Bugle Quarry SSSI
Grid reference: SP 793 121
Area
of site: 0.08 ha
(c. 30m x 25 m x 6 m high)
Access,
location and parking:
Permission is required from the owner. (The quarry is unsafe to use which has
upset the owner. In the first instance contact Natural England at the Newbury
Office to assess the current ‘state of play’ for visits). Parking is near
the entrance to the farm gates or at various locations along the A418.
Site
description:
Disused pit, originally infilled by the late 1950s and re-opened in 1984. The
excavation is surrounded by a strong retaining fence within a horse grazing
area.
Geological
interpretation:
The geological SSSI notification is for Portlandian (Jurassic) stratigraphy and
for vertebrate palaeontology (reptilian). The locality contains an important
sequence of topmost marine
In
addition, the RIGS interest is large as the boundary between the Portland Creamy
Limestones and the Purbeck Limestone Formation is not seen elsewhere in the
county at present. The site presents a good educational opportunity to see
directly some of the evidence for changes in sea-level and the brackish and
freshwater deposits of the Jurassic Purbeck. It is useful therefore for students
or people with an interest in palaeoenvironments, sea-level changes,
palaeoecology, stratigraphy or local geological history. Although the Creamy
Limestones can be seen in the walls of buildings in nearby Hartwell, Stone and
Dinton, amongst others, it is educationally desirable to have an in situ
section of the same rocks. (This is the only way to study stratigraphy!)
Current
and potential educational use
(geology, ecology, archaeology, industrial archaeology):
Current use is not made of the site due to the dangerous and inaccessible
condition. Potentially it is a very interesting and essential geological site
for the reasons outlined above.
Conservation
interest:
To maintain the integrity and exposure of the
Threats
to site (present and future): natural processes such as further vegetation growth and rock falls are
the major risk as infill is prohibited under the SSSI status.
Constraints
(basic risk assessment): Currently unsafe to access due to steps degrading and access blocked by
thick vegetation growth and fallen rubble. If steps were re-cut they would
require maintenance from time to time.
Reference
list/bibliography:
Barker,
D. 1966. British Jurassic and Cretaceous Ostracoda. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat.
Hist.) Geol., 11, 459-488.
Davies,
A. M. and Wilson, V. 1949. Field Meeting in the north
Hudleston,
W. H. 1887. Excursion to Aylesbury. Proceedings of the Geologists’
Association, 10, 166-172.
Lydekker,
R. 1893. On two dinosaurian teeth from Aylesbury. Quart. J. Geol. Soc. London.,
49, 556-568.
Merrett,
A. 1924. Ostracods found in the Purbeck Beds of the Vale of Aylesbury. Geol.
Mag., 61, 233-238.
Radley,
J. D. 1991. Palaeoecology and deposition of Portlandian (Upper Jurassic) strata
at the Bugle Pit, Hartwell, Buckinghamshire. Proceedings of the Geologists’
Association 102(4), 241-249.
Sumbler,
M. G. 1990. Geological notes and local details for 1:10000 sheets SP 71 SE
(Stone). Brit. Geol. Surv. Techinical Report WA/89/67.
Woodward,
A. S. 1895. Note on megalosaurian teeth discovered by Mr J. Alstone in the
Portlandian of Aylesbury. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 14,
31-32.
Woodward,
H. B. 1895 The Jurassic rocks of