The Lower Greensand typically comprises loose, unconsolidated sandstone (termed rubblestone/rubble in construction) and sands of varying grain size with subordinate amounts of siltstones, mudstones (containing smectites and similar) and limestones.

In the Weald of East Sussex the lowermost part of the group is recognised by green glauconitic clays with a basal bed of phosphate nodules.

[2] The Group is the lowermost of two geological units that take their name from their colouration due to the presence of the mineral glauconite, the other being the Upper Greensand Formation.

[5] A common geomorphological, chiefly dependent on the local hydrology such as hydraulic action, at the base of the Lower Greensand is an escarpment, where the Hythe Beds overlie the Atherfield and Weald Clays, which is particularly susceptible to landslide.

[4] At ‘The Roughs’ in Kent, where a rotational slump occurred, slips of the Atherfield Clay (and all material above) have compromised sandstone blocks of Hythe Beds.

[3] This sort of rotational slip occurs regularly along the coastline between Hythe and Folkestone, where the drainage basin faces inland, exerting a steady force, where the water is subterranean, outward towards the coastal cliffs.