David Homfray was one of the first to recognise the scientific value of the local geology. He was a Warwickshire lawyer whose uncle was the Manager of the Welsh Slate (Palmerston's) Quarry at Ffestiniog. His pioneering research and collaboration with Sedgwick put Portmadoc on the geological map.

Geologist Tim Palmer helped me understand the global significance of the Tremadoc Rocks:

"These rocks were deposited as clays on the floor of a sea, some 10s of metres deep, that covered what is now this area of Wales about 485 million years ago (a depositional region known as The Welsh Basin). We now refer to this period of time as the Tremadocian and it represents the earliest episode within the Ordovician Period of geological time. (These names and their meanings sound very local, but such is their historic importance that, in fact, they are internationally used.) When this story of ages and rock-types was first being unravelled in the first half of the 19th C, the idea of the Ordovician Period had not been generally agreed by geologists. Two geological heroes (Sedgwick, of Cambridge, and Murchison, of London) disagreed mightily about the transition between earlier rocks of Cambrian age, and the following rocks of Silurian age. Sedgwick wanted Tremadoc rocks to be Cambrian and Murchison wanted them to be Silurian. Only later in the century did the Ordovician Period get introduced (by Lapworth) to resolve the dilemma posed by the sediments that occupied the intermediate position. Only then did the Tremadocian become part of the Ordovician."

Penmorfa village was a particular hot spot of geological research. As well as the Tremodoc Rocks, it offered fossil-rich slate and shale known to geologists at the time as ‘Lingula Flags’, and was especially rich in trilobites - ancient crab-like creatures whose shed and discarded exoskeletons often became fossilised.

In 1843, J. E. Davis reported to the Geological Society of London seeing 'fucoids, appearing in great abundance in flagstones' near Penmorfa church. In 1865, Thomas Huxley, Darwin’s valuable ally, included nine fossil specimens from Penmorfa Church, and five more from Penmorfa village, in his Collection of Fossils for the Museum of Practical Geology, now within London's Natural History Museum. David Homfray also collected trilobites from the rocks around the church in the 1860s, which are now in the collection of the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge. In fact, the Sedgwick Museum holds 167 fossil specimens from Penmorfa, and 32 of those were collected at, above, behind, or next to Penmorfa Church!

On the Sedgwick Club trip of 1885, the students, educators and other enthusiasts ventured out in all weathers to study and sketch the fossil-rich rocks, drew geological section diagrams, and record their discoveries.

This section drawing [from the trip?] depicts the Tremadoc layer beneath Penmorfa village, and the Upper Lingula Flags right underneath Penmorfa Church.

There was also plenty of scope for fun; the group enjoyed visits to local heritage attractions and landmarks and along with their geological notes, the archive preserves sketches of chickens, a poster for a local play, and even some limericks.

Women would not be permitted to become members of the Sedgwick Club until 1896. Nevertheless, several women joined the trip to Portmadoc, and you can see four of them pictured in this wonderful group photograph ...

... as well as three in this relaxed snapshot from Penmorfa Village.

At St Beuno’s, Penmorfa, three of the women were pictured relaxing on the steps of the lychgate, while some local lads looked on.

They have been identified as:

Beatrice Katherine Taylor (1863-1934)
Beatrice graduated from Girton College, Cambridge in 1885, and became a teacher.

Mrs Mary McKenny Hughes (1863-1917)
Mrs Hughes was the wife of Professor McKenny Hughes and had a constant presence on expeditions during the 1890s, enabling other female students to attend. Learn more about her.

Ellen Stones (1853-1955)
The aptly named Miss Stones graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge in 1885 and had a career as a teacher and educator.

St Beuno’s lychgate was originally built in 1698 and reconstructed in the 19th century. Built of the local slate, it’s just one of many features in and around the church that showcase the geological richness of Penmorfa.

Find Out More

Sandra Freshney, Archivist at the Sedgwick Museum, has published more information about the trail-blazing women who participated officially and unofficially in the Sedgwick Club: Being Seen & Heard – Women in the Sedgwick Museum Archives

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All photographic images and the Penmorfa sketch are in the Archives of the Sedgwick Museum.

Read the full Obituary to David Homfray, 1893

(1) The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London

With sincere thanks to Sandra Freshney, Archivist, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Matt Riley, Sedgwick Museum Collections Assistant, Palaeontology, and geologist Dr. Tim Palmer.