG 0115 936 3100
Soil Survey
Specialised information on soil character, properties and classification for the AONB may be obtained from the publications of the Soil Survey of England and Wales, now the Soil Survey and Land Research Centre, www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/nsri.
Other Documentary Sources Information on geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) within County Durham is held by English Nature. Details may be obtained from:
English Nature (Northumbria Team), Stocksfield Hall, Stocksfield, Northumberland NE43 7TN 01661 845500
Information on Durham County geological sites is held by Durham County Council.
Durham County Council, County Hall, Durham DH1 5UQ 0191 383 4567
Information on other geologically significant sites within County Durham are held at the Hancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Hancock Museum, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT 0191 222 6765
Mine Plans
Centuries of metal mining in the county have produced a substantial legacy of mine plans and related records. These documents, which contain huge amounts of often unique geological information, are an important element in the area's geological heritage.
At present there is no central repository of mining information, for minerals other than coal, in the UK. Large and important collections of such records are known to be cared for by a number of organisations, though many original, and thus unique, mine plans and associated documents are known to be in private hands. These are often difficult or impossible to trace. Plans are unknown for many mines, even where they are believed to have been maintained during the life of the mine. Many plans are known to have been lost or destroyed.
The County Record Offices of Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and North Yorkshire have the most significant collections of mining information relating to the north of England. Other bodies holding mine records are the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, based in Newcastle, the Edinburgh office of the British Geological Survey, The Coal Authority and Beamish Museum.
Materials collections
Included here are significant collections of geological specimens. Although these are mostly museum collections, important material is also held by BGS and Durham University. Significant private collections of geological materials, mainly minerals, from County Durham have not been identified or evaluated in this study.
Museums and visitor centres all play a vital role in helping people to understand and enjoy earth science. There is considerable potential, with appropriate financial support, for local facilities to further expand their role in the provision of interpretation and education.
National Museums
Many specimens of rocks, minerals and fossils, collected within the county are held in the collections of Britain's national museums. These specimens, and their accompanying locality and other data, comprise an extremely important aspect of the county's geodiversity. This is especially important for material collected from sites which are no longer accessible and for which these specimens now offer the only means of study and research.
Very brief summaries are given here of the holdings of geological materials relevant to County Durham at each of these institutions. Contact details are also given to obtain further information, or to arrange access to the collections.
The Natural History Museum (formerly known as The British Museum (Natural History) Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, 0207 942 5000
Department of Mineralogy — The collection includes around 1000 registered mineral specimens from the mineral deposits of the Northern Pennines and adjoining parts of the Durham Coalfield, including exceptional specimens of all the major mineral species known in the area. Especially notable are specimens within the Russell Collection, particularly specimens of Northern Pennine fluorite.
Within its petrographical collections the department also holds specimens of representative rock types and rocks of economic importance, particularly building stones.
Contact for mineralogical collections: Peter Tandy 0207 942 5076 (direct line) Contact for petrographical collections: Dave Smith 0207 942 5163 (direct line)
Department of Palaeontology — The palaeontology collections include many significant specimens from County Durham. Of particular significance are holdings of Carboniferous non-marine bivalves, notable examples of 'Frosterley Marble', including specimens of algae collected from this bed, Coal Measures plants and invertebrate and vertebrate fossils from the Permian rocks of eastern County Durham.
Contact for palaeontology collections: Paul Ensom, Head of Curation, 0207 942 5195 Email: P.Ensom@nhm.ac.uk
Royal Museum of Scotland Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF 0131 225 7534
Department of Geology — The mineral collection includes significant holdings of Northern Pennine minerals, including some notable specimens of alstonite, barytocalcite and witherite.
The palaeontological collections include Carboniferous and Permian fossils.
Contact for mineral collections: Brian Jackson 0131 247 4287 (direct line)
Contact for palaeontological collections: Lyell Anderson 0131 247 4056 (direct line)
National Museum of Wales Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NP 02920 573281
Department of Geology — The museum has significant holdings of Northern Pennine minerals. Of particular importance are the well-documented specimens in the R J King collection.
Contact for geological collections: Jana Horak 02920 397951 (direct line) Email: jana.horak@nmgw.ac.uk
Regional Museums
Specimens of geological material from County Durham are present in many museums throughout Great Britain. In many instances the material, though interesting, is not especially noteworthy and it is not feasible here to explore the scope of all such collections. However, the following regional and university museums have significant holdings of County Durham material.
Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow
University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8TQ 0141 330 4221
The geological collections include a number of fine Northern Pennine minerals.
Contact for geological collections: John Faithful 0141 330 4221 (switchboard) Email: j.faithfull@museum.gla.ac.uk
Manchester University Museum Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL 0161 275 2634
Significant collections of Northern Pennine minerals, including notable specimens in the Harwood Collection, and important material collected in recent years from working mines in Weardale.
The museum also holds important collections of Lower Carboniferous corals and non-marine bivalves.
Contact for geological collections: Dr David Green Email: d.i.green@btinternet.com
Oxford University MuseumParks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW Telephone 01865 272950
The geological collections include over 1000 mineral specimens from the Northern Pennines. These come mainly from a number of 19th or early 20th century collections, and from the Morrison Thomas Collection assembled during the early 1970s.
Contact for mineral collections: Monica Price 01865 272967 (direct line) Email: monic.price@oum.ox.ac.uk
Contact for palaeontological collections: Paul Jeffreys Telephone 01865 282454 (direct line)
Sedgwick Museum
University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge Telephone 01223 333 456
The geological collections include significant holdings of representative rock, mineral and fossil specimens.
Contact for geological collections: Mike Dorling, Head of Collections Telephone 01223 333456
Tullie House Museum
Castle Street, Carlisle CA3 8TP Telephone 01228 534781
Significant holdings of Northern Pennine minerals.
Contact for geological collections: Steven Hewitt Telephone 01228 534781 (extn 248) Email: steveh@carlisle-city.gov.uk
Hancock Museum
Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4PT Telephone 0191 222 6765
An important regional museum with significant holdings of minerals from the Northern Pennines, vertebrate fossils from the Permian rocks of eastern County Durham, and Carboniferous plant fossils from County Durham
Contact for geological collections: Steve McLean Telephone 0191 222 6765
Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery
Borough Road, Sunderland SR1 1RE Telephone 0191 514 1235
An important regional museum with significant holdings of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and rocks from the Permian rocks of eastern County Durham. The collections also include significant holdings of Carboniferous fossils from County Durham and minerals from the Northern Pennines.
Contact for geological collections: Steve MacLean Telephone 0191 222 6765
Dorman Museum
Linthorpe Road, Middlesborough TS5 6LA Telephone 01642 813781
The geological collections include representative examples of North of England rocks, minerals and fossils, including significant holdings of Northern Pennine minerals.
Contact for geological collections: Ken Sedman Telephone 01642 813781 (switchboard)
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum
Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RG
An important regional museum concerned with the cultural and industrial history of Northern England. The collections include objects, photographs and other archival documents relating to mining and quarrying. The site features public access and interpretation of underground coal workings in a small drift mine.
Visitor Enquiries and Main Switchboard: Telephone 0191 370 4000 Email: museum@beamish.org.uk
Killhope Lead Mining MuseumNear Cowshill, Upper Weardale, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham DL13 1AR
The museum holds a small collection of fine Northern Pennine minerals, a selection of which are on permanent display. The museum also houses the National collection of spar boxes.
Contact: Ian Forbes, Manager Telephone 01388 537505
Weardale Museum, Ireshopeburn, Weardale
The museum holds a small collection of minerals assembled by the late J Proud, a fluorspar miner at the nearby Blackdene Mine, and a small collection of fossils from Harthope Ganister Quarries, St John's Chapel, assembled by the late J Robson of Cowshill.
Contact: David Heatherington, Windyside, Westgate, Weardale, Co Durham DL13
Other significant collections
University of Durham — Department of Geological SciencesScience Laboratories, South Road, Durham DL1 3LE Telephone 0191 334 2000
The Department has no public displays of geological material, though its collections include specimens of Northern Pennine rocks, minerals and fossils.
In addition, the Department holds the bulk of the core from the Rookhope Borehole. This is currently housed in a building in Rookhope village.
Contact: Professor Jon Davidson, Head of Department Telephone 0191 334 2000 (switchboard)
British Geological Survey Collections
Borehole core samples
BGS holds rock and fossil specimens from a very large number of boreholes within the county.
The collection includes a continuous slice of the Rookhope Borehole core.
Petrological collections
Thin sections of rocks from the county are registered in the British Geological Survey sliced rock collection. Most of these are of igneous rocks.
Palaeontological collections
Collections of fossil specimens, taken from surface, temporary exposures and boreholes throughout the county are registered in the British Geological Survey biostratigraphical collections.
For further information on BGS collections contact:
Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA Telephone 0131 667 1000 or
Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG Telephone 0115 936 3100
Geological models
Geological models are three-dimensional representations, often in simplified form, which have been used to illustrate or demonstrate a variety of geological structures or features. They may therefore be useful educational aids, or essential tools in mine planning. They may be constructed from a variety of materials.
It was common practice, until the advent of sophisticated computer graphics, to construct such models, during planning of mine exploration and development, to assist in visualising geological structures and their complex relationships. Modern computerised imagery enables the construction and manipulation of three-dimensional images without the need to construct physical models.
Geological models and geodiversity
Where such models illustrate specific features they provide a clear means of understanding the true three-dimensional nature of, often rather complex, features or structures.
Models, including those which illustrate the structural and stratigraphical relationships of mine workings, may represent important evidence for features which, though of great scientific significance, may no longer be accessible for study. As aids to the understanding of such features the models themselves may be legitimately regarded as important facets of geodiversity.
Geological models in County Durham
Two important types of geological models exist within County Durham.
Sopwith's models
The 19th century mine agent, and influential pioneer of geological thinking within the
Northern Pennines, Thomas Sopwith (1803–1879) produced a number of wooden models to illustrate key geological structures encountered during mining and mineral exploration. A cabinet maker by training, Sopwith produced a number of these models using skilfully carved inlaid and layered combinations of different coloured woods. It is believed that between twenty and thirty sets of these models were made. They were highly regarded and were sold widely beyond the Northern Pennines, though examples are rarely seen today.
Killhope Lead mining Museum holds what is believed to be the only set of 'Sopwith models' housed today in County Durham. The set is an especially fine one, including the original explanatory notes sold with the models.
Mine models — Before the advent of three-dimensional computer graphics, it was the practice of some mine operators to construct models of their underground workings, to enable geologists and mine engineers to plan mine exploration and development. During the 1960s and 1970s, in the Northern Pennines, the British steel Corporation employed such models to visualise their underground developments at their fluorspar mines. The models were constructed from metal rods, coloured to depict stratigraphical horizon, vein intersections etc. They were built, and kept up to date, by professional model makers working in conjunction with the working plans of the mines.
The models of parts of the workings at Blackdene Mine, Weardale, and Beaumont (Allenheads, Northumberland) Mine, Allenheads, survive.
The Blackdene Mine model, the only one which relates to County Durham, is on display at the Weardale Museum, Ireshopeburn, Weardale. It is generally sound condition, though could benefit from some comparatively minor restoration, mainly to its paintwork. As it is currently displayed, the model is accompanied by some very brief explanatory notes, though there is no detailed interpretation.
The importance of these geological models spans the interests of geology, mining history and the development of geological understanding of the North of England.
Spar boxes
Spar boxes are cabinets lined with crystals of minerals found in the lead mines of the Pennine dales. They may be small cabinets less than a metre across, or in some instances, may measure several metres across.
Some spar boxes are comparatively simple and comprise a small cabinet lined with colourful crystals selected purely for their aesthetic effect. More elaborate spar boxes incorporated mirrors, models of mining or architectural features, and in some instances, a number of lighting effects. Many spar boxes incorporated stuffed and mounted birds, in addition to minerals.
A number of 'spar models' or 'spar towers' are also known. These consist of assemblages of selected crystals mounted in the form of a tower or mound and commonly covered by a bell jar.
The tradition of making spar boxes by miners seems to have been restricted to the lead mining areas of the Northern Pennines, the Isle of Man and the iron mining areas of west Cumbria. There is no evidence of spar box making in other UK mining areas.
Fluorite, in various colours is usually a major component, of Northern Pennines spar boxes accompanied by quartz, calcite and commonly examples of ore minerals including galena. Barium minerals seem not to have been favoured by spar box makers. An interesting feature of many Northern Pennine spar boxes is the inclusion within them of minerals clearly identifiable as being derived from the west Cumbrian iron ore field. These include striking examples of aragonite, calcite and haematite in a number of forms. It seems that some form of trade, or exchange, of specimens was routinely practiced by miners and spar box makers.
Spar boxes and geodiversity
Although spar box making cannot be seen as a form of systematic collecting and curation of mineral specimens as scientific objects, it is an extremely important facet of the local mining tradition. Surviving spar boxes represent both an interesting resource of, often high quality though generally poorly localised, mineral specimens and an important legacy of a tradition almost unique to this mining field.
Spar boxes may be seen as interesting and almost unique aspects of the county's mineralogical heritage, and provide a superb opportunity to link the appreciation and understanding of earth science with an unusual rural craft tradition.
Spar boxes were once commonplace items of domestic decoration in many west Durham dales cottages. With the passage of many years since the demise of widespread lead mining, and the increasing interest and associated commercial value placed upon mineral specimens, spar boxes have attracted the attention of dealers and collectors. Many have been sold to collectors and dealers outside the county.
Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum displays the National Collection of spar boxes, including the famous Egglestone Spar Box, built in 1904, and believed to be the largest ever made.
Collecting of geological materials
Rocks minerals and fossils are collected for very many reasons.
They may be picked up as curiosities. Such casual collecting typically lacks any purpose and generally has little impact upon the resource.
More focussed collecting commonly forms part of a range of educational activities, from infant school to university level. Many forms of earth science research require the collecting of material for specialised study or analysis in the laboratory. Such collecting is highly focussed.
Recreational collecting of particular geological materials is popular with many individuals and groups. Whereas some of this collecting may form part of an individual or group interest in gaining greater understanding of those geological materials, and the processes involved in their formation and evolution, much collecting lacks any such underlying purpose.
Collections of rock, mineral and fossil specimens have, over the years, been assembled by a wide variety of collectors including both trained earth scientists and amateur collectors with no formal scientific training. In considering collections of earth science materials the vital role of the latter group of collectors should not be underestimated. Many of the world's finest collections owe much to their efforts, particularly their role in recovering material which would otherwise have been destroyed during mining or quarrying operations. Recreational collecting, particularly of minerals and fossils, remains a popular leisure activity in Britain today.
Once any object becomes 'collectible' it almost invariably assumes a commercial value. This is as true of geological materials as it is of coins or fine paintings. Commercial collecting of minerals and fossils pre-dates the emergence of earth science. Such commercial collectors and dealers have played, and still continue to play, a vital part in forming the great collections of geological materials.
Collecting and geodiversity
As in all branches of natural history, collecting has figured prominently in geology, both as an essential part of research and as a recreational pursuit. Without well-curated collections of geological materials, many avenues of geological investigation would be impossible. Collecting and collections are essential facets of geodiversity.
Collecting in County Durham
Almost all geological materials within the county are, or have been, the target of some form of collecting.
However, two main areas of geological science within the county attract interest, particularly from recreational collectors. The mineral deposits of the Northern Pennines, and the spectacular and unusual minerals they contain have long been a major focus of collecting interest. Rather more recently, a comparatively small number of collectors have been attracted to the vertebrate fossils found within the Permian Marl Slate.
Positive aspects of collecting
There have been many very positive and beneficial aspects to collecting.
Within County Durham, generations of Northern Pennine miners have recovered attractive or colourful examples of minerals encountered in the workings. These 'bonny bits' were used to decorate homes and gardens, or found their way into 'spar boxes', a craft that seems to have been almost unique to the Northern Pennines and West Cumbria and comprises another facet of the county's rich geodiversity (see Spar Boxes). The sale of specimens to mineral dealers was on occasions an important additional source of income to many miners. By this route many significant specimens found their way into important museum collections. Without such collecting and commercial trading in the materials collected, the world's museum collections would be much the poorer.
Like their counterparts in the county's lead and fluorspar mines, coal miners and quarrymen were commonly attracted by interesting material encountered in their workings. Numerous fossils of Coal Measures plants, invertebrates and much rarer vertebrate remains found their way into permanent collections through such activities. Particularly important are the large collections of Permian invertebrates and vertebrates collected over many decades by a variety of collectors, many of them with no formal scientific training. The large and important collections of these materials held today by local and national museums, bear eloquent testimony to the continuing heritage and research value of such collecting.
In common with many parts of Great Britain, many features of the county's geology are today inaccessible and can be understood only from the scientific literature or from suites of specimens preserved within significant geological collections. These comprise an extremely important part of the area's geodiversity.
Important geological materials still come to light during quarrying operations and other activities such as construction or road making which may reveal temporary exposures of geological features. In most instances such materials are almost inevitably destined for destruction unless recovered by some form of collecting. Similarly, in some circumstances collecting from abandoned underground mines may recover material that might otherwise be irretrievably lost when the workings eventually become inaccessible. Recovery of such material, if undertaken with appropriate scientific rigour and if accompanied by the making of appropriate records, can make important contributions to understanding of geodiversity.
The negative aspects of collecting
At the time of writing, unauthorised collecting of minerals from underground workings and surface exposures is known to be being pursued at several localities. The collectors involved generally have little or no geological training and, in most instances it is known that little or no attempt is being made to record features of geological interest or significance.
In consequence, it is likely that irreplaceable features, which exhibit important in situ relationships, of great geological significance will almost certainly be lost.
There is evidence that mineral collecting has seriously depleted, or in some cases exhausted, the accessible resources of several mine spoil heaps and damaged some exposures of mineralisation. Whereas some of the specimens collected have found their way into research organisations or public collections, in many instances few, if any, meaningful records of the occurrences have been made.
Collecting from several such sites is known to have been motivated primarily by the pursuit of saleable specimens. This inevitably means that aesthetic considerations are paramount in the preservation of the material: unattractive or unsaleable material is typically destroyed in during such activities. As specimens of great scientific interest may be aesthetically unappealing, much important material has thus been lost.
Some forms of collecting have therefore certainly caused serious damage to the area's geodiversity.
Controls on collecting in County Durham
These are currently very limited. Removal of geological materials from a site without the consent of the legal owner of the geological material may constitute theft. The obtaining of permission from the appropriate land or quarry owner is usually sufficient to resolve this legal aspect, though the legal owner of the geological feature and the materials within it may be unaware of their importance or fragility. Several landowners impose restrictions on collecting when granting access to their land, in some instances forbidding all collecting. In remote upland parts of the county, where ownership is often difficult to establish, much collecting is undertaken without any form of consent from the owner of the geological materials. There is no effective control in such cases.
Sites which are scheduled in some way, e.g. as SSSIs, SAMs, may have restrictions on collecting embedded within their management agreements.
English Nature publish best practice guidelines on fossil collecting, and guidelines on mineral collecting are in preparation.
A Code of Conduct for Geological Fieldwork, compiled by the Geologists' Association, has long been adopted by most professional earth scientists, educational and research establishments, and the more responsible geological societies. However, a significant number of individual collectors, and some societies, appear to be unaware of, or ignore, this code.
Collecting for education and research
An element of collecting, whether the assembling of a systematic collection or the casual removal of rock fragments during a field excursion, remains an important facet of education in the earth sciences. It is simply not possible to train as a geologist without having the ability to handle and gain a feeling for, as wide a variety of geological materials as possible in the field. The collecting of rocks, minerals or fossils, by youthful collectors is often the first step to an interest, or even career, in the earth sciences.
The area remains an important focus of research in the earth sciences. There will therefore remain an important requirement for the continued structured and disciplined collection of geological materials.
Several areas, or sites, could be identified which might be suitable for use by educational parties. These would need to be negotiated with landowners.
Quarries may be willing to set aside stockpiles of material suitable for educational, or recreational use, including collecting, in safe areas of their property. This material may well be waste or overburden material. Some quarries are understood to be making such provision for controlled collecting.
Selected references
English Nature, 2000, 2003; Hacker, 2003.