Facies and faunal changes in the Ludlovian rocks of Aymestrey, Herefordshire

The Aymestrey area displays changes in facies, faunas and thicknesses which can be related to its position on the shelf edge during later Silurian times. The Wenlock Limestone becomes an alternation of limestones and mudstones. The Lower and Middle Elton Beds, however, are substantially similar to their development at Ludlow. The Upper Elton Beds and the Bringewood Beds thin westwards within the area, probably due to non‐deposition or erosion on a ridge at the hinge between shelf and basin. The most striking change is the rapid westward passage of the Aymestry Limestone facies of the Upper Bringewood Beds into siltstones, which are considered to be shallow‐water deposits and not basinal. The Leintwardine Beds exhibit a westward thickening, and slumping is developed in the Lower Leintwardine Beds; the faunas relate more to the basin facies than to the shelf. The Whitcliffe Beds thicken markedly westwards but retain their shallow‐water characteristics.