Priory Farm, Wrentham fossils and fossil collecting

From Wrentham, head North towards Lowestoft. Just near where the speed limit of 30 finished, you will see a road to the left. Take this road.
Follow until you see a footpath on the right hand side of the road. You can park just after the trackway with the footpath, next to the buildings.
Walk down the footpath until the trackway ends, and you will see the disused quarry on the left.
right.
This is now quite overgrown, and belemnites are the only realistic finds.

GRID REF: 52.39102°N, 1.66552°E

Belemnites, ammonites, molluscs

A very over-grown pit in Wrentham with areas of Chalky Boulder Clay around the edges of the pit. A few belemnites can be found here and you may find the odd shell, but exposures are very poor.

Very Low

This site is now quite overgrown, there are only a few patches of uncovered boulder clay left, and during the last visit, we did find one nice shell.

Suitable for Children

The disused quarry has no steep sides

and is very easy access, it is suitable for children to visit.

Good Access

Priory Farm is fairly easy to find, you can park nearby, and walk down the footpath to the quarry.

Disused Farm Pit

Fossils are found in patches of Chalky

Boulder Clay around the edges of this old farm pit.

No Restrictions

This pit is at the start of a public footpath, and so access is permitted.

Although there are no safety issues at this site, but please follow the country code. Please use common sense at all locations.

Last updated:
last visited:

Written by:

06/04/08
2008

Alister and Alison Cruickshanks

Other Locations similar

For other locations in Suffolk where the Boulder clay can yield belemnites, ammonites, reptile remains, shells etc, try Pakefield, Field Farm, Gisleham Quarry or Corton all nearby.


The Chalky Boulder Clay contains a wide variety of different rocks brought down during the ice age. Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks contain ammonites, belemnites, brachiopods, bivalves and sometimes reptile remains. The most common finds are belemnites and ammonites. The rain washes these out of the clay and you can find them around the edges of this old pit. All you need is a good eye and a little patience. Fossil gryphaea shell

	Pleistocene, (Erratic's)
The disused pit consists of the Chalky Boulder Clay, formed during glaciation, in which the glaciers scrapped the land and brought many rocks from the north. The boulder clay contains many Kimmeridge Clay rocks, some Oolite rocks and chalk...[more]

Stone Tumblers

Microscopes

Test Sieves for Microfossils

If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.

You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed. These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils.

At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.

We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.

Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.

Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards.

Our International Rock and Fossil Magazine