Geology Site Account

In 1891, geologist and former president of the Essex Field Club, T.V. Holmes, led an excursion along parts of the recently completed railway line from Upminster to Grays. In an informative report in the Proceedings of the Geologists Association (Holmes 1892) he describes in detail the geology of the line which provided exposures of Chalk, Thanet Sand, London Clay and Thames gravels. Holmes stated that the section south of the River Mar Dyke was the most interesting with a fairly deep cutting for a distance of nearly half a mile south of what is now Chafford Hundred Station. Photographs of the cuttings were taken by Alfred Wire, an amateur geologist and founder member of the Essex Field Club. Wires photographic collection is now in the care of Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow.

Most railways were constructed before the age of photography but the branch line from Upminster to Grays was a later addition. This photograph of a bridge and cutting under construction was taken in 1890 by Alfred Wire. Photo © Vestry House Museum (London Borough of Waltham Forest).