Many books have been published on various aspects of the geology of Essex, the following is a selection. Included in the list are recommended books on relevant topics such as geological curation and fossil identification.
ESSEX ROCK – Geology Beneath the Landscape
by Ian Mercer & Ros Mercer
Just published! With over 400 pages packed with full-colour diagrams, illustrations and photographs, this new guide to the geology of Essex brings to life the fascinating and surprising geology of this complex corner of the British Isles. Published by Pelagic Publishing, June 2022, £29.99.
Order directly from the publishers
ESSEX ROCK – A look beneath the Essex Landscape
by Gerald Lucy
The forerunner to the new Essex Rocks book, Gerald Lucy’s guide to Essex geology is a jargon-free account of Essex geology with over 80 photographs and illustrations. Published by the Essex Rock and Mineral Society in 1999, it is long out of print, but copies can be borrowed through the Essex Library Service.
Geology
Bridgland, D.R. 1994. The Quaternary of the Thames. Chapman and Hall.
Bridgland, D.R., Allen, P. and Haggart, B.A. (editors) 1995. The Quaternary of the Lower Reaches of the Thames: Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association.
Clements, D. 2010. The Geology of London. Geologists’ Association Guide No. 68. (includes a chapter on Chafford Gorges Nature Park, Thurrock).
Gibbard, P.L.1994. Pleistocene History of the Lower Thames Valley. Cambridge University Press.
King, C. 1981. The Stratigraphy of the London Clay and Associated Deposits. (Tertiary Research Special Paper No. 6). Backhuys (Rotterdam).
Moorlock, B. and Smith, A. 1991. S W Essex- M25 Corridor: Applied Geology for Planning and Development. British Geological Survey.
Fossils
Collinson, M.E.1983. Fossil Plants of the London Clay. Palaeontological Association.
Lister, A. and Bahn, P. 2007. Mammoths. Frances Lincoln. (revised edition).
Natural History Museum.1975. British Caenozoic Fossils. 1975
Natural History Museum. 1983. British Mesozoic Fossils.
Rayner, M. et al. 2009. London Clay fossils of Kent and Essex. Medway Fossil and Mineral Society.
Smith, A.B. (editor). 2002. Fossils of the Chalk. Palaeontological Association. Second edition.
Early Humans
Stringer, C. 2006. Homo Britannicus: The Incredible Story of Human Life in Britain. Penguin Books.
The Essex Earthquake
Haining, P. 1976. The Great English Earthquake. Robert Hale.
Meldola, R. and White, W. 1885. Report on the East Anglian Earthquake of April 22nd 1884. Essex Field Club Special Memoirs-Vol. 1.
Musson, R.M.W. 1994. A Catalogue of British Earthquakes. British Geological Survey.
Miscellaneous Publications
Christy, M. and Thresh, M. 1910. A History of the Mineral Waters and Medicinal Springs of the County of Essex. Essex Field Club Special Memoirs-Vol. 4.
Clayton, C.J. 1986. The chemical environment of flint formation in Upper Cretaceous chalks. In ‘The Scientific Study of Flint and Chert’ (Proceedings of the Fourth International Flint Symposium held at Brighton Polytechnic, 10-15 April 1983) (editors G. de G. Sieveking and M. B. Hart), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 43-54.
Fagan, B. (editor) 2009. The Complete Ice Age: How Climate Shaped the World. Thames and Hudson.
Forrest, A.J.1983. Masters of Flint. Terence Dalton.
Gribbin, J. and Gribbin, M. 2001. Ice Age. Allen Lane/The Penguin Press
Hart, S. 2000. Flint Architecture of East Anglia. Giles de la Mare.
Page, W. (editor) 1907. Victoria History of the County of Essex. Vol. I (geology) 1903 and Vol. 2 (industries) 1907.