The Farnham Terraces and their Sequence

Abstract

In 1913 the gravel beds on the right bank of the Wey at Farnham were described as occurring on four terraces (A, B, C, D,) though admittedly the highest terrace (A) was only part of the much-dissected plateau of Alice Holt. All authorities were until recently agreed that these beds consisted of river gravel, but now Mr R. A. Smith and Major Wade, without giving any clear reasons for their dissent, assure us that there are only two river terraces, one at 50 feet above the river (Terrace D) and the other at 100 feet (Terrace C); and that all the Pleistocene deposits above the latter are ‘contorted drift.’ It does not appear, however, that these words are used in their ordinary sense, to denote the product of a glacier, but Mr Reginald Smith tells us that the gravel is ‘clearly not of river origin; hence some other geological reason for the deposit must be sought.’In the following pages these assertions will be challenged, and an attempt will be made to show that river-gravels extend right up on to the plateau. The old names of the terraces, however, will be maintained throughout, as it seems undesirable to employ the terms ‘50 feet terrace,’ and ‘100 feet terrace’ until their relation to those of the Thames Valley is more fully established.