Cattybrook Brickpit

Also within

Gloucestershire County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Description

Area, 2.2 ha. 5.5 ac. Description This site comprises two localities of geological importance, one at the southern end and one at the northern end of Cattybrook Brick pit, exposing rocks of Westphalian Upper Carboniferous age. The rocks here are a highly distorted sequence of flood plain deposits with important fossil plant remains. These rocks, particularly well exposed in the southern locality, represent part of a very thin sequence, right at the edge of the main Bristol and Somerset Basin and provide valuable information on the development of the western margin of the coalfield. This is the only exposure of such marginal deposits. Only during the late Westphalian D did sedimentation extend continuously from Bristol and Somerset to South Wales, covering the area of the brick pit. The site is thus of considerable importance for understanding the geological evolution of the south western part of Britain during the late Carboniferous. The northern locality has yielded a diverse assemblage of over 20 species of Middle Carboniferous plant fossils. Common elements include Karinopteris acuta Brongniart, Neuropteris loshii Brongniart, Paripteris pseudogigantea and Lonchopteris rugosa Brongniart and is a typical upper Lyginopteris hoeninghausii / Neuralathopteris schlehanii Biozone assemblage indicating late Westphalian A. Of particular interest are unusually complete examples of Karinopteris, Sphenophyllum and Lonchopteris in the crevasse splay sandstones, providing important information on the form and habitat of these plants. It is the best known locality for yielding this flora in Britain.