Gwaith Brics Buttington / Buttington Brickworks
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Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Rock Type: Mudstone, Shale
Description
Description This site is of special scientific interest because it shows a continuous sequence of rocks from Llandovery to Wenlock age. These were formed on a submarine slope – between a shallow water, carbonate shelf area east of Church Stretton and deep-water, basinal, graptolitic shale area to the west. The site lies within a quarry north-east of Buttington, east of Welshpool. Llandovery (GCR 1772) The site is the type section of the Buttington Shale Formation from the upper part of the Llandovery Series. Though poorly fossiliferous for visible fossils (graptolites), the upper part of the Buttington Brickworks Formation has a diverse microflora and microfauna, including acritarchs, and conodonts, which are important stratigraphical indicators. Wenlock (GCR 955) It also shows a section extending from Llandovery to Wenlock, showing a potential transition from the Telychian Stage (Llandovery) to the Sheinwoodian (Wenlock). It shows the contrast between the maroon to purple Buttington Shale Formation (of Telychian age) and the blue-grey Trewern Brook Mudstone Formation (of Sheinwoodian age). The latter yielding lower Wenlock graptolites of the Cyrtograptus centrifuges, Cyrtograptus murchisoni and Monograptus riccartonensis biozones.