Visit to the Lapworth Museum of Geology

Visit to the Lapworth Museum of Geology

On the 4th February after the branch AGM we were treated to a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Lapworth Museum by Jon Clatworthy, museum curator.

Jon explained the background to the museum which dates back to 1880 and is one of the oldest specialist geological museums in the UK. The museum is named after Charles Lapworth|, the first Professor of Geology at Mason College, forerunner of the University of Birmingham. Lapworth was one of the most important and influential geologists of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

The collection contains in excess of 250,000 specimens of rocks, fossils and minerals together with a large collection of early geological maps, equipment, models and photographic material.

Our tour involved visits to the palaeontology, mineral and archive stores and a resume of what we saw is included below:-

Palaeontological Collection

This collection is| important both scientifically and historically as it contains exceptionally well-preserved specimens from the Midlands and many other famous fossil localities in the UK and throughout the world. The museum holds some of the finest collections from the Wenlock Limestone of Dudley and the rocks of the Midlands Coalfields which have important examples of fossil plants, fish, insects, arachnids, fossil footprints and animal tracks.

Firstly we were shown some very fine examples of Lagerstätten (a name originally applied by German palaeontologists to exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages) from the Ketley Collection – formed in the mid 19th century by Charles Ketley, a civil & mining engineer from Smethwick in Birmingham. It consists of approximately 1,700 beautifully preserved Wenlock Limestone fossils from the Wren’s Nest area. We examined some excellent examples of trilobites and crinoids, coming in all shapes and sizes in exceptional states of preservation.

Our next treat was to handle some of the fossils from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, which were presented by the discoverer, Charles Walcott, to Charles Lapworth (picture right).

The Bantock collection contained exceptionally fossilized shrimps, horseshoe crabs and fish (pictured left). So well preserved you could see the individual fish scales. We also saw some really delicate insects preserved, as if today, in amber. Before leaving the paleontology store we had a peek into another cupboard and were allowed to pass between us gold nuggets the size of your inner palm, silver and platinum and uncut diamonds, to name but a few.

Mineralogy Collection

This collection contains approximately 12,000 minerals collected from many locations worldwide, but with particularly fine examples from the British mining areas of Cornwall, Cumbria and Shropshire. The specimens include many from collections dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century, and from mines long since closed. The collection includes material from famous geologists, scientists, as well as engineers such as Matthew Bolton and William Murdoch.

We examined a selection of the minerals held in the various collections and were also shown part of the collection on loan from the Birmingham Museum and Art gallery. This collection donated by Joseph Chamberlain contains drawer upon drawer of cut minerals - there was some debate as to whether people liked the minerals in this state. It is hoped that this collection will be put on display if the museum gets the funding for its expansion.

Archive Collection

The archive contains the extensive works of Lapworth, Wills and Shotton, all professors and head of department at Birmingham University.

Most importantly is the complete record of Charles Lapworth’s research, teaching, administrative and consultancy work, and also personal items. The Lapworth material spans approximately fifty years from his early research in southern Scotland in the mid 1860s, through to his death in 1920. During those years Lapworth was involved in many important geological controversies, debates and discoveries. We were shown a number of examples from this archive including field sketches and teaching aids (some pictured below).

Whilst Shotton’s main research area was in Quaternary ecology and climatic reconstruction he also served as a military geologist during the Second World War. His work involved locating water supplies for the army, particularly in desert environments using groundwater from boreholes. He was also involved in the geological aspects of beaches in France, and whether heavy army vehicles could operate on them successfully during the allied invasion. We were shown some of the material relating to this work which was of great interest (picture right).

The archive also contains a large photographic collection including portraits of notable geologists, landscape photography and many items covering all aspects of geology. The material includes early photographs dating back to the 1860s and contains a number of important historical and scientific records, often providing evidence of geological localities that have now disappeared.

Historical Collections

In addition to the important palaeontological, mineralogical and archive collections, the Lapworth Museum contains many other historically important collections.

The Sopwith Models

Thomas Sopwith was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the son of a cabinetmaker. Originally following his father's trade, he became involved in the practical aspects of the geology of the Newcastle coalfield and the lead mines of the Northern Pennines. Miners often struggled to predict the structural geology in three-dimensions so Sopwith designed a series of three-dimensional wooden models of geological structures; using his original skills as a cabinetmaker (see picture right.)

Shaw Seismograph

John Shaw, born in Gornal in the Black Country, was an apprentice to a number of engineering companies. He became interested in seismology after meeting John Milne the retired Professor of Geology in Tokyo. The two became friends and began designing seismographs, culminating in the Milne-Shaw Seismograph of 1913. The Lapworth Museum has Shaw's original seismograph, and a large archive relating to him, which includes numerous photographs of the instruments, and many of his seismograms, the actual printed records of the earthquakes recorded on his machine.

There were many other interesting and unusual items in the archive relating to a wide range of geological topics. Jon showed us the Captains report from the ship Charles Bell which provided an eyewitness account in huge detail of the eruption and subsequent tidal wave and destruction following the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.

This was a really interesting branch trip and everyone who braved the snow to attend wished that we could have had all day to look around. Our thanks go to Jon and his assistants who gave up their time to show us around and answer our questions.