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Rocks and Fossils at Cross Hands Quarry
Cross Hands Quarry, near Long Compton, southern Warwickshire, is one of our county’s most valuable geological sites. The limestone beds formerly quarried here represent 170 million year old sea floor sand and mud layers. These contain many fossil shells, representing the ancient life of a long-lost Jurassic sea. Some of the fossils are very much like the shells found along modern tropical beaches. Others are quite alien in appearance. English Nature recognises Cross Hands Quarry as a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) because of its geological significance.
The rock layers are clearly seen in this photograph of the quarry face. The lower half consists of the Clypeus Grit - soft limestone beds containing many fossils. The darker rock above is the Chipping Norton Limestone.
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Cross Hands Quarry Site of Special Scientific Interest
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 | Cross Hands Quarry is now one of the few sites in Warwickshire where fossils can be collected safely and easily. Some of these are illustrated here. Warwickshire Museum’s Heritage Education Department organise a field trip to the quarry every summer, providing children with a real hands-on Jurassic experience. Responsible fossil collecting is encouraged on the old spoil tips. Experts from Warwickshire Museum accompany the children, to help them interpret and identify their finds. School fossil hunting expeditions can also be booked.
A fossil sea urchin, known as Clypeus, from the Clypeus Grit of Cross Hands Quarry |
Click here for a slice of Jurassic Warwickshire!
The geology gallery at Warwickshire Museum includes a display of local Jurassic rocks and fossils. For more information contact the Keeper of Geology:
Telephone 01926 412481
Email museum@warwickshire.gov.uk
Click here for the Warwickshire geology home page
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