Gilbert's Pit

Last updated
Gilbert's Pit (Charlton)
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Gilberts Pit, London Borough of Greenwich, SE7 (2252315297).jpg
Location Greater London
Grid reference TQ418786
InterestGeological
Area5.2 hectares
Notification 1985
Location map Magic Map

Gilbert's Pit is a 5.2-hectare (13-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Charlton in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It was notified in 1985 and was formerly known as Charlton Sand Pit. [1] It is a Geological Conservation Review site. [2] It is also part of the Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert's Pit Local Nature Reserve. [3] [4] It adjoins Maryon Park and is close to Maryon Wilson Park.

Contents

History

Hanging Wood, with the Pit to the north (1920) Location of Maryon Wilson Park (1920).png
Hanging Wood, with the Pit to the north (1920)

There was a Romano-British settlement on Cox's Mount, the summit of Gilbert's Pit, between the first and fifth centuries. The area was part of the ancient Hanging Wood. The Pit was part of the estate of the Maryon-Wilson family. From the late eighteenth century to 1889 it was worked for sand, and it was named after one of the managers, Mr E. Gilbert. It was purchased by the London County Council in 1930. [5] [6]

Geology

Paleogene succession exposed in the old quarry face. The grey sand making up the lower two-thirds of the face is the Thanet Formation, This is overlain by the yellow-brown weathering sands of the Upnor Formation (the lower part of the Lambeth Group). The overlying Woolwich Formation consists of the distinctive light grey shell bed, followed by dark grey clays. The top of the slope has the distinctive black flint pebbles of the Harwich Formation (better known locally as the Blackheath Beds) Gilbert's Pit section.jpg
Paleogene succession exposed in the old quarry face. The grey sand making up the lower two-thirds of the face is the Thanet Formation, This is overlain by the yellow-brown weathering sands of the Upnor Formation (the lower part of the Lambeth Group). The overlying Woolwich Formation consists of the distinctive light grey shell bed, followed by dark grey clays. The top of the slope has the distinctive black flint pebbles of the Harwich Formation (better known locally as the Blackheath Beds)

Gilbert's Pit is an important Paleogene site, displaying one of the most complete sequences of sediments in Greater London. The Paleocene Thanet and Woolwich Formations date to around 55 million years ago. Some of the beds yield many fossils of plants, sponges, molluscs, fish and reptiles. The site has been studied for over 120 years and is the subject of a substantial literature. [1]

Ecology

The site is steeply sided. The main trees are birch and oak, and there is yellow gorse and broom on the upper slopes. On the lower slopes hawthorn provides nesting sites for birds. [7]

Access

View north west from Cox's Mount at the top of Gilbert's Pit Gilbert's Pit view.JPG
View north west from Cox's Mount at the top of Gilbert's Pit

Much of the site is fenced off. There is access to the part which is open from Charlton Lane and a path from the Gilbert's Pit information board in Maryon Park leads up to Cox's Mount, which has fine views over London.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryon Park</span>

Maryon Park is an urban public park located in Charlton in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is situated on the A206 south of the Thames Barrier. There is access from Woolwich Road, Charlton Lane and Thorntree Road. It is part of the Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert's Pit Local Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorpe Park No 1 Gravel Pit</span>

Thorpe Park No 1 Gravel Pit is a 42.5-hectare (105-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of Virginia Water in Surrey. It is part of the Thorpe Park theme park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryon Wilson Park</span> Park in Greenwich, London, England

Maryon Wilson Park is a public park in Charlton, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south east London. It is bounded on its northwest side by Thorntree Road; its southern-most, and highest, point is a gateway on to Charlton Park Road.

Elmstead Pit is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Elmstead in the London Borough of Bromley. Formerly known as Rock Pits, it is a small area of 0.05 hectare. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

Harefield Pit is a 1.8-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It occupies much of a partially filled-in chalk quarry. It has two entries in the Geological Conservation Review database.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wansunt Pit</span> UK Site of Special Scientific Interest

Wansunt Pit is a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dartford Heath between Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley and Dartford in Kent. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site. It is important geologically because it exposes the Dartford Heath Gravel, and the relationship of this exposure to the Swanscombe sequence and the Thames Terraces is a controversial issue in Thames Pleistocene studies. The site is part of Braeburn Park, a nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totternhoe nature reserve</span>

Totternhoe nature reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN). The 31-hectare (77-acre) site is in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, and it includes parts of three Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Totternhoe Knolls is a biological SSSI owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of it is managed jointly by the National Trust and the WTBCN, excluding Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is part of the SSSI but not of WTBCN's nature reserve. Totternhoe nature reserve also includes the geological SSSI, Totternhoe Stone Pit, which is not open to the public, and other areas owned by WTBCN, including part of Totternhoe Chalk Quarry, another biological SSSI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone SSSI, Buckinghamshire</span>

Stone SSSI is a 0.12-hectare (0.30-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Stone in Buckinghamshire. It is listed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee as a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foulness SSSI</span>

Foulness SSSI is a 10,702 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest covering the shoreline between Southend-on-Sea and the Crouch estuary in Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardleigh Gravel Pit</span> Site in Essex, UK

Ardleigh Gravel Pit is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Ardleigh in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkestone Warren</span>

Folkestone Warren is a 316.3-hectare (782-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs along the coast between Folkestone and Dover in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and it contains three Geological Conservation Review sites and part of a fourth. An area of 83.6 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Hill to Cockham Wood</span> Biological and geological site

Tower Hill to Cockham Wood is a 47.8-hectare (118-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Rochester in Kent. It contains two Geological Conservation Review sites.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gilbert's Pit (Charlton) SSSI citation" (PDF). Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  2. ↑ "Charlton Sand Pit (Gilbert's Pit) (Palaeogene)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert's Pit". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Map of Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert's Pit". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Gilbert's Pit noticeboard Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Charlton Park Reminiscences Project, Maryon Park & Gilbert’s Pit
  7. ↑ Greenchain, Gilberts Pit & Maryon Park

51°29′20″N0°02′30″E / 51.4888°N 0.0418°E / 51.4888; 0.0418

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.