bungham

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bungham (uncountable)

1. A type of clay sometimes found in marshes.
   • 1928, Transactions of the Society of Engineers, page 240:

     Even in such soft material as marsh clay, or what engineers call “bungham,” there is no danger of the hole collapsing.

   • 1930 November, Concrete and Constructional Engineering, volume 25:

     A typical borehole starting at 9 ft. below the level of Grosvenor Road showed the presence of 4 ft. of brick rubble, 1 ft. 6 in. of bungham, 3 ft. 3 in. of peat, 1 ft. each of green clay and green sand […]

   • 1937, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, page 345:

     These are the so-called bungham clays and are characterised by broad, shallow depressions 6in. - 12in. deep, known as crabholes, and which fill with water in winter.

   • 2020 December 19, Ryan O'Neill, “The rise and fall of Newport's once-thriving docks”, in Wales Online‎^[1]:

     Other difficulties which had to be overcome at the time included the "treacherous" soil known as bungham, which Hutton wrote "needed only the briefest spell of rain to convert it into a liquid mud", making the construction of the dock a risky endeavour for those involved.