THE BADGER IN RELATION TO GEOLOGY
307
The Badger in Relation to Geology in South-West
Essex
By R. H. Allen and R. A. D. Cowlin
By the end of 1970 it had become apparent that the mapping
of the distribution of badger setts in the southern portion of the
county was more or less complete, having been carried out in-
termittently since 1958, Setts had been plotted on the one inch
sheets of the Ordnance Survey and it was obvious that their dis-
tribution was by no means random. Personal examination of the
setts themselves also showed that there was a distinct preference
for certain types of habitat.
Difficulties in analysing these habitats soon arose. Essex is
a highly varied county with many regions that may be defined
in terms of distinct geology and geography. It thus seemed
desirable to restrict a study of these habitats to some smaller
unit of area for which data was more easily managed. The region
around Romford was chosen because although having a high hu-
man population, it contains a large number of setts (112) and is
the only region of Essex for which a comparatively modern geo-
logical map is available.
It must be stressed that this paper has been written without
specific reference to the distribution of woodlands within the
area. The authors acknowledge that the vast majority of setts
in the area do occur in woods, copses or hedgerows but contend
that because the area under consideration is intensively farmed,
the aforementioned habitats are the only locations in which setts
may remain undisturbed by regular agricultural processes.
The region selected for study is some 600 square kilometres
(230 square miles) in extent, lying within the following ten kilo-
metre squares of the National Grid; TQ 48, 58, 68, and TQ 49, 59,
69. This comprises parts of that segment of Greater London
and the Green Belt area lying between the River Lea and the
Thames, including the Greater London Boroughs of Redbridge
and Havering and the towns of Loughton, Brentwood and Bille-
ricay in the north and South Ockendon, Stanford-le-Hope and
Basildon in the south.
In this account the physiography and geology of the region
will be outlined, followed by a description of the badger distri-
bution. These will then be related to each other.
Physiography.
The physiography of this region of Essex is comparatively
simple and may be considered as an undulating and gently slop-