Sheet Memoirs - England

Geological reports, or memoirs, have been published for most map sheets in England. The English map memoirs were issued, as were the maps, in Old Series and then in the New Series after 1900. What follows is the list of New Series memoirs; the list of Old Series memoirs will follow at a later date.

New Series Memoirs

The new series sheet memoirs are referred to by the place names in their titles. The full titles vary from 'The Geology of ....', to the more frequent 'Geology of the country around/near/between....' , sometimes incorporating a direction such as 'north of, east of....', etc. For brevity, the full titles have been omitted. Early editions were issued as paperbacks on thin printed paper with paper or thin card covers which generally have not survived well. The early 9.5"x6.25" format has persisted until very recently.

Many of the copies listed below were rebound by libraries, museums and geology departments; often the original card covers are bound in at the rear. Later editions were published as hardbacks. Since the 1950s the hardbacks were issued with dust jackets (DJs), at first, as lurid orange printed covers and more recently with relevant b/w landscape photographs. Some of the latter are still current issues. Nearly all of the listed memoirs have library stamps and/or book plates. The recent publications have reverted to paperback in A4 format, although none are in the following list.

The published sheet memoir is becoming a thing of the past. Revised and abridged versions are issued in colour printed 'brief explanation' booklets, typically 36 pages, sold with the maps. Many memoirs are now out of print and are available only as print on demand (POD) sheets at a standard price of £32 (2011 prices) from the BGS. Gradually PODs and brief explanations will be the standard record available to the general public.