Series GB 378 LDGSL/713 - WOOD, Searles Valentine, the younger (1830-1884)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 378 LDGSL/713

Title

WOOD, Searles Valentine, the younger (1830-1884)

Date(s)

  • [1862-1881] (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

2 files and 19 maps

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Searles Valentine Wood jnr, was born on February 1830 at Hasketon, Suffolk. His father, Searles Valentine Wood senior (1798-1880), was a keen geologist and his only child followed in his footsteps, working with him on fossiliferous Eocene deposits Hordle cliff, Hampshire, as early as 1843.

Wood attended King's College School (the grammar school which was once attached to King's College London) between 1839-1843 and continued his education in France until 1845. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1851, but after practising law in Woodbridge, Suffolk for a number of years, gave it up to purse geology full-time.

Wood's main focus of interest was on tertiary and post-tertiary geology, and is best known for his study of glacial beds and deposits on which he published nearly sixty papers, many in conjunction with his friend Frederic William Harmer. Although a virtual invalid for the last ten years of his life, he continued to study and to submit papers for publication right up to his death on 14 December 1884.

Archival history

GB 378 LDGSL/713 [1862-1881] Series 2 files and 19 maps WOOD , Searles Valentine, the younger , 1830-1884 , geologist

Searles Valentine Wood jnr, was born on February 1830 at Hasketon, Suffolk. His father, Searles Valentine Wood senior (1798-1880), was a keen geologist and his only child followed in his footsteps, working with him on fossiliferous Eocene deposits Hordle cliff, Hampshire, as early as 1843.

Wood attended King's College School (the grammar school which was once attached to King's College London) between 1839-1843 and continued his education in France until 1845. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1851, but after practising law in Woodbridge, Suffolk for a number of years, gave it up to purse geology full-time.

Wood's main focus of interest was on tertiary and post-tertiary geology, and is best known for his study of glacial beds and deposits on which he published nearly sixty papers, many in conjunction with his friend Frederic William Harmer. Although a virtual invalid for the last ten years of his life, he continued to study and to submit papers for publication right up to his death on 14 December 1884.

Papers of Searles Valentine Wood Jnr, [1862-1881], comprising:

Illustrated manuscript, 'A memoir in explanation of the structure of the glacial and post glacial beds.... in the Thames valley between London and the sea...', 1867; Ordnance Survey maps of East Anglia and the Thames Valley, annotated with geological lines, notes and colouring by Searles Valentine WOOD jnr, which were used as field maps during his research into glacial deposits in the south east of England, [1862-1881]; File of letters concerning the complaint by Searles Valentine Wood jnr about the alterations made to Joseph Prestwich's published paper on the Crag of Norfolk, Mar-Apr 1875.

The original arrangement of the LDGSL series was not hierarchical. Material by the same creator/author was not collected together, instead each file or distinct item was given a different reference (not always sequential). In order to make them easier to find, where possible the papers relating to Searles Valentine Wood jnr are placed together, however there will be other material relating to him elsewhere in the collection.

Access is by appointment only, daily readership fee is applicable unless you are a member of the Society. Please contact the Archivist for further information.

Copies, subject to copyright and the condition of the original, may be supplied. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

English

Online, detailed catalogue will be available shortly.

For Frederic William Harmer's papers, see: LDGSL/714.

Notebooks and papers, 1865-1880, including 627 letters to Frederic William Harmer, 1864-1875, held by the British Geological Survey (ref: IGS1 and IGS3); Correspondence with Charles Lyell, 1869-1874, held by Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections (ref: Lyell 1); Letters to Thomas McKenny Hughes, Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives (ref: Add. 7652).

Source: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; obituary, 'Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society', vol 41 (1985), proceedings, pp 40-41. Description by Caroline Lam.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

October 2012 Research work Field work Surveys Geological surveys Geography Physical geography Surveying Cartography Geological mapping Geologists Scientists Scientific personnel Wood , Searles Valentine, the younger , 1830-1884 , geologist Essex England UK Suffolk Norfolk Personnel Western Europe People by occupation Europe People

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of Searles Valentine Wood Jnr, [1862-1881], comprising:

Illustrated manuscript, 'A memoir in explanation of the structure of the glacial and post glacial beds.... in the Thames valley between London and the sea...', 1867; Ordnance Survey maps of East Anglia and the Thames Valley, annotated with geological lines, notes and colouring by Searles Valentine WOOD jnr, which were used as field maps during his research into glacial deposits in the south east of England, [1862-1881]; File of letters concerning the complaint by Searles Valentine Wood jnr about the alterations made to Joseph Prestwich's published paper on the Crag of Norfolk, Mar-Apr 1875.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

The original arrangement of the LDGSL series was not hierarchical. Material by the same creator/author was not collected together, instead each file or distinct item was given a different reference (not always sequential). In order to make them easier to find, where possible the papers relating to Searles Valentine Wood jnr are placed together, however there will be other material relating to him elsewhere in the collection.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Access is by appointment only, daily readership fee is applicable unless you are a member of the Society. Please contact the Archivist for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to copyright and the condition of the original, may be supplied. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

For Frederic William Harmer's papers, see: LDGSL/714.

Finding aids

Online, detailed catalogue will be available shortly.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Notebooks and papers, 1865-1880, including 627 letters to Frederic William Harmer, 1864-1875, held by the British Geological Survey (ref: IGS1 and IGS3); Correspondence with Charles Lyell, 1869-1874, held by Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections (ref: Lyell 1); Letters to Thomas McKenny Hughes, Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives (ref: Add. 7652).

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Geological Society of London

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area