THE geological collection E Cavill (Your Letters, August 16) was referring to was never, I believe, at Malvern Reference Library, but belonged to Dr Ralph Grindrod and was exhibited in his private museum in Townshend House, College Road.

It was a large collection of some 8,000 to 10,000 specimens, many of which he collected during the cutting of the railway tunnel and was used extensively by Sir Roderick Murchison in his book Siluria (1859).

Further information can be found in my recently published book Temperance Therapy and Trilobites.

The collection was eventually acquired by Prof Prestwich for Oxford University Museum of Natural History, where it can now be found.

JANET GRIERSON, Abbey Road, Malvern.