Monument record 1754/2 - Dinglesmithy Bridge Quarry, Withington, Chelford

A similar sequence of organic deposits to those a Farm Wood Quarry (CHER1754/1) were visible here. These deposits which are believed to have formed during a warmer interstadial period within the Devensian (last) glaciation have been recognised at this site. Evidence from pollen and the preserved remains of trees indicates that this interval was characterised by a type of northern coniferous forest similar to that found in parts of Finland today. This suggests that the climate at Chelford would have been capable of supporting human occupation, although does not prove this. The deposits predate 75-90,000 years and may be somewhere in the region of 90-100,000 years old (1).

<1> Simpson IM & West RG, 1958, On the Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of a Late-Pleistocene Organic Deposit at Chelford, Cheshire (Article in Journal). SCH3218.