Haslemere Educational Museum
Geology
Rocks
This relatively small collection contains approximately 500 specimens from the three great classes of rock: Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary. Our best igneous specimens consist of various varieties of basaltic lavas and granites. One notable lava specimen was collected in 1987 from an important geological location in Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The granites were collected mostly from England (particularly Cornwall), Scotland, the Channel Islands, Germany and Italy. The metamorphic collection is the smallest in all three classes and shows varieties of slate, marble and schist. The majority of the sedimentary collection is made up of limestone, sandstones, ironstones and coals.The small coal collection was collected throughout the 1920s and has specimens such as Bituminous coal from South Wales, Jet from Whitby in Yorkshire, Kimeridge clay from Dorset, Alum shale from Whitby in Yorkshire and Lignite from near Newton Abbot in Devon.
The rock collection at Haslemere Educational Museum represents specimens from a number of collectors, including Dr George Abbott (1844–1925) and Mr John Clarke Hawkshaw F.R.S. (1841–1921). Some are derived from noted geological dealers such as the celebrated German company of Dr A. Krantz (1809–1872) and F. Krantz (1859–1926) founded in 1833. Examples from our rock collections are described below:
Highlights from the Collection
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| Meteorite from USA |
Meteorites are fragments of material left over from the formation of the solar system that fall from space onto the surface of rocky bodies/planets. Most come from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Dr George Abbott trained as a general practitioner and served in several medical posts around the country, including Guy´s Hospital in London. Later in his life, he developed a serious interest in the natural sciences. He became a curator and founded the present Tunbridge Wells Museum in Kent. He organised many field excursions and lectures that proved to be extremely popular.
Abbott was a prolific publisher of geological research, with a particular interest in concretions and their origin, formation and classification. A major subject of interest was the Magnesium limestone concretions of Fulwell Quarry in Sunderland, Durham. The Museum houses a wide selection of these rock specimens along with site and specimen photographs from that famous locality.
Mr John Clarke Hawkshaw F.R.S. (1841-1921) was the nephew of Sir Charles Darwin. He was born in Manchester on the 17th of August 1841. He went to Westminster school at the age of 5 and after leaving in 1859-60 he studied for an MA in Civil Engineering at Cambridge University.
John Clarke Hawkshaw worked alongside his father, Sir John Hawkshaw F.R.S., and Harrison Hayter in their civil engineering company "Hawkshaw and Hayter" based in Westminster. He collected rock specimens from the 1st Nile Cataract (first rapids along the river Nile), just south of Aswan in Egypt c.1860s, from Auvergne and Dauphine in France c.1864-1866 and from Brazil c.1860s-1870s, presumably whilst he was on holiday between university breaks. He lived at Hollycombe in Liphook, Hampshire, until his death in 1921.
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| Krantz & Comp. in Berlin. |
Dr August Krantz established his mineral dealership in 1833 in Freiberg, Germany. He had studied pharmacy but his fascination with the ore-deposits around Freiberg led to a lifelong interest in geology. In 1837 the Krantz company moved to Berlin and important links with the scientific community rapidly developed. Business flourished in many countries all over the world.
In 1850 the company moved its head office to Bonn and opened a geological speciality shop that still exists today. When August Krantz died in 1872 his company was world famous and had gained gold medal awards in world exhibitions. Upon August Krantz´s death, his son-in-law Theodore Hoffman took leadership of the company, and later August Krantz´s nephew Friedrich Krantz took over in 1891. The business remains under the management of the Krantz family today.
