Warnham

Also within

West Sussex County

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Sandstone, Siltstone

Description

Description The Langhurst Wood brick pit exposes the lower Weald Clay Group above the Horsham Stone and is one of the most important sites in this unit. Multidisciplinary evidence of the range of depositional environments may be seen here; freshwater plants, Cypridea, small Viviparus, Unio, fish etc., brackish non Cypridea ostracods, Filosina etc., brackish marine foraminifera, Cassiope etc. are all present. The preservation of shell aragonite provides carbon isotope evidence to support environmental studies. Sedimentary structures are preserved, often as siltstone lenticles and include basin casts, concentric groove casts around upstanding plants, various forms of ripple marks, lineated plant fragments and gutter casts. Pebbly sandstone gutter/runnel casts from around the horizon of BGS Bed 2 Gossops Green Pebble Bed, Warnham Pebble Bed etc. have been recorded at a nearby site Brookhurst Wood containing detritus from the Boreal Sea to the north west. As the Langhurst Wood locality shows similar stratigraphic levels, this information provides valuable indicators as to local sediment sources. Other Information This is a new site and is to be included in 'A Geological Conservation Review'.