Maylandsea
Region: Essex
Nearest Town: Maylandsea
Geological Age: Ypresian • Eocene • Palaeogene • Cenozoic
Site Type: Foreshore • Estuary
About the Site
Maylandsea is a London Clay fossil locality on Lawling Creek, a tidal inlet on the southern side of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. The collecting area lies along the eastern side of the creek, north of Maylandsea village, where erosion of the low foreshore and creek banks periodically exposes fossil-bearing London Clay.
The site is quite different in character from the better-known coastal London Clay localities. Exposures are generally low, muddy and often partly obscured by vegetation or modern estuarine sediment, so productive collecting depends on careful searching of freshly eroded surfaces and loose material rather than extensive visible sections.
Maylandsea is particularly noted for fossil fish and crustacean remains, although a wider range of London Clay fossils may also be encountered. The deposits exposed here represent a comparatively deeper-water part of the London Clay marine environment, making the locality scientifically useful as well as an interesting collecting site.
Fossils are normally found by patiently searching naturally weathered and eroded material on the foreshore. Conditions and exposure can vary considerably between visits, and much of the interest of the site lies in carefully examining small areas of newly exposed clay and washed material.
Site Images
Geology & Stratigraphy
The fossil-bearing rock at Maylandsea is the London Clay Formation, part of the Thames Group and of Ypresian age.
The London Clay is predominantly silty clay and clayey silt. At Maylandsea the exposed clay is particularly fine grained and relatively poor in sand. Exposure is discontinuous: London Clay appears in low banks and across parts of the intertidal foreshore but can rapidly become covered by modern mud, vegetation and other estuarine sediment.
The exact correlation within the traditional London Clay subdivision requires caution.
The Geological Conservation Review describes the Maylandsea succession as Division C and notes that lithological subdivisions recognised from boreholes in this area cannot readily be distinguished at the surface.
Other specialist work on the crustacean fauna has suggested that parts of the fossiliferous foreshore may instead lie just above the traditional Division B1/B2 boundary, within Division B2. That interpretation was based partly on fossil correlation, and the authors themselves noted the difficulty of establishing precise stratigraphy on this type of foreshore exposure.
Palaeoenvironment & Palaeoecology
The London Clay at Maylandsea was deposited in a fully marine setting during the Early Eocene.
The fine-grained, relatively sand-free sediment indicates quiet offshore conditions where suspended mud could settle to the seabed. The Geological Conservation Review interprets this part of the succession as representing approximately the maximum marine transgression of the London Clay sea, when comparatively deep-water conditions extended across this part of the London Basin.
The fossil fish assemblage has also been interpreted as containing more open-water or deeper-water elements than are seen at some better-known London Clay localities such as the Isle of Sheppey.
This is an interpretation based on the sedimentary facies and fauna rather than a directly measured water depth, so the site should be described as representing comparatively deep offshore marine conditions rather than given a precise depth estimate.
The modern tidal creek and saltmarsh landscape is therefore very different from the marine environment in which the London Clay formed.
Fossil Preservation & Taphonomy
Most fossils at Maylandsea are encountered after natural erosion has released them from the London Clay.
Small phosphatic nodules occur amongst the foreshore material and can contain crustacean remains. Isolated pieces of lobster and crab exoskeleton may also occur, while fish fossils are particularly likely to survive as durable hard parts such as teeth and otoliths.
The fine London Clay matrix can preserve fossils well, but once material is released onto the modern foreshore it may be moved, abraded or fragmented by repeated tidal action.
The foreshore also contains areas of loose grit, gravel and weathered clay in which very small fossils can easily be overlooked. Careful examination or processing of small samples of loose material can therefore reveal fossils that would be missed during ordinary surface searching.
A fossil found loose on the foreshore should not automatically be treated as having come from the precise patch of London Clay beneath it. Only material observed directly within an undisturbed exposure retains reliable bed-level context.
Collecting Guidance
Low tide provides the greatest amount of accessible foreshore and the best opportunity to examine naturally eroded London Clay material.
Arrive well before low water so that the exposed shoreline can be searched without needing to move onto the soft lower mud.
Collectors traditionally favour periods when recent tidal erosion has shifted loose sediment and exposed fresh patches of clay, nodules or shingle.
Dry or partly dried upper-foreshore material is easier to search carefully than wet sticky clay.
Sturdy waterproof boots with good grip are essential.
Useful collecting equipment includes:
- knee pads
- small specimen boxes or bags
- labelled sample bags for permitted loose foreshore grit
Gloves are useful when searching amongst shingle and weathered nodules.
A geological hammer is not required for ordinary collecting at Maylandsea.
What to Look For
Search slowly amongst the shingle, loose clay and small nodules of the upper foreshore.
Small phosphatic nodules are particularly worth examining. Fossil crustacean material may appear as pieces of carapace, claws or other segmented shell embedded within or projecting from a nodule.
Small shark and other fish teeth can occur loose amongst the grit and shingle. Look for organised enamel surfaces and definite tooth shapes rather than assuming every small dark fragment is a fossil.
Fish otoliths and other microvertebrate material can be very small and may only become apparent after carefully sieving or processing loose foreshore sediment.
Shell fragments and other small marine fossils may also occur.
Examples to Look For
Fossils at this Site
Explore fossils recorded from this site, see how to recognise them and, where enough LBPS records exist, what collectors are actually finding.
What collectors are finding
Typical examples from this site
Different anatomical parts or preservation styles can look very different. Choose an example to view it larger.
About this information
Fossil occurrences come from reviewed LBPS records. Encounter frequency and abundance use eligible collecting sessions where all finds were recorded. Preservation rarity uses the condition recorded at the time of collecting. Identification photographs may come from dedicated Fossil Examples or linked public LBPS Specimens; neither influences rarity or frequency calculations.
Visitor & Access Information
General Location
Maylandsea, Maldon District, Essex.
The fossil locality lies on the east bank of Lawling Creek, north of the main Maylandsea settlement, on the southern side of the Blackwater Estuary.
Directions
From Maylandsea, join the public riverside or sea-wall path and follow the eastern side of Lawling Creek northwards.
The fossil exposure is not a single large cliff. Look for the stretches where London Clay appears in the low banks and across the foreshore.
Do not cross extensive mudflats in an attempt to reach more distant exposures.
Parking
There is no dedicated fossil-site car park immediately beside the exposure.
Use lawful parking within Maylandsea and walk to the waterfront and sea-wall path. Park considerately and do not obstruct residential roads, marina access, gateways or emergency access to the sea wall.
Because parking arrangements can change, visitors should follow current local signage.
Terrain
The upper shoreline consists of a mixture of firm path, sea wall, shingle, weathered clay and locally muddy foreshore.
The lower intertidal area contains extensive soft mud, which can become deep and difficult to cross.
London Clay exposures are generally low and discontinuous, with sections becoming obscured by vegetation and recent estuarine sediment.
Access, Permissions & Responsible Collecting
Access is via the public riverside and sea-wall paths around Maylandsea and Lawling Creek.
Collecting should concentrate on loose, naturally eroded material on the accessible upper foreshore.
Do not excavate aggressively into the low London Clay banks or hammer the exposed bedrock. The site forms part of a protected SSSI and substantial excavation or scientific sampling would require the appropriate permissions.
The surrounding Blackwater Estuary is also internationally important for wildlife. Avoid disturbing saltmarsh vegetation and feeding or roosting birds, and remain on recognised paths when moving between collecting areas.
Take only a reasonable quantity of material and leave the shoreline as you found it.
Safety & Legal Information
Safety Information
The main hazard at Maylandsea is deep, soft intertidal mud.
Remain on the firm upper foreshore and avoid mudflats that appear smooth, waterlogged or uncertain. Mud can become much deeper away from the sea wall and it is possible to become stuck.
The shoreline is tidal, so check tide times before collecting.
Wet London Clay is slippery and the low banks can be unstable where they have been undercut or softened by water.
Wear suitable footwear and keep children closely supervised.
The Blackwater Estuary is exposed to changing weather, so allow for wind, rain and poor visibility when planning a visit.
SSSI / Legal Restrictions
The fossil exposure forms part of the Blackwater Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Maylandsea is specifically recognised for its geological and fossil-fish interest.
The wider estuary also carries several important wildlife designations, including SPA, Ramsar and SAC protection.
These designations do not mean that every loose fossil on the accessible foreshore cannot be collected, but collecting must remain low impact.
Search loose, naturally eroded material rather than excavating the low banks or hammering the bedrock. Substantial excavation, organised scientific sampling or any activity likely to damage the notified geological feature should only take place with the relevant landowner permission and any conservation consent that is required.
Avoid disturbance to saltmarsh and protected wildlife.
Site Status & References
References
- Fossil Fishes of Great Britain
- The stratigraphical framework for the Palaeogene successions of the London Basin, UK
- An exposure of London Clay at Maylandsea (Lawling Creek), Essex
- Three new genera and species of crabs from the Lower Eocene London Clay of Essex, England
- Maylandsea Foreshore (part of Blackwater Estuary SSSI)