Ancient Geology 1: Genesis

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep….

Genesis 1

In the Beginning…

All stories or histories need a beginning. This blog is about the history of an isolated farm labourer’s cottage whose demolished remains lie hidden in the top NW corner of Castle Hill National Nature Reserve, famous for its chalk downland fauna & flora, midway between Brighton & Lewes.

The cottage’s origins lie in the Georgian period, over 200 years ago, and are connected with the Prince of Wales coming to Brighton resulting in the son of Kingston’s biggest landowner running up a huge gambling debt. However, in the history given here, and in my walks and talks, I have taken the story back further to start with the prehistory of the Kingston and Balsdean Downs.

My history has become the story of a landscape, and the people and geography that shaped it. I have given many guided walks across these Downs. They are where I was born. They are where both my parents were born. And something I took for granted was the stuff under our feet – chalk and flint.

The rocks under our feet can be seen exposed in the cliffs between Brighton and Beachy Head – brilliant white beacons of chalk. Their formation influenced so much of the later history and natural history of these most beautiful of South Downs that I needed to include them in my studies.

Of Chalk, Flint and Geology

I have now given two guided Healthwalks on our chalk and flint geology. But I am not a geologist. So when the two geologists who attended my last geology Healthwalk said I should study geology properly because I was really good at sharing my (limited) knowledge I thought – why not!

Ynys Môn (Anglesey)

After much consideration. I chose a camping trip to Anglesey as my first geology ‘classroom’. GeoMôn GeoPark – which covers the whole of Anglesey – is a UNESCO world geology heritage centre – one of the best places in the World for studying plate tectonics. This means that evidence for the movements of the continents across the face of the Earth throughout hundreds of millions of years of history can be experienced there. And understanding the story of our chalk South Downs involves understanding the forces involved with plate tectonics – of which much more later.

Chaos and Void

This is not a description of the earliest geological processes in Earth’s evolution. It is a description of the state of my packing! I haven’t been camping for a few years so I discovered that a lot of my old gear needed replacing. As many of you may know I have ADHD and Asperger Syndrome which means that, despite my intelligence my practical abilities can be somewhat chaotic. The void represents the gap between a completely organised, packed state of readiness and where I am now!!

So, without further ado, I will close now so I can get on with all the necessaries, then get some sleep ready to set off for Anglesey in the morning 🙂

Next post tomorrow!

Ancient Geology 2: Miracles ->