THE NETHERWORLD OF MENDIP
NETHERWORLD
OF MENDIP
EXPLORATIONS IN THE GREAT CAVERNS
OF SOMERSET, YORKSHIRE
DERBYSHIRE, AND ELSEWHERE
BY
ERNEST A. BAKER, M.A.(LOND.)
AUTHOR OF "MOORS, CRAGS, AND CAVES OF THE HIGH PEAK" ETC.
JOINT-EDITOR OF "THE VOICE OF THE MOUNTAINS"
AND
HERBERT E. BALCH
CLIFTON
J. BAKER & SON
LONDON
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO.
1907
PREFACE
The objects of this work are twofold: to describe the actual incidents
of various interesting episodes in the modern sport of cave exploring,
and to give an account of the scientific results of underground
investigations in the Mendip region of Somerset. Speleology is the
latest of the sporting sciences: like orology and Arctic exploration,
it has two sides, sport and adventure being the lure to some, whilst
others are chiefly attracted by the new light thrown by these
researches on the geology, the hydrology, and the natural history
of the subterranean regions explored. The chapters dealing with the
scientific results are by H. E. Balch, who has been working on the
geology of Mendip, more especially among the caves, for upwards of
twenty years: the accounts of actual experiences, in which the sporting
side is predominant, are by E. A. Baker, who described the recent
exploration of the Derbyshire caves in his _Moors, Crags, and Caves
of the High Peak_, 1903. No attempt is made to traverse the ground so
perfectly covered by Professor Boyd Dawkins in his fascinating volume
on _Cave Hunting_, and elsewhere, most of the work described here being
supplementary to that done by him, and, largely, outside the scope of
his aims. The authors are indebted to the kindness of the Editors of
the _Liverpool Courier_ and _Daily Post_, the _Manchester Guardian_,
the _Standard_, the _Yorkshire Post_, the _Irish Naturalist_, and the
_Climbers' Club Journal_ for permission to use the substance of various
articles which have appeared in their pages, and to M. Martel, Mr.
C. Blee, and Messrs. Gough for permission to reproduce a number of
excellent illustrations by them.
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE CAVE DISTRICT OF THE MENDIPS 1
THE CHEDDAR GROUP OF CAVERNS 16
ANTIQUITY OF THE CAVES OF MENDIP 21
CAVE EXPLORING AS A SPORT 32
EXPLORING WOOKEY HOLE 45
STRENUOUS DAYS IN THE EASTWATER SWALLET 60
SWILDON'S HOLE 70
THE GREAT CAVERN AT CHEDDAR 82
FIVE CAVERNS AT CHEDDAR 91
THE BURRINGTON CAVERNS 99
THE CORAL CAVE AT COMPTON BISHOP 106
LAMB'S LAIR 115
A CAVE IN THE QUANTOCKS 123
CAVE EXPLORING AT ABERGELE 127
CAVE DISCOVERIES ON THE WELSH BORDER 133
THE EXPLORATION OF STUMP CROSS CAVERN 138
SWALLET-HUNTING IN DERBYSHIRE 144
EXPLORING NEW CAVES IN DERBYSHIRE 152
A VISIT TO MITCHELSTOWN CAVE 159
INDEX 169
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
MAP OF THE MENDIP DISTRICT OF SOMERSET, SHOWING
SWALLETS, CAVES, AND OUTLETS 5
THE GREAT GORGE OF CHEDDAR 16
Photo by DAWKES & PARTRIDGE, Wells.
ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY, COINS, HUMAN REMAINS,
ETC., WOOKEY HOLE CAVE 22
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
HYÆNA DEN AND BADGER HOLE, WOOKEY HOLE 23
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
PLAN AND SECTION OF WOOKEY HOLE CAVERN 25
By H. E. BALCH.
THE GREAT SWALLET ON BISHOP'S LOT, PRIDDY 28
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
ST. ANDREW'S WELL, WELLS 29
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
PROFILE OF THE "WITCH OF WOOKEY," WOOKEY HOLE
CAVERN 46
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
AMONG THE POOLS, WOOKEY HOLE CAVERN 47
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
MASS OF STALAGMITE, WOOKEY HOLE 48
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
IN THE FIRST CHAMBER, WOOKEY HOLE CAVERN 49
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
STALACTITE TERRACE, WOOKEY HOLE 50
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
GREAT RIVER CHAMBER, WOOKEY HOLE 51
Photo by DAWKES & PARTRIDGE, Wells.
SECOND GREAT CHAMBER, WOOKEY HOLE 52
Photo by DAWKES & PARTRIDGE, Wells.
ENTRANCE OF THIRD CHAMBER, WOOKEY HOLE 53
Photo by DAWKES & PARTRIDGE, Wells.
STALACTITE GROTTO: NEW CHAMBERS, WOOKEY HOLE
CAVE 54
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
STALACTITE GROTTO, WOOKEY HOLE 55
Photo by CLAUDE BLEE.
STALACTITE PILLARS, WOOKEY HOLE 56
Photo by CLAUDE BLEE.
NEW STALACTITE GROTTO, WOOKEY HOLE 57
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
THE GRILLE: NEW CHAMBERS, WOOKEY HOLE 58
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
THE SOURCE OF THE AXE, WOOKEY HOLE 59
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
ENTRANCE TO GREAT CAVERN OF EASTWATER 62
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
SECTION OF EASTWATER CAVERN 63
By H. E. BALCH.
THE DESCENT OF EASTWATER CAVERN, THE SECOND
VERTICAL DROP 64
From Sketch by H. E. BALCH.
THE GREAT CANYON, EASTWATER CAVERN 65
From Sketch by H. E. BALCH.
ENTRANCE OF SWILDON'S HOLE 72
Photo by M. MARTEL.
WATERFALL, SWILDON'S HOLE 73
Photo by H. E. BALCH.
ENTRANCE OF STALACTITE CHAMBER, SWILDON'S HOLE 78
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
STALACTITE CURTAINS, SWILDON'S HOLE 79
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
STALACTITE CHAMBER, SWILDON'S HOLE 80
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
STALAGMITE PILLARS IN GOUGH'S GREAT CAVERN 84
Photo by GOUGH, Cheddar.
THE PILLARS OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE, GOUGH'S CAVES,
CHEDDAR 85
Photo by GOUGH, Cheddar.
ORGAN PIPES, GOUGH'S CAVES, CHEDDAR 86
Photo by GOUGH, Cheddar.
"NIAGARA," GOUGH'S CAVE, CHEDDAR 87
Photo by M. MARTEL.
IN COX'S CAVERN AT CHEDDAR 92
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
GREAT RIFT CAVERN, CHEDDAR GORGE 93
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
ENTRANCE TO LAMB'S LAIR, HARPTREE 116
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
PLAN AND SECTION OF THE GREAT CAVERN OF LAMB'S
LAIR 117
By H. E. BALCH.
THE "BEEHIVE" CHAMBER, LAMB'S LAIR 118
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
STALACTITE WALL, LAMB'S LAIR 119
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
ENTRANCE TO GREAT CHAMBER, LAMB'S LAIR 120
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
LARGEST CHAMBER IN SOMERSET, LAMB'S LAIR, HARPTREE 121
From Sketch by H. E. BALCH.
STALACTITES IN ENTRANCE GALLERY, LAMB'S LAIR 122
Photo by BAMFORTH, Holmfirth.
THE OGO, NEAR ABERGELE 128
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
INSIDE THE OGO, NEAR ABERGELE 129
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
IN THE OGO, NEAR ABERGELE 130
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
A PRE-GLACIAL CAVE, LLANDULAS 132
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
ON THE CEIRIOG 134
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
UPPER CEIRIOG CAVE 135
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
LOWER CEIRIOG CAVERN 136
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
IN STUMP CROSS CAVERN 140
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
THE PILLAR, STUMP CROSS CAVERN 141
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
THE CHAPEL: STUMP CROSS CAVERN 142
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
RICKLOW CAVE IN FLOOD 156
Photo by G. D. WILLIAMS.
A GREAT PILLAR: MITCHELSTOWN CAVERN 160
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
A FAIRY LANTERN: MITCHELSTOWN CAVERN 161
Photo by E. A. BAKER.
THE NETHERWORLD OF MENDIP
THE CAVE DISTRICT OF THE MENDIPS
"A land of caves, whose palaces of fantastic beauty still adorn the
mysterious underworld where murmuring rivers first see the light." In
these words an imaginative writer describes Somerset, which shares with
Derbyshire and Yorkshire the title of a land of caverns. Across it the
range of the Mendips, a region of Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous
Limestone, 1000 feet above tide-level, stretches in a huge, flat-topped
rampart for nearly 30 miles, from the town of Frome to the sea. No
piece of country in the kingdom offers so much to explore. An abundant
harvest is there waiting to be reaped; for on every side are obvious
indications of half-buried gateways to the dark and secret pathways
to the netherworld, and everywhere upon the surface of the Mendip
tableland lie the open pits and hollows which the local speech calls
"swallets," that is to say, swallow holes, some of them dry, some
actively engulfing streams, but all testifying to untold ages of water
action.
This Limestone district lies far from the busy hives of industry,
remote and secluded in the very heart of lovely Somerset. Only on the
darkest of nights, with the clouds low in the sky, can the glare of the
lights of Bristol be seen reflected far to the northward. One main
line of railway, the Great Western from Bristol to Exeter, passes near
it, and even that does not intrude beyond the margin of this Caveland.
The rendezvous for the cave explorers of the district is usually the
quiet little city of Wells, lying calm and secluded under the southern
slopes of Mendip, in close proximity to all the principal caverns. A
mile to the south-east rises the bold and picturesque Dulcote Hill,
a fragment of the most southerly anticline of Mountain Limestone in
the kingdom. From this point, rolling northward in a great fivefold
anticline, Old Red Sandstone, Lower Limestone Shales, and Mountain
Limestone form the great mass of the worn-down stump of the once mighty
Mendip range. The extent of the denudation which has taken place
indicates that this range was originally at least 5000 feet high,
yet now in but a few places is the height of 1000 feet attained, and
this is reached only by the Old Red Sandstone ridges laid bare in the
prolonged course of that denudation. The first of these high ridges
rises boldly to the north of Wells, and a steep climb of 900 feet in
two and a half miles brings us to the summit of Pen Hill, or Rookham,
from which a grand southward view is to be obtained. Immediately below,
the three cathedral towers pierce the blue mist hanging over the little
city we have just left. Beyond, the peat moors of the Brue and the Axe
stretch away to the Isle of Avalon, sacred as the birthplace of our
Christian faith in England. Here below us is that
"Island valley of Avilion,
Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow,
Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies
Deep meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns,
And bowery hollows crowned with summer seas."
Here, where Arthur's bones are said to have been found, and where
traditions associated with him abound, his memory is kept green in
the names of many well-known spots; and yonder rises Cadbury Camp,
looked upon by many as the Camelot of romance. On the low ridge which
intervenes between the valleys of the Axe and the Brue lies Wedmore,
where King Alfred gained in the Peace of Wedmore such temporary
respite from his foes as allowed him to gather strength for the great
operations that resulted at last in the conquest and unity of the
whole kingdom. Yonder, too, are the marshes of the Parrett and the
Tone, around which cluster tales familiar to every schoolchild. In the
marshes between the Mendips and Glastonbury, exploration has unearthed
a most interesting example of a swamp or lake village, with great
store of antiquarian material, throwing a flood of light upon a period
of which little was known. Beyond lies Sedgemoor, where in 1685 took
place the last battle ever fought on English soil; and throughout this
neighbourhood the infamous Jeffreys worked his will in the judicial
slaughter of countless Somerset men.
In the far distance the sunshine glints on the waters of the Bristol
Channel, where, 60 miles away, the bold promontory of the Foreland
rises sheer from the sea; to the south, upon the farthest limits of our
vision, Pilsdon and Lewsdon mark the descent of our southern counties
to the English Channel; whilst, on a clear day, between them is seen
the summit of Golden Cap, the base of which is washed by our southern
sea. Surely here is as fair a scene as eye could wish to see.
Only a pleasant walk away, the great chasms of Ebbor and Cheddar
have rent the rocks asunder, forming two of the loveliest ravines in
the kingdom. Northward across the intervening syncline of Mountain
Limestone, pitted with swallets marking the entrances to many an
unknown subterranean labyrinth, are seen the Old Red Sandstone summits
of North Hill, crowned with its seventeen Neolithic barrows, and of
Blackdown beyond, from whose bare top is seen the broad estuary of the
Severn spreading out across the view, giving a glimpse of the coast
of South Wales in the far distance, its busy factories showing their
pencil-like chimneys against the dark hills behind. In the Channel the
little islands of Steepholm and Flatholm mark the line of the original
continuation of the great Mendip range into South Wales. The limestone
shores of the former rise sheer from the sea, forming an impregnable
fortress. Here, far below the level of the salt water around, a supply
of pure water is obtained from the Limestone, brought, doubtless, from
the Limestone area of Mendip by way of some hidden fissure.
Hard by, at Clevedon, is the grave of that great friend of Tennyson,
who sat here and listened to
"The moaning of the homeless sea,
The sound of streams that, swift or slow,
Draw down æonian hills, and sow
The dust of continents to be."
Very truly and accurately his words describe the action that is going
on, by which the swallet streams are undermining and honeycombing these
hills and bearing their component rocks away to the sea.
Standing on Pen Hill and looking northward, a great east and west
depression is seen forming a broad low valley in the tableland of
Mendip. Into this valley numerous springs and a liberal rainfall are
for ever pouring their waters. Yet nowhere is there a surface channel
which can carry this water away; and nowhere, save in the small hollows
of the Old Red Sandstone and Shales, does water accumulate. The reason
is not far to seek. The Carboniferous Limestone, evenly stratified
everywhere, has been split by vertical joints into a series of gigantic
cubes. Between them, the surface waters, laden with carbonic acid
obtained from the atmosphere and from vegetation, have for ages made
their way, enlarging them by both chemical and mechanical action, till
they have become fissures capable of giving passage to an enormous
quantity of water. So from one joint to another, from one bedding plane
to another, the water percolates downwards until it meets with some
impermeable rock beneath, or until it finds an outlet at the level of
the Secondary rocks forming the valley below. Such impermeable beds
are found in the Lower Limestone Shales, and the resulting outlets are
well known in the great risings of St. Andrew's Well in the gardens of
the Bishop's Palace at Wells, in the source of the Axe at Wookey Hole,
in the Cheddar Water and other large springs, of all of which more
hereafter.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE MENDIP DISTRICT OF SOMERSET, SHOWING
SWALLETS, CAVES, AND OUTLETS.]
Reference to the sketch map of the district will show that the majority
of the more important swallets lie along the line of the great
depression referred to. These comprise by no means all the swallets
of Mendip, yet they are the chief ones. It is obvious that the whole
of the mass of material represented by this great depression has been
removed in suspension by way of these swallets; and one is compelled to
ask, How long has this work been going on? What time is represented by
so vast a work? On the threshold of the inquiry we are met by such an
amount of evidence bearing upon it that the subject must be dealt with
separately. For, upon the upturned edges of the Carboniferous Limestone
rocks, which can have been brought down to their present plane of
denudation only by long-continued water action, have been deposited,
and still remain _in situ_, great masses of the basement beds of the
Secondary rocks, lying in such a manner as to convince us that swallet
action had prepared the denuded surfaces upon which they lie. And upon
this hinges the whole question of the antiquity of the caverns of
Mendip. But whilst the age of our caverns is a debatable matter, no
one can question the accuracy of the theory of ravine formation from
the collapse of cavern roofs, as evidenced by the instances supplied by
Mendip.
Through crevices and cracks, here, there, and everywhere, the
percolating waters find their way. Now some crevice is enlarged into
a passage; now some weak point in the passage becomes a chamber; and
on the water rushes, steadily joining forces and accumulating, until
on the level of the lower land it finds an outlet, and rushes forth
a considerable stream. In its headlong course the water again and
again leaps down some great series of potholes, as down some giant
stairway, forming many fine cascades, whose deafening roar goes on for
ever where there is no ear to hear and where no footstep ever treads
the rocky ways. Along the course of the larger streams huge chambers
occur; for the ever-eddying water, bearing sand along in its course,
eats out the sides of its channel, or, revolving stones in its bed,
carves out the pothole by friction. Or some pendent mass of rock has
its support undermined and comes crashing into the streamway, only to
be broken up and carried away by the ceaseless energy of the stream,
so ever enlarging the chambers upwards towards the light of day. But
whilst this action is going on underground, a more potent factor is
at work where the subterranean stream first sees the light. Here
very soon the action of the water alone gives rise to a little cliff
overhead. Now rain and frost, wind and tempest, loosen, bit by bit,
the fragments of rock forming the face of the cliff, which fall away
into the river, to be broken up and carried away. Little by little the
face of the cliff recedes, along the line of the subterranean river,
until the first underground chamber is reached. The undermined archway
of rock is less able to withstand the agents of denudation, and the
cliff front recedes apace. Such is the present stage at Wookey Hole,
the chamber whence the river Axe issues being still in process of
destruction. Thus the work goes on slowly, yet none the less surely,
until along the whole course of the subterranean river the roof of
the cavern is destroyed, perhaps effectually hiding the stream under
huge blocks of Limestone, such as those of Ebbor Gorge, near Wells,
or until the water finds another course for itself, as at Cheddar, to
begin the whole story over again. Every stage is abundantly illustrated
by our Mendip swallets and caves. The large swallets of Eastwater,
three and a half miles from Wells, of Swildon's or Swithin's Hole, a
half-mile nearer Priddy, and the more recent swallet of Stoke Lane,
half-way between Wells and Frome, are excellent examples of streams
engulfed on the summit of Mendip. The whole of the country surrounding
the two first-named caverns is dotted with innumerable small pits and
hollows. The great swallet of Hillgrove, three miles north of Wells,
in the exploration of which we are at present engaged, in an endeavour
to penetrate the labyrinth of ways to which it will undoubtedly
afford access, is a fine example of an intermittent swallet. Here
three ways, carved deeply through the stream-borne sands and clays of
some uncertain epoch of geological history, converge in a deep glen,
beautiful with its tropical wealth of ferns. In the bottom of the glen
huge spurs of Limestone stand up boldly, dipping towards the Old Red
Sandstone exposed to the south, and pointing to a great fault, along
the line of which the Limestone water is bound to accumulate in a
huge triangular reservoir, the outflow from which may account for the
summer flow of the Axe when the majority of the swallets are dry. In
winter the converging torrents here find ingress into the Limestone,
but, though pits and hollows abound on every hand, no foot of man has
ever yet trod the hidden ways beneath. At a depth of 10 feet we have
reached the first open channel, only to have it blocked subsequently by
a fall of the treacherous gravel through which we have been working.
Vast dry swallets are represented by a great depression which we call
the Bishop's Lot Swallet, on the road from Wells to Priddy. Here a huge
hollow in the ground, perfectly circular and 300 yards round, shows
us the largest swallet in Mendip. Though the surrounding land slopes
gently to the edge of the great pit, which is 60 feet in depth, there
is but the smallest trace of water penetrating it. It is ages since the
drainage of the surrounding land gravitated towards it, for it lies at
a considerable height above the level of most of the other swallets
in the neighbourhood. A mile and a half to the west, a similar pit
occurs called Sand Pit Hole. Here too water has ceased to flow, and it
remains, with precipitous sides, a problem for us to investigate in the
near future.
To enter either of the active swallets of Eastwater or Swildon's Hole,
and to follow it to its greatest depth, is to gain an insight into
the action of subterranean streams such as no other method can give.
The former is well illustrated by the annexed section, in which its
profound depth and its labyrinth of passages may readily be understood.
The difficulties and disappointments which we encountered when I
conducted the operations which at last resulted in our effecting
an entrance into this cavern, the existence of which was not even
suspected previously, need not here be recapitulated. Altogether, what
with volunteers and labourers, nearly a dozen of us were occupied ten
days in the determined effort which we made, and which at last was
crowned with success. From the point of view of the subsequent explorer
the reader is referred to the ensuing chapter upon Eastwater Cavern,
which will convey some idea of what the first explorers must undergo in
any such place when to the ordinary difficulties of such an exploration
is added the great uncertainty felt at every step taken, and when
every boulder upon which our weight is to rest must first be carefully
examined. The difficulty of our work at Eastwater is practically what
must be experienced in any new work undertaken in the Mendip region,
and there is much waiting to be done. If there is one thing more than
another to be learned from Eastwater Cavern, it is the great importance
of chokes in determining the lines of subterranean drainage. Here they
are seen in every stage of formation and destruction, and the channels
which have been carved by the arrested water may be readily recognised.
There is a fascination in exploration work such as that at Eastwater,
where corridors, hitherto untrodden by the foot of man, open up all
around as you make your way ever downwards into the heart of the hills;
and even now there are many accessible passages into which as yet no
one has penetrated. Reference to the section annexed will show an upper
way, which terminates abruptly in a choke of stones and gravel, holding
up a little water, whilst allowing a considerable quantity to pass. It
is a remarkable fact that in all the labyrinths of galleries which we
have explored in the profound depths of this cavern we have not yet
alighted upon any portion which gives access to the continuation of
this channel. There, rendered inaccessible by the barrier of débris,
is, without doubt, a cavern as extensive as that which we have proved
to exist in the sister watercourse hard by; and these two channels,
starting from practically the same point, must diverge widely, and
certainly do not unite again before the depth of 500 feet is attained.
Farther eastward in Mendip, too, are similar swallet caverns. Not far
to the north-west of Stoke Lane is an interesting cavern locally known
as Cox's Hole. It is situated in the Limestone forming the southern
edge of the great basin in which lies the Radstock Coalfield. Owing to
the existence of this coalfield, there are no deep caves accessible in
this part of Mendip. Yet a good deal of water must be absorbed through
the innumerable fissures into the depths of the Carboniferous Limestone
underlying the coalfield, and it is by no means unlikely that this
water, heated to a high point by the subterranean temperature, gives
rise to the hot springs at Bath. Cox's Hole was at a remote period,
when the form of the hill was very different from that presented now,
an active water-channel, evidently draining towards St. Dunstan's Well.
It has two distinct entrances, one, the more westerly, being a cavity
of considerable size. For about 100 feet the cavern consists of a roomy
gallery running more or less horizontally. Then it pinches in, until
the height is less than a foot, and only those can get along who are
able to compress themselves into small compass. In a few feet, however,
it widens out into a good-sized passage, with fine stalactites here and
there, especially at a point on the northern side where an aven opens
into a chamber more than 30 feet high. Now roomy and now contracted,
the passage leads on until, at a distance of 100 yards from the
entrance, it becomes so small that there is considerable difficulty in
proceeding. Beyond this point the cavern becomes a simple water-tunnel,
of a type common in Yorkshire. At 130 yards there is a sharp descent,
the floor is littered with boulders, and 20 yards farther the passage
is choked with silt. A very small passage, which had water in it when
I was there, is said to be passable at times, though I am inclined to
doubt this. An almost vertical ascent amongst treacherous boulders,
however, seems an indication of a possible route onwards, which may,
I trust, with care be yet explored. The last 50 yards of the cave run
to the south-east--that is, away from the direction of St. Dunstan's
Well--a beautiful spring rising from the Carboniferous Limestone hard
by; yet I feel sure that it must of necessity be a part of the same
waterway. Either it was an inlet which received the waters of some
vanished Old Red Sandstone spring, or it was a former outlet for the
waters of that well. I am inclined to favour the former theory. As to
the present source of the waters of St. Dunstan's Well there can be
no doubt whatever. In the valley below Stoke Lane, and three-quarters
of a mile distant from the well and from Cox's Hole, there is a most
interesting swallet, of comparatively recent age. It is obviously
certain that, not so long ago, the stream which courses down the
valley flowed unchecked down its whole length, and so reached the
larger stream below. Slightly retarded, in all probability, by some
flood-borne silt, the water found a little joint in the western bank of
the valley, and by slow degrees so enlarged it that it at last became
capable of swallowing the whole. Even now a few hours' work would
divert the water and cause it to resume its former course. Upstream is
a mill, the owner of which has courteously given every facility for
testing and for exploration. It was found that the effect of damming
the mill stream entirely was to reduce the flow at St. Dunstan's Well
enormously, and to render the entrance of the swallet passable. Mr.
Marshall of Stratton-on-the-Fosse with his party made a successful
descent, and travelled a considerable distance, mainly parallel
with the valley without and to a great extent horizontally, through
water-tunnels of small size. As no measurements were taken one cannot
say yet how far it is passable, but he says that they did not get to
the limits of possible exploration, as the time which they spent there
was getting dangerously near the hour up to which it is possible to
dam the water, and they most wisely beat a hasty retreat. The first
opportunity will be taken by us to make use of a spell of fine weather
to carry this exploration to a successful issue. Not far distant,
too, is another swallet, from which the water has been diverted to be
used for water-supply. This is in the vicinity of a ruined hunting
lodge, and is said to lead in the same direction as the Stoke Lane
Swallet. The whole of this district is likely to be very interesting,
there being a series of remarkable rifts or fissures in the Dolomitic
Conglomerate which deserve attention. One of these, called Fairy Slats,
has been known for many years, and is indeed shown on the Ordnance
map; and the fact that such fissures abound has been forcibly brought
home by a disaster to a new reservoir, only recently completed by the
authorities of Downside Monastery, to supply the neighbouring villages.
Here a finely designed basin, having been constructed over one of these
fissures, had its massive concrete bottom burst out as if it were an
egg-shell the moment the water filled it, and in a single hour the
whole fabric was absolutely ruined. Some measure of the extent of the
concealed fissures may be gathered from the fact that 500,000 gallons
of water were absolutely swallowed up without a drop coming to light
in the neighbouring valley. An early visitor to the adjoining field
reported that air was being ejected through the grass all around him,
much to his alarm, as he was quite unaware of what had occurred. It
will be a most interesting subject for inquiry, as to how far such
fissures as these are the results of water action or otherwise, and
it is most desirable to descend one of them at the first opportunity
in search of evidence. At present I am inclined to attribute their
presence to movements in the Secondary rocks, due to the intersection
of the district by valleys. The Conglomerate mass has parted along the
lines of the principal joints, and the rifts thus formed have become
lines of drainage. This theory, in view of possible future discoveries,
may have to be modified.
Above Stoke Lane Swallet, and evidently connected with it in some
remote way, is a cavity without a name, the exploration of which would
probably be interesting, and would be most likely to yield remains of
primitive Man. Mr. Marshall also reports the existence of a fissure
of considerable size, where, after a very small entrance, a point
is reached with a vertical descent of great depth. All these things
indicate that there is a splendid field here for further work.
Indeed there are abundant evidences of this all over Mendip. One of
the most interesting problems has had further light thrown upon it
by work recently done by us at Wookey Hole. The Hyæna Den and the
Badger Hole are testimony that a large amount of underground action
has taken place upon the east side of the ravine, yet nothing has been
known hitherto of any series of dry channels upon that side. Recently,
however, we have succeeded in gaining access, by way of the smallest of
fissures, into what will turn out most likely to be a portion of this
very series. Here is to be seen a choked-up chamber of precisely the
same type as the Hyæna Den, but far deeper in the wall of the ravine.
Without doubt it contains prehistoric remains, yet its excavation will
entail great labour. We have already reached a distance of 80 feet from
the entrance, and only a partially choked passage bars the way.
High up in the ravine at Ebbor, too, there is a very promising field
for further research. This is immediately beneath a cliff on the
western side of the valley, where we have already done much preliminary
work. There is also a very promising little cave, slightly north of
Tower Rock in the same gorge and high up in its side. Here a narrow
entrance gives access to a small chamber, on the floor of which is a
deep deposit of cave earth, from which I have obtained Deer bones.
At Dulcote, again, there is a series of waterways and dry caves of
great interest, which in themselves bear corroborative evidence of the
great antiquity of the caverns of the district. From time to time the
quarrymen have broken in upon these waterways, which have been lost in
subsequent operations. Not many years ago a blast blew off the top of
an almost vertical shaft, carved out in the Limestone by water action
and descending to a great depth. The mass of rock blown off by the
charge turned over and fell down the shaft, blocking it at 30 feet from
the surface. It was possible to descend to this point and throw down
stones, which fell for a considerable distance; but the block was never
moved, and in the process of quarrying the hole became filled, and is
now lost in the general level of the quarry. Hard by, also, a cavern of
considerable extent was opened, and still remains. It contains nothing
of peculiar interest, though when I was first lowered into it, from
a hole 60 feet above its floor, it contained very pretty coral-like
splash stalagmite; and also, in the mud floor, the tubular linings
of calcite, formed from the drip from above. In this quarry, too,
were found a considerable quantity of the bones of Bear, Deer, Bos,
Horse, etc., and these are now in the Wells Museum, where they were
deposited some years since by A. F. Somerville, Esq. There are numerous
other minor caves in this locality. Farther up the same valley, above
Croscombe, is a small cave known locally as Betsy Camel's Hole, and it
appears to have been occupied by a woman bearing that name for some
years. She was, of course, carried away by the devil, according to the
same popular report. It may very well have been a rock shelter at some
stage of its history. Mr. Somerville informs me, too, that in Dinder
Wood there is a small cave which was almost certainly a rock shelter.
This also has never been explored. In fact, the whole district may
be described as an unexplored field, and there is abundant room for
willing helpers. The landowners, for the most part, are exceedingly
kind and ready to offer every facility for scientific research.
H. E. B.
THE CHEDDAR GROUP OF CAVERNS
The great gorge of Cheddar and its caverns form a subject of surpassing
interest to the student of Geology. Presenting some of the most
stupendous cliff scenery in England, the great wall of rock on the
southern side of the valley towers nearly 500 feet into the air,
defying all attempts at mapping contour lines; and the road which
traverses the ravine winds, with many a sudden turn, along the base of
this noble cliff, ever upwards, until in four miles the actual summit
of the Mendip downs is reached. At the entrance to the gorge, and
close to the caverns owned by Gough, the hidden river bursts into the
light, pouring forth a stream of great volume, which, after serving
the purposes of various millers in the village, hurries on to join its
sister stream from Wookey Hole, the two then flowing into the sea near
Weston-super-Mare. It is strange that in all the exploration work that
has been done at Cheddar, the underground channel of the stream has not
once been reached. Near the entrance in Gough's Cave a fairly deep hole
contains water, which changes in level along with the river itself, but
no open passage leads from it. A vertical rope descent of 100 feet from
the upper and practically unknown caverns belonging to Gough brings the
explorer to what must be regarded as the nearest point which has yet
been reached to the subterranean river of Cheddar. As this gorge is
the most stupendous in the Mendip region, so is this stream the most
considerable in volume. Mr. Sheldon of Wells has gauged its minimum
flow to be not less than three million gallons per day, whilst its
torrent at flood time must be many times as much, probably not less
than eight or ten millions.
[Illustration: THE GREAT GORGE OF CHEDDAR.
_Photo by Dawkes & Partridge, Wells._]
This is considerably larger than the other two great outlets of the
subterranean waters of Mendip, those of Wookey Hole and Wells, each of
which, however, pours forth an enormous volume. That it is the Cheddar
stream which is responsible for the existence of the gorge itself no
one can doubt, and it is a most interesting subject for discussion as
to how this has been brought about. It is not difficult to determine
what points must mark the boundaries of the catchment area, the waters
of which drain to Cheddar. The road from Castle Comfort to Charterhouse
on the north-east, the outcrop of Shales south of Blackdown on the
north, and a line drawn from Rowberrow Farm north of Priddy to the
gorge itself on the south, enclose the whole area from which the supply
is obtained. This is somewhere about 12 square miles in extent. To this
must be added, possibly, some water from slightly more to the eastward.
It is now the commonly accepted theory that the whole of this water,
or at any rate the bulk of it, found inlet into a series of caverns
along the line now occupied by the gorge, and that then the processes
which are so well known to be going on gradually enlarged these to
the point of collapse, the falling débris being removed by the still
flowing stream. It is only right to add that M. Martel, arguing from
his long experience, which probably exceeds that of any man who has
ever studied the subject, sees in the gorges of Cheddar, Burrington,
and presumably Ebbor, the superficial channels worn by the escaping
streams from the ancient Mendip plateau. He says, "The numerous dried
valleys (Burrington Combe, Cheddar Cliffs, etc.), which cut through the
circumference of the Mendips, witness, as everywhere, to the ancient
superficial flowing off of the rivers, and to their capture by the
natural wells, successively opened and enlarged in the cracks of the
Limestone rock." That even small streams acting through a sufficient
period of time are capable of doing enormous erosive work it would
be idle to deny, but the difficulties in the way of accepting this
theory as alone sufficient are too great to admit of its acceptance.
It demands that the water of a very large area could find access to
the eastern end of the ravine, which itself demands that the general
configuration of the Mendips must have been very different from that
presented now. This, from the existence of the Secondary beds in their
present position, say near Harptree, was not the case; and therefore,
for the theory to hold good, we must suppose that the superficial gorge
was pre-Triassic. As it was not filled in, either in Triassic time or
subsequently, it could not have been superficial. Of course it may be
contended that the reversal of this line of argument demonstrates that
the gorge is post-Liassic and may then have been a superficial channel,
but I hold this to be disproved in my chapter on the antiquity of the
Mendip Caves. I am, accordingly, forced to the conclusion that the
Cheddar gorge was during the whole of the Secondary period a roofed-in
cavern. The only difficulty which arises is a doubt as to the ability
of the stream to remove so vast a bulk of falling material as must
be accounted for; but when we see the process in actual operation,
as at Wookey Hole, it is only necessary to demand sufficient time,
and the difficulty vanishes. That a time did arrive when the rate of
collapse more than kept pace with the destructive energy of the stream
is indicated by the rapid rise which takes place in the road through
the gorge. This favours the cave theory as opposed to the superficial
channel theory, inasmuch as a superficial channel would probably have
maintained a more nearly equal depth throughout.
That the portion of M. Martel's theory which explains the absence of
the stream from the gorge is correct is very clear, there being obvious
indications, notably at the western end of the ravine, where points of
absorption might be traced beneath the high cliffs, any one of which,
if excavated, would almost certainly lead to the present channel of
the river beyond Gough's Caves. The Long Hole above, as pointed out in
my chapter upon the antiquity of the Mendip Caves, is corroborative
evidence which tends to disprove the superficial valley theory, as it
is without a doubt an old cavern of absorption, which could not have
existed had the ravine been a superficial valley. Everyone must lament
the recent developments in the Cheddar gorge by which the northern side
is being hacked to pieces to provide road metal. There are thousands of
places where the same stone could be obtained, with almost equal ease;
and it does seem pitiful that one of the finest places in the kingdom
should be sacrificed to the most callous and sordid commercialism.
The conditions under which the work is being carried on constitute
also a public danger, as has now been exemplified by the collapse into
the gorge of a huge mass of the rock. The dip of the Limestone is to
the southward, and consequently any work done on the northern side is
removing the support that holds up the great mass upon an inclined
plane. Of necessity the mass above, its support gone, comes hurtling
down to the roadway, and it is practically certain that, if quarrying
operations continue, some day the gorge will be entirely closed by a
gigantic fall.
An interesting little tributary ravine and cavern, far up the gorge,
provides a perfect example of the cave theory of the formation of the
gorge itself. About two miles from the village, on the southern slopes
of the ravine, is an extensive fir wood. High up on the opposite side
this little ravine is visible, and it may be reached with ease. Here
sides that gently slope give way to precipitous walls, between which
you walk. Moss-grown stones give place to new-fallen stones, and then
you have before you the little ravine roofed in; you pass beneath,
and find yourself in the darkness of the cavern itself, which can be
followed for some distance. Here, at any rate, there can be no doubt as
to the process that has been at work.
H. E. B.
ANTIQUITY OF THE CAVES OF MENDIP
When we consider the question of the age of our caverns, we are met
at the outset by a mass of evidence forcing upon us the certainty
that they must be credited with a very high antiquity indeed. Here
measurement by years and centuries fails, and the imagination must
be called in to aid us to compute the epochs that have successively
elapsed since the first cave, to take one example, began to be formed
at Wookey Hole. These evidences are of three kinds: historical,
palæontological, and geological. In the first place, there has been
obviously little change in the general configuration of our caverns
since earliest historical times. The dens and caves of the earth
have afforded a retreat to the persecuted of all generations, and a
ready-made home when all else has failed. Here, too, with the rocky
walls behind him and his protecting fires at the entrance, early man
could defy the savage beasts that roamed the land in those far-off days.
At Wookey Hole it was only necessary to scratch the very surface of
the accumulated débris within the mouth of the great cave to turn up
fragments of Romano-British pottery and a human jaw and rib-bones.
These interesting relics are in the possession of myself and Mr. Troup.
From the very nature of the place, it is obvious that the tendency
has been to accumulate more and more débris upon the mass of cave
earth which contains these remains. Slightly deeper, yet still only
in the loose earth of the cavern mouth, we found pottery of still
earlier date, unwheeled and cruder. The fact is borne in upon us, that
certainly for two thousand years this entrance has remained much as it
is now. Perhaps a loose rock here and there has been dislodged from
the overhanging cliff outside, and, crashing to the stream bed below,
has there been broken up and carried away by the river. But no one can
doubt that the general outline is the same now as then. And farther
within the cavern an interesting sidelight is thrown on the slowness
with which things change in the underworld. At the descent into the
first great chamber a chalk inscription roughly made reads "E A 1769."
That inscription has been there unchanged, to my knowledge, for the
last twenty years, and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. If a
chalk mark remains unerased for a century and more, how long have those
solid walls stood, and how long will they endure?
As I have gazed upon that inscription, the thought has come, that such
a place as this would be an ideal site for national monuments. When our
abbeys and cathedrals are crumbled away, these great subterranean halls
will remain practically unchanged. And in the caves of Cheddar like
evidences meet the eye. In the loose material in the Roman cave there,
Roman and Romano-British remains have been found in abundance; and here
again we are forced to the conclusion that no change has taken place
since those remains were deposited.
But when we consider the evidences furnished by the remains of the
extinct mammalia, mingled with those of primitive man, much more is it
impressed upon the mind that we are dealing with relics of enormous
antiquity. The great assemblage of bones of the extinct animals which
occurs at Banwell Cave, and the numberless finds from the caves of
Cheddar, are indications of this; but those of the Hyæna Den of
Wookey Hole, and the conditions of their deposit there, afford us
much more reliable testimony. Here are two principal cavities on the
eastern side of the ravine, representing two of the five river levels
which the stream of the Axe has hollowed for itself in the Dolomitic
Conglomerate. These are branch or side chambers which have not been
totally destroyed in the process of erosion that formed the ravine at
the expense of the cavern. In the uppermost cavity, known as the Badger
Hole (it was the haunt of badgers until a few years ago), no traces
of the extinct mammalia are to be found, nor have I found definite
traces of prehistoric man. At seven feet below the surface, however,
there is a bed of river sand of precisely the same kind as that in the
upper chambers of the great cavern. In the Hyæna Den below, on the
other hand, so thoroughly and systematically explored by Professor Boyd
Dawkins, was found one of the most perfect assemblages of the remains
of extinct animals ever discovered. Many years after his labours were
completed I searched there again, and was rewarded with a by no means
poor collection of bones and teeth: Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros,
Irish Elk and Reindeer, Red Deer, Bison, Cave Lion and Bear, Hyæna and
Wolf, Wild Goat, Wild Horse, and Wild Boar have all been found. One
of my earliest trophies was a fairly complete skull of a young Bear;
and I have representatives of all the others. From a small hole in the
side of the valley hard by, which I thought looked promising, we have
obtained a large number of Rhinoceros teeth, together with those of
several of the other kinds present in the Den. The examination of these
cavities and their contents demonstrates the fact that they were the
actual dens of some of these animals. The abundant marks of gnawing
show that the Hyænas made their home there. Over the vertical cliff
many a worn-out beast was hunted to its death by the Hyænas and Wolves,
and its shattered carcass dragged to this hole.
[Illustration: ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY, COINS, HUMAN REMAINS, ETC.,
WOOKEY HOLE CAVE.
_Photo by H. E. Balch._]
[Illustration: HYÆNA DEN AND BADGER HOLE, WOOKEY HOLE.
_Photo by Bamforth, Holmfirth._]
It is easy to wander back in imagination and bring the state of things
that existed visibly before the mind's eye: to watch the unwieldy
Mammoth or the great Rhinoceros rolling its huge bulk along; to see the
pack of cowardly Hyænas or Wolves hounding some worn-out Bison to its
death, over the awful cliff close by their den, which purpose effected,
they themselves rushed headlong down the steep slope hard by, to fight
and wrangle over the shattered carcass of their prey; or to see the
Lion lying in wait by the peaceful stream in the little valley for the
noble Elk or timid Deer to come for its accustomed drink; and then to
behold savage Man, with his weapons of flint or bone, when out on his
hunting expeditions, arriving at this peaceful valley, and there for
a while making his quarters in the Den, and lighting his fires at the
entrance to scare the wild beasts from their lair.[1]
[1] Only a few years since, three cows were driven over the cliff by
several unruly dogs, and of course were instantly killed. Thus was the
tragedy of long ago re-enacted.