{{no footnotes, date=July 2010 Roaches Grit is a coarse

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

which outcrops widely throughout the western part of the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

of northern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and gives rise to several significant landscape features in the area. Its counterpart in the eastern part of the National Park is the Ashover Grit. The combined Roaches Grit and Ashover Grit are amongst the most widespread sandstone

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

s within the Millstone Grit Group of the Peak District. Along with other similar sandstones, such as the immediately overlying Chatsworth Grit, it is assigned to the Marsdenian sub-

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

of the

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian ...

stage within the Carboniferous

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

. The two units which, prior to the doming and erosion of the central Peak District were once one, are interpreted as delta-top sandstones. The deposited material was brought down from a northerly source by braided rivers.

Landscape features

Amongst the features for which the Roaches Grit is responsible are Axe Edge, The Roaches, Hen Cloud, Ramshaw Rocks, Back Forest and Hangingstone. The natural chasm of Lud’s Church is developed within the Roaches Grit whilst it also forms the lower slopes of

Shutlingsloe Shutlingsloe is a hill near the village of Wildboarclough, in the east of the county of Cheshire. It stands to the south of Macclesfield Forest, on the edge of the Peak District and within the Peak District National Park.

. Equally the Ashover Grit contributes to the landscape in the form of

Stanton Moor Stanton Moor is a small upland area in the Derbyshire Peak District of central northern England, lying between Matlock and Bakewell near the villages of Birchover and Stanton-in-Peak. It is known for its megaliths – particularly the Nine La ...

and Harthill Moor. The former is home to gritstone quarries whilst the latter boasts Robin Hood’s Stride and Cratcliffe Tor. Much of the country around

Edensor Edensor (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 145. Much of the village is privately owned, by the Dukes of Devonshire, the Cavendish family. Most of the dece ...

and

Baslow Baslow is a village in Derbyshire, England, in the Peak District, situated between Sheffield and Bakewell, just over north of Chatsworth House. It is sited by the River Derwent, which is spanned by a 17th-century bridge, alongside which is a ...

(though not Baslow Edge) and around

Ashover Ashover is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. It is in the North East Derbyshire district of the county. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 1,905. It sits in a valley, not far from the tow ...

, from whence it derives its name, is underlain and shaped by this rock.

References

*Aitkenhead, N. et al. 2002 ''British Regional Geology: the Pennines and adjacent areas'' (4th Edn) (British Geological Survey, Nottingham) *Various of BGS 1:50,000 scale geological map sheets Stratigraphy of the United Kingdom