Wold Cottage meteorite, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, UKi

Regional Level Types
Wold Cottage meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
East Riding of Yorkshire	County
England	Constituent Country
UK	Country

Ordinary chondrite (L6)
Fell, 13 December 1795; 25 kg

After detonations were heard in nearby villages, the Wold Cottage meteorite was seen to fall near the Wold Newton Church. It was heard by a number of people and ended up striking a few meters away from a frightened ploughman as it penetrated through ~46 cm of soft soil and then 15 cm further into hard chalk. Indeed, soon the meteorite was put on display (for a price) and word of the fall began to spread. However, this fall occurred at a time when most scientists harbored strong and sometimes fierce doubts about 'stones falling from the sky' — and, so, quite predictably, several well-known scientists in England and elsewhere rejected and even scoffed at the reports. However, there were several circumstances which prevented the doubters having their way - (1) other new falls [Siena, 1794 in Italy; Salles, 1798 in France]; new scientific arguments (Chladni, 1794; Howard, 1802); and the landowner of the farm, Edward Topham. Topham was not only a fierce publicist but had also previously garnered a reputation for truth-telling — which he brought to full focus in supporting the stories of his 'lower class' workmen with sworn testimonies, public exhibition, and compelling argument. Eventually, the meteorite came into the possession of the British Museum of Natural History where it remains today — the oldest surviving specimen of a witnessed fall on the British mainland.

Today, we think of Wold Cottage as an 'ordinary' L6 chondrite — a moderately large example of the most common subtype of the ordinary L chondrites, the meteorite group most frequently observed to fall. Compositionally, bulk iron contents (22.7 wt%Fe), equilibrated olivine (Fa24) and low Ca-orthopyroxene are characteristic of the L-chondrite geochemical group. Mineralogically the meteorite consists primarily of olivine and orthopyroxene accompanied by lesser amounts of plagioclase, troilite, and Fe-Ni metal. Fe-Ni metal includes Kamacite, Taenite, Tetrataenite, and plessitic regions. Accessory chromite, ilmenite, phosphates, and other minor sulfides are also reported (Cf. esp., Ramdohr, 1973).

As the 3rd Millennium began most of the main mass (19.3 kg) remained with the (British) Natural History Museum in London.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold_Cottage_meteorite
Wikidata ID:	Q4053207

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References