Hangman Grits

Exmoor Group Stratigraphic range: Emsian (Devonian) to Tournaisian (Carboniferous)
Hangman Sandstone Formation at Glenthorne Beach, 6 km W of Porlock Weir
Type	Group
Sub-units	Lynton Formation, Hangman Sandstone Formation, Ilfracombe Slates (Formation), Morte Slates (Formation), Pickwell Down Sandstones (Formation), Upcott Slates (Formation), Baggy Sandstone Formation, Pilton Mudstone Formation
Underlies	Doddiscombe Formation of Teign Valley Group
Thickness	about 7000 m
Lithology
Primary	mudstones,
Other	siltstones, sandstones, limestones, conglomerates
Location
Region	England
Country	United Kingdom
Extent	north Devon to west Somerset
Type section
Named for	Exmoor

The Exmoor Group is a late Devonian to early Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in southwest England whose outcrop extends from Croyde in north Devon east across Exmoor to Minehead in west Somerset. The group comprises the following formations (in stratigraphic order, i.e., the oldest at the base and the youngest at the top) the:

Each of these divisions has been given different names by different authors in the past including those shown in brackets above. Some that had been classed as 'formations' (or even in one case as a 'group') are now 'members'.

Extending east from Woody Bay, the Lynton Formation underlies the village from which the sequence is named and continues in a thin strip of country as far east as the hamlet of Oare. There is a small inlier of the Lynton Slates at the foot of the at Triscombe. The formation is composed of slates and siltstones together with some sandstone. Though its base is not seen, it is believed to be between 3–400 m thick. There are fossils of brachiopods, bivalves and bryozoans present, consistent with a shallow marine depositional environment. One of Devon and Exmoor's better known natural tourist attractions is Valley of the Rocks, a dry valley developed in this formation just to the west of Lynton.

The Hangman Sandstone forms the coastal outcrop east from Hangman Point as far as Heddon's Mouth and indeed the larger part of the cliffs eastwards again to Woody Bay. It again forms the coastal cliffs from Lynmouth Bay east to Porlock Weir, including Foreland Point and Culbone Hill and also from Hurlstone Point to Minehead. The Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Site of Special Scientific Interest has a shingle ridge deposited during the Holocene epoch. Inland it forms the high ground east to Dunkery Beacon and much of Croydon Hill. The larger part of the are formed from the same strata. The Hangman Sandstone consist of several members which once enjoyed the status of 'formations'. These are (oldest base, youngest at top):