Lapworth Museum of Geology

The Lapworth Museum of Geology is located in the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham, where it forms a key part of the Earth Sciences department. The Lapworth dates back to 1880 and retains the original, Edwardian display cases, although it has recently won funding from the Lottery Heritage Fund for redevelopment.

The Lapworth Museum is named after Charles Lapworth, who was a geologist who worked in furthering the understanding of how mountains are made. He was the first Professor of Geology at Mason College, which became the University of Birmingham in 1898.

Charles Lapworth - Source

Much of the items on display at the museum are fossils, including shells, trilobites, crinoids and ammonites. There are samples of the Solnhofen Limestone as well as mineral samples from the surrounding area, especially the coal mining history of the Black Country.

Entry to the museum is free and it is fully wheelchair accessible. 

You can read more about the Natural Science collections ofthe West Midlands here.

The Lapworth Museum has a Twitter feed!

Trilobite!

 

The Lapworth Museum can be found in the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham (A Block).  The University can be reached by train on the cross-city line; head for University station. If you've never been to campus before, aim for the clock tower - Old Joe is in the courtyard in front of the Aston Webb building (it is the curved redbrick building - also worthy of a blog post due to the detail and sculptures above the main doors!)

The University can also be reached by bus - the 61 and 63 stop on the Bristol Road. The 98 and 99 stop by the Medical School, near the railway station. You can also drive, though parking on campus is limited, especially during term time. There are disabled bays near the museum entrance. 

The University website has a collection of maps and PDFs available - see here for more.

Glacial Erratic; University of Birmingham

I did it! I found another one! I knew there was a glacial erratic somewhere on the University of Birmingham main Edgbaston campus, but I was never exactly sure where, and there has been a lot of work on campus with the construction of the Bramall Music Hall.

A few weeks ago, a friend and myself walked under the Bramall down a new flight of steps, and there it was! A huge boulder, perched on some grass. I will admit, I got very excited – but I am a geology student.

Note Michael for scale ;-)

This BBC page called ‘Walk Through Time’ alludes to the boulder being near the Physics building, but it isn’t exact.

The BCGS Geology Matters website has an interesting article on the origin of these huge boulders – I had always assumed that they were from the last ice age, but maybe they are even older deposits?

University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Charles Lapworth

"University of Birmingham. Charles Lapworth, undertook pioneering work into the formation of mountain belts, 1882-1883"

He also went crazy doing so.

The Earth Sciences student society is named LapSoc (Lapworth Society) in his honour, though this is routinely changed with some sort of pun for their socials (Lashworth, Lapizza, Lapsausage etc.) The Museum is also named after him.

This plaque can be seen on the wall of the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham, main campus.

University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Fred Shotton

"University of Birmingham. Frederick Shotton. Furthered understanding of climate change 1949-1974"

On the wall outside the Lapworth Museum of Geology, on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.

Fred Shotton was also key to the D-Day Landings. Read more here and here.

Glacial Erratic in Cannon Hill Park

My mission to find all the glacial boulders continues!

I visited Cannon Hill Park last week with my family and may have quoted Donkey from Shrek as I walked past the boulder. This lump of rock used to have a fence around it, and also a notice board to say what it was. Neither of these are here any more!

You can read more about the boulder here and here. Do you have any memories of it? Let me know!

Glacial Erratics in Bournville

These, my friends, are glacial erratics.

What?

Glacial erratics are boulders that differ from the local lithology, and that have been deposited by glacial activity. Why is this relevant? This photo was taken on Bournville Lane, just up the road from the Railway Station, opposite part of the Cadbury factory. The railway bridge is down the road to the left.

These boulders were transported by the glaciers of the last age, and it is thought they are from the Arenig region of Wales. The boulders were dumped all over South Brum as the ice melted and retreated. The boulder in the pound in Old Northfield is also a glacial erratic, and there are others dotted around.

The geo-geek inside of me is very happy about this ;)

L x