AYMESTRY

LIMESTONE  , an inconstant limestone which occurs locally in the Ludlow series of Silurian rocks, between the Upper and Lower Ludlow shales . It derives its name from Aymestry in Herefordshire, where it may be seen on both sides of the river Lugg . It is well developed in the neighbourhood of Ludlow (it is sometimes called the Ludlow limestone) and occupies a similar position in the Ludlow shales at Woolhope, the Abberley Hills, May Hill and the Malvern Hills . In litho-. logical character it varies greatly; in one place it is a dark grey, somewhat crystalline limestone, elsewhere it passes into a flaggy, earthy or shaly condition, or even into a mere layer of nodules . When well developed it may reach 50 ft. in thickness in beds of from r to 5 ft.; in this, condition it naturally forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape because it stands out by its superior hardness from the soft shales above and below . The most common fossil is Pentamerus Knightii, which is extremely abundant in places . Other brachiopods, corals and trilobites are present, and are similar to those found in the Wenlock limestone .