202

Sopwith Exhibition Exposition Sopwith

IB

U L L E T I N of the InternationalAssociation of ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

de I'Association Internationale de GEOLOGIE DE L'INGENIEUR N

o

21, 2112--211]

KREFELD

1980

1 l

THE EARLY HISTORY OF GEOLOGICAL MODELS (An Exhibition arranged for the IAEG/EG Newcastle upon Tyne Symposium on Engineering Geological Mapping) LES PRE/VlIERS AGES DE MODELES GEOLOGIQUES (Une exposition pr6parde ~ l'occasion du symposium de I'AIGI / "Engineering Group" "a Newcastle upon Tyne sur la Cartographie g6otechnique)

TURNER Susan, llancock Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne, U. K. DEARMAN W. R., Engineering Geology Unit, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U. K.

Introduction Thomas Sopwith F. R. S. t1803 - 1879) was a man of his time, ingenious and creative, practical and meticulous. The interests and skills of this man whose career spans a time of great industrial and scientific expansion were covered in a small exhibition which was intended to show the evolution of one of his ideas: three-dimensional geological models for practical demonstrations. The exhibit also investigated the precursors and probable inspirational sources for Sopwith's models. Sopwith, after his early training as a practical engineer and surveyor, began to draw on his family craft of cabinet making to make geological models. In 1828 he learnt engraving and began to draw and make plans and maps. tte mastered isometrical drawing and became an exponent of that art. Early on in his life he realised that not all men had the time nor inclination to study the rocks around them. He wished to pass on and record his knowledge and insight of the rocks to other geologists and men of related interests - miners, civil engineers, surveyors. In 1835 he planned his first large model of the Forest of Dean, made of wood, painted and sectioned to show the three-dimensional structure. Probably his most formative experience came in 1837 when he and colleague John Buddle met Dean William Buckland at Oxford, the first of several visits. It was his discussions with Buckland particularly, and also with Buddle and de la Beehe at the George Inn, Newcastle, on August 31st, 1838 that led him to produce his sets of simple geological models for sale in 1841. These were dedicated to Dean Buckland who advised which of the original thirty six models were most suitable "for conveying general information". The work of William Smith certainly influenced Sopwith as it must have every budding young geologist in the early 19th century. Sopwith met and worked with both Smith and his nephew, John Phillips, and it must have been a great joy to him to escort and discuss with Smith on a tour of Northumberland which they made together in 1837. The study and use of geology continued as one of Sopwith's chief interests all his life. The twelve models constructed to illustrate geological features were in considerable demand; he spoke of them at the British Association in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1838, the Geological Society in 1841, and in the same year to the Institution of Civil Engineers from whom he received their highest honour, the doveted Telford medal, in 1842.

Museum. These have been described and the additional models tllustrated (Dearman and Turner. in press). Interest in the work of Sopwith, who was a local man, and his sets of geological models led to a search for existing sets of models and published accounts of them. A most interesting lead was found in Woodward's (19[ 1, p. 55) "History of Geology" wherein he states that Sopwith ~as following in the tradition of Farey (1811) who "published an instructive series of coloured diagrams (block-diagrams, see Rudwick 1976) to explain the natures of faults or dislocations, and tilts of the strata, also o f subsequent denudation" diagrams which may be regarded as the precursors of the famous models afterwards constructed by Sopwith. Sopwith most probably read the work of John Farey and White Watson and may well have seen the various maps, plaques and even models which they made. Similarly he may have seen the lively models of Elias Hall, mentioned by Farey, when exhibited at a Geological Society. Models of Farey's coloured diagrams still exist at the Geological Society but as yet tlall's have not come to light. References DEARMAN W. R. - TURNER Susan (in press): Working drawings for the Sopwith models of 1841. FAREY J. (1811 - 1816): General view of the agriculture and minerals of Derbyshire. VoL l-III, pp. xlvii, 532. London, McMillan. RUDWICK M. J. S. (1976): The emergence of a visual language for geological science 1760-1840. Hist. Sci., 14, 149-195. SOPWITH T. (1828 - 1879): Diaries 173 volumes (on microfilm), University of Newcastle upon Tyne. SOPWlTH T. (1841): Description of a series of geological models. Newcastle-on-Tyne, J. Blackwell & Co., 84 pp. SOPWITH T. (1875): Description of a series of elementary geological models. London, R. J. Mitchell & Sons, 82 pp. TURNER S. - DEARMAN W. R. (1979): Sopwith's Geological Models. Bull Int. Assoc. Engng Geol., No. 19, 331-345. WOODWARD M. B. (1911): History o f Geology. London, Watts & Co., 154 pp.

Exhibition Catalogue In 1875, he published a revised set of six of the 1841 models which were slightly simplified by reducing the number of strata represented by thin sheets of exotic woods. In 1976 original working drawings, including unpublished models, were discovered with the sets of Sopwith models in the Hancock

1. Portrait of William Smith, 1769 - 1839 A watercolour by Robert Osborne (Hancock Museum) after the portrait in "Memoirs of William Smith, L L . D . " , by John Phillips (1844).

203

2. Biographical notice of William Smith Educated only at the village school, Smith became kno~n universally as the Father of English Geology and Stratigraphy, acquiring his knowledge of geology by his o\~n study and observations in the field. He was the l~st to recognise the real s~nificance of fossils as a means of determining the age of the strata in which they occur. Born at Churchill, Oxfordshire, he became an avid fossil collector whilst a young boy. At 18 he became assistant to a surveyor of the parish and later began surveying for canal projects in various parts of England. lte travelled extensively, working for companies to find the best course for canals: subsequently he supervised the construction of the Somerset Coal Canal tte reported on coal deposits and studied the nature and succession of the geological formations of the parts of England he visited, consulting local workers such as Farey and Watson. In 1801 he succeeded in draining the great Prizeley Bog and converting it to agricultural land and became involved in matters of drainage and irrigation, whereon he travelled as much as 10,000 miles a year. He always kept full notes which were invaluable when he came to prepare his great geological map of England, and county maps, which were the crowning labour of his life's work.

would be found beneath surface beds. The publications accompanying these early sections show that Watson was already familiar with William Smith's principle of strata being characterised by certain fossils, although he did not take the next step of using fossils to identify his strata in Derbyshire. His first tablet on a cross section of Derbyshire, made in 1807, was apparently based on the manuscript section by Farey. Although the two disagreed about several things, Watson seems to have been the observer and Farey the theoretician happy at times to make use of Watson's work. His contribution was his collection of local material and information and the will to use it to demonstrate geological principles to all sundry, a populariser of geological theory in visual terms, bringing local facts to the notice of the theorists like Farey, Buckland and Phillips. 7. White Watson, 181 I. "A delineation of the strata of Derbyshire" Sheffield (Moorland Reprint Company 1972). 8. White Watson F. L.S.

Inlaid marble tablet made in 1800

showing both sides by use of a mirror (ttancock Museum GR 18.74). Key from White Watson, 1788. An explanation of a Table representing the Strata in Derbyshire, pp. 16. Sheffield.

3. Reprints of Smith's Geological Map of Oxfordshire and ttistory 1974).

Gloucestershire (British Museum, Natural

4. Portrait of Elias flail fossilist of Castleton, Derbyshire, a watercolour by Robert Osborne (Hancock Museum) after an engraving in the Tilley manuscript loaned by Dr. Hugh Torrens. 5. Appraisal of tlall's models In John Farey's Report on Derbyshire Vol. I (1811) he mentions a Mr. Elias Hall, fossilist of Castlcton, Derbyshire, whose occupation was listed as mineral collector amongst his list of subscribers. Hall had already attempted to make models of strata in the eaxly 1800's, perhaps following the ideas of White Watson. He would demonstrate these models at his shop. In Volume III, 1816, Farey notes that Hall took his models to a Geological Society meeting and the models were laughed at because of their garish colous - the "injudicious use of rather too glowing colours, in Mr. Hall's first attempt". A distinguished scientist, we do not know who, made "a farfetched and contemptible joke, that a tray of Guts and Garbage in a fislunonger's or poulterer's shop rather than anything else, was called to mind". Farey then notes how the so-called professional geologists were wont to treat simple practical workers in the field with some contempt. Elias Hall's models of Derbyshire included "the face of the county, stratification, mineral veins, faults etc. etc". A search for HaU's models by the exhibitors, and by Dr. tt. Torrens and Dr. Trevor Ford has so far proved unsuccessful. We know at least one set went to the Geological Society, one to the British Museum (Natural History) and two to private individuals. He appears to have been a consulting geologist in the Lancashire Coalfield, making a map of this and surrounding areas, in William Smith style, around 1833. He also drew a section from the Lancashire to the Lincolnshire coast. 6. White Watson F. L. S. 1 7 6 0 - 1835 White Watson was one of the founders of geological knowledge in this country, tie was working as a mineral dealer in Derbyshire in the 1780's, publishing his first pamphlet in 1"788. In 1811 a fuller account of the strata of Derbyshire appeared, not always agreeing with Farey's interpretation. The geological .sections he figured were also among the first accurate representations, some of which appeared only in the form of inlaid marble "Tablets", which, although "published", would not normally be found in literary collections. White Watson was by profession a sculptor, marble worker and mineral dealer, residing for most of his life in Bakewell, Derbyshire. In his tablets he followed Whitehurst (1778 and 1786) in realising the meaning of succession of strata in terms of forecasting what

Fig. I:A Section of a Mountain in Derbyshire (obverse) 1. Argillaceous grit 2. Argillaceous ironstone 3. Coal 4. Siliceous grit 5. Shale with lead ore from the Limestone 6. Limestone with a pipe-vein and two rakes 7. Toadstone 8. Limestone with two rake-veins and a vein of toadstone 9. Toadstone with rake-veins of ore 10. Limestone with rake-veins of ore and one of toadstone 11. Toadstone 12. Limestone with a rake-vein of ore and one of toadstone, the above rake-vein of ore. "The scale of yards at the bottom is for determining the depth of the strata. One chief design of the table is to show, whatever stratum may happen to be uppermost, the general arrangement of the subsequent strata". Fig. 2:A Section of the curious curvilinear Strata at Ecton Hill (Reverse). White Watson's interpretation of the section in folded limestone at Apes Tot, near the Derbyshire-Staffordshire border, made about 1794: A. B. C.

a vein of copper ore a lum, which is a species of stone different from that of the rock itself and injected betwLxt strata a quantity of refuse drawn out of the mine.

9. Silhouette of John Farey, 1766 - 1826 by White Watson (1806 - 1807) from M. F. Stanley "200 Years of Derbyshire Geology". Derby Museum and Art Gallery, 26 pp. 10. Biographical notice of John Farey Born at Woburn, Bedfordshire, he attended Halifax School from the age of 16, studying mathematics, drawing and surveying. In 1792 he became steward to the Duke of Bedford and by 1802 had met and become a disciple of William Smith, being the first to give an account of Smith's discoveries in 1806. From 1807 he was engaged on a survey of the agriculture and minerals of Derbyshire and then became a professional mineral surveyor based in London. Farey gave us the earliest extended geological sections of British regions and two-dimensional block models of geological structures. There can be little doubt that Sopwith was inspired by Farey's ideas but had a greater practical understanding of the formation of structures. Farey's sections, not published until 1967 by Trevor Ford, were more detailed even than Smith's maps, having the advantage of a "larger scale. The London-Brighton section made around 1806 shows faults as gulfs widening downwards, previewing the block diagrams in his book on Derbyshire (1811).

204

'd~(~ ira2 "'A ,~cctbm r

I'[~. | :

i n i ; i k i m:lrbk" t:lbh:t hi:[de in 1X(~('l hv Wi~it~' ~3.:li',r

m(~unt:tin in D e r b y s h i r e ' "

t:ig. 2:

Reverse of tablet in Fig. 1 showing "A section of curious curvilinear strata at Ecton Hill'"

205

3

Rise parallel

i!izl

z!

C2

C1

\ C3

C5

C6

\ ~ .":.'~.:~.::..","~:~:.~i~.~:~ :.:~:'~'-~:~::: ~: ::"~~! ~7! :i

Fig. 3: An example of John Farey's block diagrams

206

?ig. 4: Thomas Sopwith

207

1 I. The London-Brighton Section made by John Farey around 1806, loaned by Trevor Ford, and. illustrated by him iv, Mercian Geologist, 1967, Vol. 2. 1, p. 41-49. "'The first detailed geological sections across England, by John Farey, 1806 - 1808." 12. John Farey's illustrations of his block diagrams in Volume I "General view of the agriculture and minerals of Derbyshire" 1811. 13. The sLx cases of "Rise Parallel" from "The First of Figures for explaining the nature of Faults or Dislocation & Tilts of the Strata, & of the subsequent Denudating and Excavating of the Terrestrial surface to its present shape" (Fig. 3). 3 - Rise Parallel: undenuded faulted parallel strata Case 1. Sections parallel to strata Case 2. Sections parallel to the fault and inclining Case 3. Sections perpendicular to the fault and inclining Case 4. Sections obliquely inclining to the fault Case 5. Cylindrical excavations parallel to the fault Case 6. Cylindrical excavations perpendicular to the fault.

nical engineering, lie began practice as assistant and then partner in 1826 to Joseph Dickinson in the local lead mines. The early years spent measuring royalties, planning mining operations, and surveying for projected roads and railways gave him valuable experience. He constantly kept notebooks and diaries, 173 in all at his death. In the 1830"s it is apparent that he began to plan and design a series of models to show particular and general geological structures. Thomas Telford proposed Sopwitb for membership of the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1833 after which his first major national commission was offered to him on his 30th birthday - the surveying of the .Mines of the Forest of Dean. tie began his first large model of the Forest of Dean in 1836. By late 1837 he had met both William Smith and Dean Buckland, and from discussions with the latter, and probably influenced by Farey's block diagams, he planned a series of models to illustrate various geological structures. 16. Cubbitt and Sopwith's 1844 Report on the railway project from the Sambre to the ,Meuse, Belgium (Library, University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

17. Portrait of Thomas Sopwith

14. Portrait of Thomas Sopwith M. A., C. E,, F. R. S., 1803 - 1879

from B. W. Richardson's b i o ~ a p h y of 1891 (Fig. 4).

A watercolour by Robert Osborne (Hancock Museum) after an engraving in Welford's "Men of mark twist Tyne and Tweed", 1895.

18. The History of Lead Mining in the North-east of England by L. Turnbull. ttarold Hill & Son, Newcastle upon Tyne, pp. 80.

15. Biographical notice of Thomas Sopwith

19. Sale catalogue of the Sopwith Library

Thomas Sopwith's career spans the early railway age. A truly professional man he was virtually a self-taught geologist, trained as surveyor and civil engineer, tie died 100 years ago but much of his work is fresh and useful to engineers and geologists today.

1879 (Library, University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

From the early training in the family cabinet-making firm he developed an interest in drawing, planning, land surveying and mecha-

Fig. 5:

20. Sections of strata at Nentsberry in the manor of Alston Moor drawn in isometrical projection by "1-. Sopwith, Trans. Nat. ttist. Soc. Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne, VoL 2, 1838, pp. 277-284.

Interior of Sopwith's workshop with large and small geological models

208

21. The Reverend Professor Dean Buckland D. D., F. R. S.

26. ltow the models were made and w h a t they were for

equipped as a "Glacialist": a sketch by Thomas Sopwith (loaned by Professor T. S. WestoU).

The models were made for sale either from Mr. John Sopwith of Grey Street, Newcastle or from Mr. T e n n a n t ' s of 149 The Strand, London. John Sopwith, Thomas's nephew, made the models from his designs and working drawings in the family workshop. A small book published in 1841 was intended to accompany the geological models. Sopwith considered the purpose of the models to impart elementary views, so that he "endeavoured to write in the same terms which I would use in describing them to those who are unacquainted with geology".

Thomas Sopwith was a man of many parts, lie was an excellent draughtsman and engraver, and produced among other things partial plans for the redevelopment of Newcastle during the GraingerDobson period. One of his engravings is of interest in the history of geology. This is a spirited representation of Dean Buckland, obviously done during the period of excitement following the demonstration by Agassiz of the former existence of glaciers. It shows Buckland dressed for the glaciers, with a coach in the background with a signpost "To Alston", and some lighthearted comments on glacial striations. The plate is ,,scratched" by T. Sopwith. 22. T h o m a s Sopwith as a young man an engraving by Clement Burlison of Durham c. 1835 (Laing Art Gallery) 23. Interior of Sopwith's Cabinet Makers, Sandyford Lane (Laing Art Gallery). Fig. 5 is part of the lithograph showing large and small Sopwith models being made on a bench, and 8opwith Levelling Staves against the wail on the right. 24. John Sopwith's workshops, 20th Jan. 1828 engraving by T. Sopwith (loaned by Professor T. S. Westoll).

The models were published in .sets of 6 or 12, as suggested by Buckland, to whom they were dedicated. T h e first 6 being one series useful in conveying a general notion of strata and denudation, while the remaining 6 were more appropriate as illustrating more complex conditions. The cost of making the 12 models, consisting of 579 separate pieces of wood, of several types, very nearly approached the selling price. Different sizes were made, a hand m o d e l of 3" square; 4" and 8" for lecture purposes, available to special order. Sopwith explained the use and construction of the models in a paper to the Society of Civil Engineers ha 1841. Buckland addressed the Geological Society on their value to geological and mining purposes, and LyeU recommended their use for recording and teaching practical geology in his Elements of Geology. They were adopted by Oxford, Cambridge and L o n d o n and are still used for teaching at the Geological Museum, L o n d o n and in the University of Glasgow. 27. Sections of strata

25. Isometrical drawing of Mr. Grainger's proposed railway terminus Newcastle (Newcastle University Library)

I L.

~

from Westgarth Forster's "Treatise on a Section of the Strata from Newcastle upon Tyne to the Mountain of Cross Fell, in Cumberland" 2nd Edition, 1821.

II1

XI

- t

"

"i

I i

,,,

~ ,,

; " ,,,~i I

.b [

I

V XII

VIVlll

1

.... I

':.Y.':i:(.:!

IX

/ .

11 VII Fig. 6:

IV

",.j"

:X

Reconstruction of the layout of twelve 1841 models on the laminated block from which they were cut

209

TO

T H E

REV.

PROFESSOR

CORRESPONDING

MEMBEK

BUC OF

THE

LAND, INSTITUTE

D.D., F.R.S.,F.G.S. OF

FRANCE.

.M~" Dr.xrt l)rt. BUCK1,AND, I am truly glad to avail myself of you~ kind permission to inscribe to you this series of Geological Models, and the Descriptive Ni~tiees which aeeo~apany them, inasmuch as it affords me an opportunity of acknowledging I:he valuable aid derived front your suggestions in selecting such examples as appeared best calculated for eonveying general information, and of expressing the still higher obligations which I feel in common with all who are attached to geological pursuits, for thq: advantages afforded bv your extensive and unwearied researches into, and clear exposit~ns of, that interesting and important science. am, wiflt great regard, Mv dear Dr. Buekland. Yours very sincerely,

,\bu,eastle r,'l~ Ti/ne. ls.t JVa//, ] 9 11. Fig. 8:

Dedication to Buckland on the inside of the box lid of a set of 1841 models.

Trios. So P'~VITH.

210

28. Working drawings for a set of three inch Sopwith models

A. M. Tynan, Hancock Museum.

(donated to the Hancock Museum in 1904 by Henry Robson of Jesmond).

Dr. W. D. I. Rolfe, Hunterian Museum.

29. Reconstruction of the layout of the twelve 1841 models

Dr. Trevor Ford, Department o f Geology, Leicester University. M. F. Stanley, HuU Museums

on the side of the laminated wood block from which they were cut (Fig. 6, by Dearman und Turner).

Dr. Hugh Torrens, Department of Geology, Keele University.

Our sincere thanks axe due to the design assistants of the exhibit: Mr. M. McLauclin and R. Osborne of t h e Hancock Museum.

30. A display of three-inch, four-inch and eight-inch models and the presentation book-box for a set of four inch models (Hancock Museum; Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh; Hunterian Museum, Glasgow) (Fig. 7). The display of models in the foyer of the Curtis Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. In the foreground Lyell's Elements of Geology, 1878 in which three of the models were illustrated, and the 1875 "Description of a series of elementary geological models" by T. Sopwith.

Appendix List o f k n o w n c o l l e c t i o n s o f 1 8 4 1 m o d e l s Three-inch:

31. Presentation book-box for a set of twelve four-inch models, 1841 (Hunterian Museum, Glasgow).

(presentation box

of

Four-inch:

Hancock Museum (complete) Department of Geology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne (complete) Hunterlan Museum, Glasgow (partial set of models I-XII in presentation b o x ) Department of Geology, University of Cambridge (set of models I-XII - except lower part of model XI - in presentation box. Department of Geology, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London.

Eight-inch:

Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh (complete)

Fig. 8: The dedication on the inside of the box lid to Rev. Professor Buckland.

Acknowledgments Loan of specimens and useful information: Professor T. S. WestoU; Dr. C. D. Waterston - Royal Scottish Museum. Literary & Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. Laing Art Gallery, Tyne and Wear Museums - Andrew Gregg and Gill Hedley. University of Newcastle upon Tyne Library - The Librarian. Mr. C. Cochrane, Department of Geology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Hancock Museum (partial) University Museum Oxford models I - V I )

List of k n o w n collections of 1 8 7 5 m o d e l s Eight-inch:

Geological Museum. Sciences, London.

The

Institute of Geological

Final Summing-up Synopsis

Ladies and Gentlemen, My first and pleasant duty is to give heartful congratulations to all those responsible for this Symposium: those who have conceived and prepared it, first its Chairman: Prof. Dearman with all members of the Organizing Committee and all their Collaborators, with a special mention of Dr. Money and Dr. Coffey and Miss Lynne Me Guinness who has taken care for everything and of everyone; speakers, authors of papers, exhibitors of maps and equipment; those who have edited the special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Dr. WoRers for the Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering Geology which wiU give a very large international diffusion; mostly because we know the special impact of such issues concentrated on one theme; not forgetting the honourable Sponsors: the Royal Society and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. All of them can be satisfied with the success of this meeting of which we shall remember the very friendly atmosphere as well as the scientific and professional interest.

I take this opportunity of addressing the conference for giving my best personal regards to every m e m b e r of the IAEG present here: with something more for the United Kingdom IAEG members. I want to publicly say here how IAEG is indebted to Bill Dearman and Brian Hawkins for their positive, efficient and highly appreciated contribution to international cooperation when building a national U X . Group. May I also extend my friendly salutations to all members of the Engineering Geological Group of the Geological Society, beginning with their Chairman Mr. Peter L a n c a s t e r - J o n e s , and tell you how I have been impressed by the importance and the activity of that Group. Coming back to the Symposium, I note with the organizers that this meeting marks more or less a 10th anniversary. In August 1968, was set up the IAEG Commission on Engineering Geological Mapping. I am pleased here to pay a special hommage to its President: Prof. Dearman, to its Secretary: Mrs.Dorothy R a d b r u c h Hall, and to all its members. This Commission was the first established within our International Association, and has been the most active one, from the origin.