Page:The South Staffordshire Coalfield - Joseph Beete Jukes - 1859.djvu/174

156 under the Permian, as in the Cradley basin, the beds of the Pensnett basin rise and crop out to the south, not only along the flanks of the Netherton anticlinal, but over great part of the ground between it and the Boundary fault.

Immediately west of the Lye, indeed, there is a little basin of Thick coal which under the Grange is at a depth of 140 yards, and seems to dip thence rapidly southwards towards Prescott, as was before described, when speaking of the south end of the Netherton anticlinal. It not only dips south, however, but rises rapidly towards the west at an angle of 45°, and cropping against the boundary fault for some distance it reaches the surface just south of the Stourbridge road, whence this outcrop strikes north-easterly, and runs parallel to the Netherton anticlinal for some distance, thus making the little trough of Hay Green and Tintam Abbey.

The Thick and other coals, however, are so much deteriorated here by "rubbish" that the clays become the more valuable mines, especially the Fire-clays used for making the well-known Stourbridge fire-bricks.

After striking north-easterly up to Mousehall farm the crop of the Thick coal then curves to the west towards Amblecote, and runs in a curved line to the boundary fault a little south of Brettell Lane, as shown in the map. All along this line the dip is to the north under Brierley Hill.

A few little east and west faults traverse the Amblecote and Hay Green district, and are said to extend even across the anticlinal.



Brierley Hill Trough Faults.—At Brierley Hill two much more powerful dislocations form a trough, each having a downthrow of 80 or 90 yards (or about 250 feet), in the centre of their range, but decreasing that amount towards their extremities to less than 30 yards (or 90 feet). The southern of these two faults ends on the west flank of the Netherton anticlinal, but the northern one is said to run right across it, carrying a downthrow to the south of 10 or 12 yards, and running in a curved line to Withymere, where it dies out on coalescing with the Russell's Hall fault.

Brockmoor Fault.—On the west both these faults are cut off by the southern end of the Brockmoor fault, which, springing out of the western boundary fault north of Brettell Lane, runs about north-northeast to Pensnett reservoir, having a downthrow to the west of about