Another example of fossil trees was found at Wadsley in 1933, and may well be the subject of a later posting.
Fossil Trees at Brightside, 1896
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Sheffield Independent – November 17th, 1896. [p7]
FOSSIL TREE AT
BRIGHTSIDE
During the excavations for the new line, at Brightside
Station, on the Midland Railway, the workmen have brought to light a very fine
specimen of a fossil tree. Though much
damaged by the workmen’s tools, there is still to be seen the trunk, with roots
branching out as if still growing. It
measures 6ft. 6in. in circumference at the base. Further operations have revealed another
interesting specimen. The directors of
the company intend visiting the cutting, and the fossils will probably be
forwarded to Derby.
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Sheffield Telegraph - Nov 18th, 1896. [p9]
A PRIMEVAL FOREST AT
BRIGHTSIDE
[Special]
THE DISCOVERY OF FOSSIL
TREES
During the excavations through the bank at the side of the
railway at Brightside Station, for the purpose of laying down additional lines,
the workmen have unearthed some interesting examples of the larger forms of
vegetation that flourished at the time when our coal seams were formed. The bank side is composed chiefly of
sandstone mixed with shale, and embedded therein are numerous specimens of
ferns that flourished during the carboniferous period. These, buried in the sand and mud that silted
up the land where they originally grew, have now been disinterred, after having
been hidden probably for many millions of years. A still more striking example of
carboniferous vegetation was unearthed last week, when the sandstone which the
men were removing fell away from the round trunk of a tree, which had been
broken off about three feet from the roots.
Under the direction of Mr. Herbert Sherdon, the base of the tree was
carefully cleared, and the roots exposed.
The one on the left has been abruptly broken off where some deeper
excavations had been made, and the root has been split open horizontally,
showing a dark, carbonised layer where the internal pith was. There are three other principal broad roots
extending from the tree, and it may be possible to expose and preserve these
for a considerable distance, when the sandstone is further removed. The bark of the tree can well be seen,
converted into a thin layer of coal, adhering to the outer surface in various
parts. The tree itself, of course, has
lost all its woody character, and has been converted into a mass of clay
ironstone. On exposure to the air, after
its burial of long ages, the outer surface shows a tendency to break off, and
the trunk itself will readily split into sections. The form of the tree is very distinct, and is
almost upright in position, after allowing for the general dip of the
sandstone. It is an exceedingly
interesting object, and an effort is being made by Mr. Sherdon and his workmen,
under the direction of Mr. T. H. Ainsworth, one of the Midland Company’s
engineers, to get it out in as perfect a state as possible. A suggestion was made that it should be sent
to Derby, the local head-quarters of the Midland Company, but it has no
relation whatever to the geology of that place, and is a most interesting
example of the fossils of the local strata, it is to be hoped it will remain in
Sheffield, where it will be much more appreciated by students. Close to it another tree was found lying down
in the sandstone, having been levelled, no doubt, in one of the storms of the
remote past, when the land thereabouts consisted of a sandy shore, with vast
swamps in which grew the carboniferous plants.
For these sandstones and shales at Brightside are a continuation of the
ripple-marked beds in the gasworks at Grimesthorpe, which were described in our
columns a few weeks ago, and about half a mile further on the ripple-marked
sandstone again comes to the surface, so that evidently these trees and plants
once flourished near the seashore, afterwards being silted up in mud and sand,
washed down to them at times of flood, which ultimately entirely buried
them. It is very probable that in the
excavations that have still to be made for these new lines of rail, other trees
will be met with, and having now discovered what interesting ground this is,
the workmen will no doubt, be careful to preserve any further evidences of
ancient vegetation that they may come across.
In fact the top of another tree, about 50 yards further down the line,
has already appeared, which promises to be even more complete than the present
one, for the bark on its surface is well seen in the small portion so far
exposed, while the bole itself appears to show signs of ridges down it. In many parts of the country where
carboniferous strata have been exposed near the surface fallen trunks of trees
have been discovered, but it is much more rare to find them in an upright
position like these two at Brightside. And
it shows that the deposition of the sandstone and shale round about them must
have taken place rather rapidly to bury the trees before exposure to the air
had caused them to decay. A good example
of a tree from the Lancashire carboniferous rocks, with extensive roots
attached, is in the Manchester Museum.
Hundreds of visitors have flocked to see this remarkable sight at
Brightside, and it is necessary to keep careful watch to prevent unthinking
curiosity damaging them. They are
certainly worthy of being most carefully preserved. Remarks were freely made that these must have
been covered up by the Flood. Doubtless
they were, though the Noachal Flood scarcely reached this part of the country,
and the deluge that covered up these trees occurred in those palaeozoic days
that belong to the early stages of the earth’s history – a time that must be
counted back by millions of years, before man made his appearance on this
planet.
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Sheffield Independent – November 21st, 1896. [p9]
THE FOSSIL TREE AT
BRIGHTSIDE
Through the kindly intervention of Sir Frederick Mappin, the
fossil tree unearthed at Brightside will not be removed to Derby, but will be
presented by the Midland Railway Company to the Public Museum in Weston
Park. The difficulty of getting out the
tree unbroken, and removing it intact to the Museum will undoubtedly be very
great, but it is hoped that under the direction of the railway company
officials the task may be accomplished satisfactorily.
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Sheffield Telegraph – December 15th, 1896.
CURRENT TOPICS
Like plants of more recent growth at this time of year, the
primeval forest at Brightside is rapidly being denuded of its foliage, and
there will soon be nothing to indicate that thereon, in ages immeasurably
remote, the more powerful and gracious sun of those days built up the
structures that now provide light and heat for present use. Not that the plants at Brightside had ever
formed workable coal, yet they undoubtedly demonstrated the class of plants
that flourished during the period when our coal seams were first formed, or
rather when the vegetable organisms lived that afterwards were converted into
coal. A dull, blank wall of solid
masonry will soon obliterate all trace of the former forest, though fortunately
many specimens of lasting interest will remain in our Museum. Throughout the excavations at Brightside, the
Midland Railway Company has shown its usual considerate courtesy in meeting the
wishes of the Museum authorities, who desire to retain evidences of this
remarkable forest-bed, or more properly vegetable swamp, and, under the
direction of Mr. Taylor, the engineer, and Mr. Herbert Sherdon, who is in
charge of the excavations, the workmen have exercised the utmost care in
preserving the various fossils which have been discovered.
-----
Beside the trees already referred to in these columns, a larger
trunk was unearthed down to its roots, and stood 7 feet 6 inches in
height. Last week the base of another
tree some 2 feet in height, was exposed in an upright position, during the removal
of the rock, while lying beside it on the ground was what appeared to be the
upper part of this tree, which, during some palaeozoic gale, had been blown off
the parent stem. This measured over fourteen
feet in length, and owing to the pressure of the superimposed strata, which
after ages had lain down, only to be cleared away by the denuding agencies of
still later days, this prone trunk had been so flattened, that while its width
was two feet, its thickness, as it lay on the ground, was only 5 inches. It has, of course, been found impossible to
remove these various trees without breakage, though it is hoped that the pieces
will be capable of reconstruction in the museums of Sheffield and Rotherham,
where they have been placed. A large
number of fossil ferns, calamites, lepidodendroid remains, and other
carboniferous plants, have also been reserved for these museums. The excavations have been singularly rich in
fossils, which are usually scarse in our local strata. The Midland Company, who have been, to a
great extent, influenced by Sir Frederick Mappin in this matter, have shown a
praisworthy spirit in allowing the work to be done with the care necessary to
preserve thse interesting relics, for there is no doubt that it has to some
extent delayed the progress of the excavations.
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Sheffield
Independent – March 4th, 1897.
FREE LECTURES IN BRIGHTSIDE
– THE RECENT GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY -
Professor
Denny delivered the last of his highly valuable series of free lectures in the
Brightside Ward on “Some Phases of Plant Life” in the Burngreave Vestry Hall
last night. The subject was “Plants of
the Past”, and there was a large attendance.
Mr. T. Firth occupied the chair.
In the course of the lecture – which was elucidated and made more
attractive by means of lantern slides – Professor Denny touched on the recent
discovery of relics of the Carboniferous age in the new railway cutting at
Brightside. The plants dealt with were
those which existed before man’s advent, namely, the non-flowering types of
vegetation. The lecturer opend by
describing the various strata of the earth’s surface from the ages during which
the earth was in a molten state to the Carboniferous period. Geologists relied for their theories as to
the history of the earth’s surface upon what they found imbedded in these
strata. It was perfectly plain that
human life was impossible in the age immediately preceeding the cooling-down of
the earth’s surface. Coming to the
Silurian period, the lecturer said that it had been discovered that plants had
an existence during the age which presented no features in common with the
plants or trees of the present day. The
remains of what was held to be the oldest specimen of genuine tree-life should
be conclusive evidence of its being nothing more than a gigantic sea-weed. Many of the species of this age had died out
altogether, or were so exceedingly rare as to be only known to geologists. In the next period – the Devonian – gigantic
plants, 100 feet high and 10 feet in circumference, luxuriated. Coming to the Carboniferous or coal age, an
exceedingly realistic imaginary picture of the appearance of a prehistoric coal
forest was thrown on the screen.
Referring to the Brightside discovery of a number of these trunks close
together, the lecturer said that they were types which had ceased to exist on
the earth countless ages before any flowering plants were known. It was matter for regret that it had been
found impossible to preserve the trunks intact.
They were very excellent examples of trees, showing stem, root, leaves,
and even cones. It was an exceedingly
interesting and important find. Dr. T.
H. Morton, of Brightside, had taken photographs of the trees before they were
taken to Weston Park Museum, and had kindly prepared the slides for the
lecture. The discovery was one which
would have valuable results in geological study. He pointed out that 26 different kinds of
plants had been identified in the discovered strata find, and all the principle
plants most characteristic of coal measures had been found there. The remainder of the lecture dealt lucidly
and interestingly with the more striking features of plant life in the
Carboniferous age, and at the close, a vote of thanks to the lecturer was moved
by Mr. W. H. Ellin, and carried, this concluding the proceedings.
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