The time is once more upon us we must begin to think of such things as A.G.M.s and Dinners, starting of course with nominations. Following the custom started last year, we shall not be printing forms for nomination, since only a few are used and two hundred used to be printed. Instead, if you have a particular person or persons in mind you would like to see stand for the 1965 committee, ascertain if they are willing to stand if elected and then write as follows: -
To R.J. Bagshaw, Hon. Sec.,
B.B.C.
I wish to nominate for the 1965 committee. I have ascertained that he/she/they are willing to serve on the committee if elected.
..(Name). ..(Membership No.)
and send it or give it to Bob Bagshaw. In accordance with the club constitution, members or the retiring committee who are willing to continue if elected are automatically nominated. This year, apart from Mo Marriott, who does not wish to stand again, all the members of the present committee are prepared to continue. There is thus no need to nominate any of the following: -
R.J. Bagshaw, S.J. Collins, N. Petty, R. Bennett, J. Ransom, G. Tilly, K. Abbey, M. Palmer.
Nominations should reach Bob as soon as possible. Voting forms will NOT be sent with the September B.B. but will be sent by post to every single member of the club. In case of joint members, a separate envelope will be sent to each. A short, factual write up on all candidates will appear in the September issue of the B.B.
by Mike Palmer (Assistant Caving Sec.)
Whereas I agree with most of what Mo says in his article, his last one paragraph prompts me into making a few suggestions that might overcome the soaking experienced by the victim, especially if it means avoiding the wire rift.
I feel, having watched the operation at Traverse Chamber Pitch and helped in the operation at the other two pitches, that with only with a little bit of thought and engineering, the handling of the victims at these three pitches could be made a lot easier.
To outline the basic idea, a small sketch might be
explanatory being most adaptable, in the main, to Traverse Chamber Pitch, shown
on the next page.
No doubt the angle of the cross line would nothing like as severe as sketched, but it shows the idea. All this can be rigged up by the laddering party and the rawl bolts can be put in at any convenient date. The idea of the rope secured at the bottom of the carrying sheet is to steady the victim on the descent and if anything were to happen to the cross line, the body would be held reasonably safely by the two ropes, one from the top and one from the bottom.
On the other two pitches, similar plans could be adopted, this time employing stemples (of Eastwater fame) or two rawlbolts with a chain slung between them. The idea this time is to raise the hauling point above and in front of the haulers. On Gour Passage Pitch especially, this could be of some help, because on the rescue, great difficulty was encountered due to the victim being pulled into the side of the pitch instead of up it. Also of course, the inevitable tangle with the ladder and lifeline was experienced.
Roughly the same procedure could be applied on Pulpit Pitch, but possible first of all the amount of gear should be considered. On the rescue much more rope and greater lengths were found to be necessary and this caused a rather long delay. The tying of a rope to the base of the carrying sheet as shown in the sketch was used and found to be very useful in keeping the victim away from the water.
The poor victim suffered quite a lot of battering on the last two pitches, besides getting soaked, so I would think that any method that could be evolved to overcome this would be welcomed, especially by the unfortunate.
One last point I would like to add is that several other leaders considered the method practicable and possible labour saving, so I should be very interested to hear of any comments.
Solution to last months anagrams. 1. G.B. Cavern; 2. Lamb Leer Cavern; 3. Arête Pitch; 4. Maypole Series; 5. Saint Cuthberts Swallet; 6. Forty Foot Pot; 7. Badger Hole; 8. Eastwater Cavern. 9. Primrose Pot.
Overheard in the Hunters A caver is a member of a caving club who is not renovating an old cottage.
Comment by Alan Thomas on returning from Swildons IV. Swildons 4, Alan Thomas 0!
Many members of club contributed recently towards a wedding present for Roger Dors and Jacky. We have received the following letter from Roger .
Redland,
14th August
Dear Friends,
Thorough the medium of your magazine, my wife and I would like to express a very big thank you for the generous cheque which you gave us as a wedding present.
Wishing you all continued and safe prosperity on Mendip. Thank you again,
Yours
Faithfully,
Roger Dors
by Dave Irwin
Due to the increasing dumping of carbide, handling of formations, breaking of formations in the cave etc., it has been suggested by another leader that it would be a good idea to fix standard tourist routes through the cave which would be graded to suit the party.
Before suggesting routes that I think would be suitable to get the ball rolling perhaps I might highlight some of the spots that have been spoiled
1. Base of Cascade
Could not parties be taken into Harem Passage and approach the Cascade from the Railway Tunnel and leave via the Tunnel? Ban the climb by the Curtain.
2. Curtain Chamber.
Isolated curtains have been broken. The remedy is to omit Curtain Chamber completely from Tourist Trips.
3.
Carbide dumping goes on throughout Boulder Chamber, mostly at the foot of the climb to Annexe Chamber, alongside Quarry Corner, at the turn off to the Cascade, at Vantage Point etc. Mostly within fifty or sixty feet of the Kanchenjunga Carbide Dump. Has this been dumped by official parties or has it been dumped by leaderless parties entering the cave during the week by the old entrance which is not locked?
There routes are suggested. A normal route, a severe route and an intermediate route of V.Diff. standard. They are as follows: -
Arête, Wire Rift, Quarry Corner, Harem Passage, Rabbit Warren, Rat Run, Cerberus, Stalagmite Pitch, Duck and out via Rabbit Warren Extension.
Arête, Wire Rift, Quarry Corner, Harem Passage, Rabbit Warren, Duck, Stalagmite Pitch, Dining Room, Cerberus, Rat Run, Everest, Out.
Arête, Wire Rift, Quarry Corner, Harem Passage, Rabbit Warren, Rat Run, Cerberus, Stalagmite Pitch, Duck, Rabbit Warren Extension, Catgut, High Chamber, Pillar Chamber, Wire Rift, Out.
Severe Route
Arête, Pulpit or Wire Rift, Quarry Corner, Harem Passage, Rabbit Warren, Rat Run, Cerberus, Stalagmite Pitch, Duck, Rabbit Warren Extension, Catgut, High Chamber, Harem Passage, Fingers Traverse, Everest Passage, Stream passage via Bypass Passage, Water Chute etc, Out.
These routes have deliberately left out September, Coral, Curtains etc. to preserve formations and keep parties out of the potentially dangerous Coral/Long Chamber area. What do other members feel or suggest about this subject?
Potholing: Under the
Anyone who enjoyed the
exploration cum guidebook of underground adventure will have to add this volume
to his caving library. The author, as
well as having a sound knowledge of British caves, has led expeditions to
Dave Irwin
Edited by
On the 13th of June, Andy MacGregor and Dave Smith explored
a hole near the top of Upper Traverse Pitch in St. Cuthberts and found it to
be a much quicker route to lower Traverse Chamber than via Sentry and Bypass
Passage. In Swildons on the 14th, Roger
Stenner met with some trouble on the Forty, when a girl damaged an arm muscle
and somehow got her boots caught up in the ladder about halfway up. A
Castle Farm was dug on the 20th and 21st by Roy Bennett, the Franklins, Barry Wilton and Dave Irwin. Daves report states that the floor was lowered and digging was continued at the side rift at the bottom of the shaft.
On the 25th of June, Dave Irwin took a party into St. Cuthberts and noticed that one of the small curtains in Curtain Chamber is broken!! This may be due to carelessness when walking to the main part of the chamber. Alan Thomas and Geoff Bull dug in Hunters Hole on the 27th. From their report, a recent collapse on the right hand side of end of the dig reveals a solutional tube going up for about thirty feet, containing straws. The work on Hunters Hole has recently been revived by Alan, who is showing a very great interest in it.
To give members some idea of the numbers of trips made in the month of June, the log shows Swildons 3 trips, Hunters, - 2 trips, Castle Farm dig 1 trip and Cuthberts 14 trips. The most popular cave may easily be spotted, but not all trips are entered up in the Caving Log, so a few more can be probably added to this number. Perhaps these trips are not entered because people think they would be of no interest in the log, but every trip is of some interest (besides being required by Club rules! Ed.) Another reason may be that non-Belfryites do not use the Caving Log, and I think it would be a good idea if a secondary log was kept for this purpose at Redcliffe.
On the fourth of July, Jim Giles and party took 22 feet of
maypole to
The other aven was then tackled from the second ledge, again using lasso techniques, but this also closed. Yet another aven, much shorter than the others, was tackled, but this followed suit. The resulting score was thus. Cuthberts 3, Jim Giles nil.
Hunters Hole was dug on every weekend in July, and even twice on some weekends. Alan Thomas, who is the main force behind the dig, was helped quite a lot by members of the Westminster Speleo-Group, who between them put in quite a lot of useful work on the dig.
On the 5th of July, Ray Mansfield plus party maypoled the hole in the roof of Coral Chamber and found that it led to a tight solutional passage. Phil Kingston and Ron drake maypoled the hole in the roof of Pillar Chamber on the 18th, and discovered that the passage led to a high rift which was climbed for thirty five feet, a bedding plane, six feet wide, then extended for four feet, when the whole thing closed down suddenly.
A bit of Straightening out was done in Rocky Boulder and Coral series on the 17th by several Cuthberts leaders. Rocky Boulder Series was apparently conquered and everything explored to the bottom of the final chamber. Other passages above this final chamber were examined and the confusion over which is Annexe Chamber? was ironed out.
Tony Meadon and Mike Luckwill had a look at some passages
behind
Mo Marriott has repaired the winch at Castle Farm and reports that it will now lift a weight of one hundredweight.
To the climbers encamped in the
After some lunch, the col to Llyn Bigau was traversed and Cwm Bigau ascended under the faultless navigation of en ex local bloke called Dermot (see B.B. Number 18!!). At the head of the Cwm, the impressive cliffs of Craig-yr-Isfa rose into the mist, while the walkers did likewise over rocks and scree to the left. At the col a split developed, and some descended to the campsite via Pen-yr-Helgi-Du while others took a lower route by Ffynnon Llugwy. This is a very pleasant walk and much to be recommended on an off day.
Sundays weather was just as un-encouraging as on Saturday and certain (un-named) persons went touring by motor car. Other more intrepid spirits approached Moal Siabod from the South with the object of ascending it, but gave up in the face of incredible odds (general lassitude etc.) To salve consciences, King, Reynolds and Bennett did an evening climb on the right hand end of Gault-yr-Ogof. The climb did not appear to be in the guidebook, and the description of a different climb was used, leading to some confusion en route.
Sun appeared on Monday, and the residue of the party (King and Bennett) partook of an enjoyable amble up the Gashed Crag of Tryfon thus bringing the weekend to a close.
Roy Bennett.
****************************
Next Climbing Meet.
It is with regret that we report the death of Lionel Williams while climbing in Skye. Although not widely known to caving members, Lionel was an active and popular member of the climbing section and will be greatly missed.
We wish to convey our sincere condolences to his family.
I have just spent a very pleasant weekend with my brother and his wife introducing their children and my dog to the joys of caving. On the whole, Buster complained the least.
We started very suitably with Dennys Hole which, for the sake of the children, we descended with a hand line. Buster seemed quite happy at the end of the cave, but soon became bored so I brought him out. It was then that I met a party of three intrepid explorers about to descend by our rope. Two of them wore shorts but the third obviously a man of greater experience than his fellows wore trousers. He was the leader of the party as you can tell (quite apart front his being in front) by the fact that he wore as helmet and carried a copy of Balchs book open at the page in his hand.
When Tommy brought the children out and began to coil up the
rope, cries from below implied that we were leaving the intrepid explorers to
die in true melodramatic fashion. I then
climbed down Fox Hole mainly to show off and was surprised to find the
amount of passage at the bottom. In the
afternoon, we went to
The next morning we rose early (G.M.T.). You have to when you are living in a caravan with two children and three dogs and headed for Burrington before the Whitsun rush. After looking at Avelines etc., we entered Goatchurch and descended as far as the Drainpipe. You may judge how long it is since I have been in Goatchurch from the fact that I didnt know that there was a squeeze just before the Drainpipe. We left then cave as it began to fill up (with people).
The same morning early (Belfry time) we collected John Cornwell and Tim Atkinson from Hillgrove and prepared to descend St. Cuthberts. Quote, I dont doubt that its a very nice cave but I cant see what useful purpose would be served by my going down it. Guess who. I have never been so impressed by anything in my life. St. Cuthberts is fab. With one exception, which modesty forbids me to mention (Alfies Hole? Ed.) it is the finest cave on Mendip and its state of preservation say much for all concerned.
In the afternoon we looked at Sandpits and then joined up with Molly and the two children who had been to Wookey Hole. Next day Tommy and Molly and eleven year old Pamela went down Swildons with Bob Lawder while I looked after seven year old Scott and cooked the dinner. Scott dropped 2cwt of cast iron on his foot, but the dinner was alright.
Altogether it was a very rewarding weekend. The general solicitude for my well being is gratifying. I was at a loss to explain why I had never been down St. Cuthberts before. I dont mind being asked how old I am. There has been a lot of this sort of joke lately largely the Editors doing, I suspect. Some years ago, when Pop Harvey offered me his chair at the Hunters it was very funny. It was only this weekend that I realised that one or two youngsters were doing it as a matter of course.
by Sett
Junes problem was intended to be much easier for the amateur than for the mathematician. It is solved, for all practical purposes, by making a scale drawing of the wall and the stalagmite bank and fiddling a ruler about until the length of fifteen feet rests on the floor and the wall and just touches the bank. The correct answer is 13 11.
Tony Meadon sent in the only solution, a correct one, and has been paid his pint. His solution was slightly different from mine but achieved the same result. If we try to set up this problem in mathematical terms, we find that we are involved in solving a quartic equation. This can be avoided by first finding the area of the triangle formed by the floor, wall, and ladder and the substituting.
Let the height up the wall be H, the length from the base of the wall be L and the perpendicular from the corner of the floor and wall to the ladder be A. Then the area of the big triangle is HL/2 or 15A/2 or 4(H 4)/2 + 42. Therefore HL = 15A and H + L = 15A/4, therefore (H + L)2 = (15A/4)2 and H2 + 2HL + L2 = (15A/4)2. But H2 + L2 = 152 and 2HL = 30A.
Substituting and solving for A, we get: -
A + 5.207 or -3.073.
HL = 78.1
Therefore H = 13.90 or 5.61.
This Months Problem.
When the U.B.S.S. were doing an archaeological survey on Reads cavern they laid out the floor in a grid to help them in their final report. The grid started at the centre and proceeded outward as in the sketch. They soon noticed that a large number of patterns appeared amongst the numbers. If you draw a large grid, you will see these patterns. Amateurs, a pint prize for the longest list of patterns. Mathematicians, a further pint prize for the longest list of patterns with an explanation as to why these patterns should appear.
16 |
15 |
14 |
13 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Sett
We notice that other organisations are copying the B.E.C.
and holding their election in October. As far as the club is concerned the names of candidates have now all
been received by the Hon. Sec., and you will be getting your ballot forms
shortly by post.
Last year, a write up was published in the B.B. as part of
Stalagmites article for that month. This was, of course, his own opinion. A number of members have asked that we include a write up on similar
lines this year, but we felt that perhaps it should be more on imperial
lines. What we have done, therefore, is
to state the previous committee work done by each of the candidates who have
been on the committee before, on the basis that their work should be
sufficiently well known. In the case of
new candidates, we have tried to indicate their main interests briefly. This does not imply that they have no other
interests, or that the previous committee members have done nothing except sit
on the committee! Readers will
appreciate, however, that any further elaborations would inevitably bring the
write up in to the realms of personal opinion, and this we are trying to avoid.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order and their last
committee jobs are in brackets following their names.
Kevin Abbey. (Assistant Hut Warden, Minutes Secretary and B.B. Postal Department
1964) Elected to the committee 1964.
Bob Bagshaw (Hon. Secretary and Treasurer 1964) Elected to the committee 1952. Hon. Sec. and Treasurer 1952- 1964.
Roy Bennett (Climbing Secretary 1964) Elected
to the committee 1953. Tackle Officer
1953 and 1954. Re-elected to the
committee 1964.
Alfie Collins (Committee Chairman and Editor, B.B. 1964) Elected to the committee 1953. Assist. Caving Secretary 1953 and 1954. Assist. Hut Warden 1954. Caving Secretary 1955 and 1956. Hut Warden 1955-1958. Editor B.B. 1957-1964.
Keith Franklin. (New Candidate) Active caver and
climber. Working on Castle Farm Swallet.
Dave Irwin. (New Candidate) Active caver. Belfry Regular. Working on Castle Farm Swallet.
Phil Kingston. (New Candidate) Active caver. Belfry Regular.
Mike Palmer. (Assist. Caving secretary 1964) Elected to the committee 1963.
Norman Petty. (Tackle Officer 1964) Elected to
the committee 1957. Tackle Officer
1957-1964.
John Ransom. (Belfry Engineer 1964) Elected to
the committee 1963. Belfry Engineer
1963/64.
Sett Setterington. (Served on Committee 1959-63) Hut
Warden 1950 to 1954. Hut Warden 1959 to
1963. Chairman of the committee 1950 to
1963.
Alan Thomas. (New Candidate) Active caver. Discovered Hunters Hole 1954. Interested in Belfry site. Working on Hunters Hole, Belfry site and
Cuthberts entrance.
Gordon Tilly. (Hut Warden 1964) Elected
to committee 1964
*****************************************
The annual General meeting and Dinner will be held on
SATURDAY OCTOBER 3RD, 1964. The A.G.M.
will be at Redcliffe Hall and the dinner at Fairfax House. Details will be sent with voting forms.
An account of early work by the M.E.S.
Stalagmite refers in the Belfry Bulletin No. 192 (February
last) to the excavations at Thrupe Swallet in 1936. These excavations were carried out by the
Mendip Exploration Society (the Welsh branch of which was later to become the
South Wales Caving Club) in co-operation with Gerard Platten.
A regional water survey Committee was formed in 1936 to
investigate the Mendip water sources and, for this purpose, Mendip was divided
and allocated to five organisations existing at the time M.N.R.C., U.B.S.S.,
Wessex, M.E.S. and Gerard Plattens team. The territory of the last two was in
Soon after this territory system was established, Gerard
Platten drew attention to the possibilities of Thrupe Swallet and excavations
were carried out from September to December 1936. A small low chamber (about ten feet by five
feet by four feet high) was found near the surface and on working through the
left hand side of the floor, as small chamber at a lower level was discovered,
filled with silt and small stones. The
final depth reached was twenty feet below the surface. The far wall was solid and well stalagmited,
but below and around the remaining sides, nothing but boulders could be seen,
and the task of trying to remove these was a heavy one.
The excavations nearly ended in tragedy. As the last member of the team was crawling
back through the small entrance chamber the ceiling which consisted of a
large rock subsided and would have completely settled down, had not the head
of the pickaxe which the member was carrying prevented it (Memo: Always carry a
pickaxe through unstable squeezes! Ed.). He was held firmly between the floor and the ceiling in the space
separated by the points of the pickaxe. Gerard Platten and the other members of the team worked frantically to
lift the huge rock and release the man who was shocked, but one the worse for
the incident. After this, the entrance
of the swallet was in such a chaotic state that it was decided, coupled with
the experience of the near fatality, that the team would abandon further work
at Thrupe Swallet.
For some time, the jib erected by M.E.S. over the swallet
consisting of two long larch poles one as a mast and the other cabled to it
as a swing jib (the pulleys were removed) remained as witness to the
excavations.
A report of the swallet appeared in Volume I (1936-7) of the
Journal of the Mendip Exploration Society.
Edmund J. Mason.
To the Editor, Belfry Bulletin.
I see that B.B. No. 197 mentions the volcanic eruption of
Is this a record?
Worried Chinaman.
*****************************************
Dont forget the A.,G.M. and Dinner! (Saturday: October 3rd)
1. September
19/20.
Climbing Meet.
2. October
11th.
Caving Meet. Stoke Lane Slocker. Meet at the Belfry 11am.
3. October
17/18.
Climbing Meet.
4. November
1st.
Caving Meet. Eastwater Swallet. Balch Memorial Trip. Period Dress to be worn. Meet at Belfry at Noon.
5. November
14/15.
Climbing Meet.
6. November
28/29.
Caving Meet. Castle Farm Pot. Digging and/or Exploration weekend.
7. December
5/6.
Climbing Meet.
8. December 12/13
Caving Meet.
*****************************************
For further information on climbing meets contact the
climbing secretary. For further
information on caving meets contact the caving secretary. (Climb. Sec. Roy Bennett. Cav. Sec. Mo
Marriott or successor).
Notes: For all climbing meets and the South Wales
Caving Meet, hut fees are payable in advance. If any person backs out without finding a suitable replacement, his fees
will NOT be refunded. Make sure that you
are there. Please support the meets
after all, you asked for them!
Having driven from
However, Saturday morning was rather better with little wind
and plenty of cloud but no rain and 10.30 saw us off to a quick hike by car
to Llyn Ogwen and then by foot over the top of the North side of
Carneddau. The objective was the Western
Gully and the Last Ridge. The Guidebook
gave us a very clear start to the climb, which proved to be impracticable so,
with the exception of Lionel who decided that it would be quicker to jump or
so we had thought (in fact he was abseiling on a rope that did not appear to be
attached to anything Fantastic!) we scrambled down again and ate lunch
looking down the Valley of Echoes (it didnt) to Bethesda.
After lunch we went right down to the bottom of the crag and
started to climb from its correct source. Being a gully climb, we expected conditions to be wet and mucky, but
this surpassed all our expectations. The
first few pitches were quite easy and without exception, we reached the stance
below the crux rather wetter than when we started. From this stance, one is supposed to climb up
and left into a large mossy cave. Chris
thought he would go up and right and ended up swinging gently on the rope, via
the runner. When he opened his eyes, he
found himself on the same level as his second, who was doubtless left with no
misunderstandings as to the effects of gravity. Having reached the cave, we climbed out of it again onto a smooth
surface, broken only by two jugs and some very thin holds. By standing on the lower jug, one could
mantelshelf onto the higher one. From
there it was Faith and Friction and, without really knowing how it was done,
we were past it. All done by combined
tactics. Brave the fellow who went
first!
From there to the top was really nothing more than a
scramble and when we got there the sun was shining. Then, at great speed, we headed for Ogwen
Cottage, arriving at it by the formidable looking ridge on the opposite side of
the road. To our surprise we were met by
Roy Bennett and Alan Sandall, who had both arrived late on Friday night with
wives and children. Shame on both of
them who B. and B.d Because it was too wet. However, back to camp for food and sleep. How we slept!
Sunday saw us all out to the Gribben where Roy, Tony and
Lionel went off to climb Angular Chimney and Chris and Brian tanked off up the
During this entertainment, Joan and Roy ambled round Llyn
Idwal. The time being nigh up, we all
piled into cars and headed back to
Chris Ball.
*****************************************
Owing to the need for rapid publication of this issue of the
Belfry bulletin, we have no Caving Log this month. However, Alan Thomas has sent in this snippet
which may interest the more statically minded.
On August Bank Holiday Monday, Andy Mac-Gregor (age 23) led
a party of five active cavers, whose combined ages made up a total of One
Hundred and Eighty years. The party went
down St. Cuthberts. Neither Gordon
Tilly nor Alan Thomas were present.
Cave Preservationists may be interested in a short news item
which appeared in todays Telegraph (Thursday, September 10th). It appears that a man who broke or rather,
is accused of breaking a stalagmite at Wookey is being summoned under the
Malicious Damage Act of 1861, Section 51 that he maliciously damaged a
stalagmite and thereby did injury exceeding the sum of £5
This appears to raise the interesting question of what, say,
such items of underground scenery as the cascade in Cuthberts is worth!
Tom and Rusty Neil now have a son, Alex, born 5th June in
Alan Nash is back in
Norman Brooks has moved to
Jim Simons, Alan Nash and others have formed the Cave
Exploration Group of East Africa in
Here it is a little late as we suggested it might be, but
we won in the end. This is the new
cover, size and type. Any resemblance to
the old B.B. is purely accidental.
It might interest newer readers to note that the B.B. in its
original form was foolscap size the size of this one when folded out
flat. It changed after fifteen issues to
quarto size, and now has reduced its size once again. If it goes on getting smaller, there will
come a time when youll need a microscope to read it!
Seriously, we hope members approve of the new disguise and
are all promptly inspired to write sheaves of articles to fill its pages. One snag about this layout is that the B.B.
can only come out in multiples of four pages, so that if there is not enough
for an eight page magazine, we will have to cut right down to four.
In the past, there have not always been enough copies of the
B.B. for everyone to get a copy. In that
case, the postal department have been giving priority to club members, which is
only fair, and some of the clubs to whom we send copies of the B.B., have thus
had to go without. We hope that, mow we
have made these improvements to the B.B., it will be possible to guarantee a
copy each month for everyone, including all the clubs to whom we apologise for
the poor service they have had in the past.
It only remains for us to let you get on with reading this,
and to wish all club members, and all cavers and climbers a very happy and
prosperous new year.
Alfie
At the January meeting of the committee, L.R. Mortimer and
Miss Pat Irwin were elected members of the club. Good progress on the new hut was reported. The climbing secretary reported that the last
organised club trip proved to be badly supported. Another trip will be organised in
February. Permission was given for Cave
Science to reprint any information on St. Cuthberts.
A show entitled Caving with a camera will be given by
Dennis Kemp at Redcliffe Hall on Thursday, 8th February at 8pm.
*****************************************
The next guest days for G.B. have been provisionally sent
out by U.B.S.S. The days for the B.E.C.
are January 30/31 and March 12/13.
*****************************************
Prew is willing to take his car up to the Annual dinner of
the Bradford Pothole Club, which is being held at the Devonshire Hotel,
Skipton, on Saturday, 6th February at 6.30 for 7pm. Anyone interested in attending this dinner
and going up in Prews car should contact him at once. From what we know of the B.P.C., it should be
well worth going up to Skipton for!
by R.J. Bagshaw
Before I visited G.B. recently, I had not been there for
about ten years, and it was forcibly pointed out to me by the Hon. Editor that
both old and new members might be interested in the changes I noticed during
that time.
The first, and most welcome change was transport. Back in the good old days when caving was
caving, the trip to G.B. was made either on push bikes; or by bus to
Burrington, followed by a gentle walk over the top. Now, in this spoon fed age of Goon Suits
etc., we arrived by car. Even the field
gates were now replaced by cattle grids to ease the journey.
On arriving at the barn, it was found to be nearly full of
hay a luxury unheard of in my courting days.
We walked over to the cave, and were greeted by the sight of
a concrete blockhouse with its devilish cunning burglar proof door (?). The entrance squeeze seemed more difficult
than it used to be in my day, and I was inclined to put it down to the exertions
necessary to unlock the trapdoor, or possible the weight of the
blockhouse. A further possibility to
this theory put forward by Professor Devenish that the growth of the caves is
not limited to stalactites, but is shared by the rock. I cannot see any other explanation than one
of these three.
The grottoes gave the impression that the vandalism over the
past ten years was less than the years which went before. On the other hand, the best formations tend
to get vandalised first and this may merely mean that there has been less left
for vandals to damage since I was there last. The Letter Box afforded more evidence that rocks grow larger and
therefore all squeezes grow smaller a la Dev. This was borne out by the fact that only one member of the party came
through fast enough to need persuading not to continue down the drop.
The Devils Elbow was nearly unrecognisable. It was bone dry! Although the passage was smaller, the absence
of water was a great improvement, but I missed the ladder at the end.
I should like to meet the persons who have obviously spent
so much time sharpening the rock edges between the Devils Elbow and the
Gorge. On second thoughts, perhaps my
hands are softer than they used to be.
Just in time, I remembered to keep high enough in the
squeeze into the Gorge to avoid the Devenish effect. The Gorge is still a very impressive sight,
but the
On the way up the Gorge, a noticeable increase in the size
of the boulders was observed. The slope
also seemed more steep, perhaps indicating that the rate of growth of cave
rocks increases with the altitude above sea level.
The return to the surface was rapid. Comparatively, at any rate, but there was a
considerable delay before the locks could be securely fastened. On returning to the barn, a dead cow was
observed which certainly was not there ten years ago.
There are no prizes for guessing the word deleted form the
title of this article by my better half!
George Lucy was heard to remark in the Hunters on Christmas
Eve, that the article on the Belfry Binder was very fair, but that for fifteen
seconds, one should surely read fifteen minutes. He also said that a good Binder should be
such that no individual ingredient could be identified in the final mixture as
served. We asked the author Sett for
his comments. Sett said that some stews
were indeed as George described, but nevertheless, he had given the correct and
traditional recipe. If the Binder, after
having been cooked, is left to simmer while people come out of cavies and got
changed, it will change to the appearance and consistency which George
describes.
Sorry that the solution is all long and thin it just happened that way
1T
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Dear Alfie
During a discussion at the works, the Belfry Radio set was
mentioned. An innocent bystander, during
an interval in the conversation, asked what the Belfry consisted of and, giving
us no time for an answer, remarked in a somewhat lugubrious voice, Oh, its
one of those exclusive country clubs, I suppose. We answered him that it is.
Truth surely is stranger than fiction!
Yours,
too, R.J. Price.
A weekend in
We know there are plenty on the wall, but if you want to
help make the beggars really move, contact Bob Price, who is getting up a team
to make a documentary film in 16mm plus sound of the club.
by Lady Chatterbox
On Thursday, the 26th November, 1959, after club, a large
party of assorted loafers, nits, and hangers on in short, B.E.C. members,
deposited themselves in a steaming heap outside Auntie Sybs for coffee (you,
not I!). By the time Syb arrived with
Mossy and Dick we had all begun to think that Syb had said, All come round
for coffee, and then made tracks in the opposite direction.
Once inside, I was amazed to see that crumpled barbed wire
seemed to be preferred to flowers. I say
this, as every pot capable of holding weeds etc., was filled with the former
commodity, or oddity if you so prefer. Odd bottles peer from corners in the approved tradition of the club, and
though the decidedly strictly Syb and Landlady, it is lightened by the
modernising influence of Indestructible Alfs rear bumper bar. Coffee was served from an ancient and broken
(pointed out by our hostess) jug. It was
a relic of the war (Crimean?). The
coffee was enjoyed by all, and Russian hats tried on. It was found that either the average Russian
is a pinead or the average B.E.C. member is a bigead. Those present were: -
Mr & Mrs Bennett
Indestructible Alf
Obscene Obbs
Might Mouse Sandall
Luscious
Spicule
Gaff
Auntie Syb (Hostess)
Mossy
Dick
My Old Man
And your correspondent.
Things must be looking up! This was the second invitation to visit and slander somebodys
residence. As usual, I enjoyed it. If Syb was to move to
Visits were paid recently to quite a few of the sites which
are at present being actively dug on Mendip, and we wondered if club members
would be interested in the present state of the art as applied to some of these
holes. If we have got any of our facts
wrong, profuse apologies will appear in next months B.B.
This hole, situated on the green between
The initial work on this swallet a B.E.C. dig was
described last year in the B.B. Work was
then stopped during the dry weather, as the diggers felt that a knowledge of
the behaviour of the stream at this stage was pretty essential. The stream has now been running, and has been
found to sink not where supposed, but in between the original and new entrances
to the cave. Since a fair amount of work
is likely to be involved, an agreement has been reached with the S.M.C.C. to
proceed with the dig in the spring as a joint B.E.C. S.M.C.C. dig. The local farmer has been contacted again and
is quite willing to allow any work to proceed in the swallet as long as the
swallet remains cow-proof. All who have
seen the stream in spate running into this hole agree that there must be
something underground at Emborough.
We understand, although we have not yet had a chance to go
and see this dig, that the prospects are good. The dig is being conducted by Mike Holland, and when asked about
progress he reported that this was occurring in a downward direction! An interesting feature of the stream entering
the hole is that it rises only a short distance away, to sink again almost at
once into the hole. Rumour has it that
recent Mendip catchwords will be suitably immortalised underground in this hole
if a suitable cave is entered.
Another S.M.C.C. dig, this sink at the moment has a stream
of remarkably cold water entering it. Should it become necessary, this stream could easily be diverted. The hole, or as much as could be seen without
getting wet, looks very interesting, although the entrance may prove too tight.
No work has been done in this shakehole since the last
boulder breaking up session. The only
chance of further progress appears to involve the removal of a further lot of
rock from the floor of the pitch. Anyone
interested in flogging a dead horse should get in touch with Alfie.
No recent news from the M.C.G. who are digging this hole has
been received. When last visited, they
were digging through the infill under the roof, and following the course taken
by the water which drains into the hole. Any further news will be reported.
*****************************************
THE BELFRY BULLETIN. January 1960. No. 143.
Secretary, R.J. Bagshaw,
Editor, S.J. Collins, 33
Postal Dept, B. Prewer,
We sometimes imagine the editor of some new caving club
journal putting a sheet of paper into his typewriter and, while he waits for
inspirations to arrive, typing Volume I, Number 1 at the head of the paper.
Statistically speaking, the chances of his reaching g Volume
II are not very good. It is therefore
with some degree of pride that we present this two hundredth issue of the
B.B. The B.B. has had its fair share of
ups and downs in the past and, on two occasions at least, it would have not
been surprising if its publication had ceased but somehow, in the general
manner of the B.E.C., it seems to have survived in spite of circumstances.
The B.B. has been called a lot of things in its time, not
all of them complimentary. This, to some
extent, may be due to its rather odd position amongst the Journals of
Mendip. It is not a completely serious
Caving Journal although from time to time it does publish articles which can
stand comparison with anything that is produced elsewhere an example of which
appears in this issue. It is not, on the
other hand, simply a newsletter. The
present editor likes to think of it as a club magazine which, like the club it
serves, does good work from time to time but does not take itself too
seriously.
As far as the future is concerned however, 1965 will see
some new innovations in the field of caving journals with the advent of
nationally distributed properly printed glossy magazines like the
Speleologist. Whilst welcoming this and
other magazines of its type we feel that it would be a bad thing if the club
journals were to decline into newsletters as a result. To a great extent, this will depend on the
relative amount of serious authorship which the club journals can still attract
in the face of temptation to authors of better presentation and more widespread
distribution which the national journals will be able to offer. It thus becomes of some importance to the
club to improve the layout and all round appearance of the B.B. and steps are
being taken to effect this type of improvement.
It is hoped that, starting in the New Year, the B.B. will be
produced by offset litho process which should result in a neater looking
appearance, enabling drawings to be included with fine detail and headings etc.
to be more evenly printed. At a later
stage in the year, it is hoped to be able to get the B.B. actually typeset and,
in conjunction withy the use of a better grade of paper, this should result in
a professional appearance
As mentioned in the recent A.G.M., all this will cost the
club rather more than the present magazine, which is produced on a shoestring
budget, and it will be largely wasted unless articles of all types, but of a
high standard, are forthcoming. During
the last few months, there has been a good steady flow of material for
inclusion in the B.B. Let us see
whether, in 1965, we can improve both the appearance and the standard, and
eventually the size, so that the chances of the B.B. reaching its Four
Hundredth Edition are not impaired by us.
Alfie
*****************************************
Dont forget you may purchase B.E.C. CAVING REPORTS from
Bryan Ellis. He also has a number of
surveys and other caving literature. Why
not get in touch with him and treat yourself to some interesting reading
matter???
The 1964 Annual General Meeting of the B.E.C. opened at
2.45pm, there being over 50 members present. Dan Hassell was elected as Chairman unanimously. The Chairman then called for the ballot
papers and any members resolutions. Mo
Marriott. Spike Rees and Nigel Hallet were elected as tellers for the ballot. The tellers retired to count the votes
(presumably so that they could take their socks off and count up to
twenty). Meanwhile, the Chairman read
the minutes of the 1963 A.G.M., which were accepted by the meeting.
The Hon. Secretary then gave his report. There had been 31 new acceptances for
membership during the year. Thus intake
of about 30 new members per annum was typical of the last few years, but as
fewer members were leaving the club, the total membership was rising and now
stood at 172. The Dinner was being held
in
The Hon. Treasurer then gave his report. For some reason, the traditional pretence of
surprise at finding this was the same bloke was absent this year. He apologised for the incomplete nature of
his financial statement but explained that £29 had been received from the Hut
Warden too late for inclusion. Receipts from
Redcliffe and from membership fees have increase this year. He reminded members that he had said last
year that the expenditure of £5 on tackle was, in his opinion, too low. However, £60 spent this year was probably too
high to be continued at this rate (cries of Stop-Go economy!). The Belfry Expenditure includes the cost of
the water heater and the new mattresses but not the £29 receipts. We now have paid our share of the C.C.C.
legal expenses and the deficit on club ties means that a large stock now exists
for people not wearing them. To sum up,
the clubs financial position is adequate and should be further improved when
the legacy is received.
Oliver Lloyd asked how would the legacy be invested? The Hon. Secretary replied that it would be
invested in Savings Bonds. Mike Luckwill
asked how it was intended to be used. The Chairman said this subject would be coming
up later. Gordon Tilly then proposed
that the report be adopted and this was seconded by John Ransom and carried.
The Caving Secretary being still occupied with the counting
of votes, the Climbing Secretary gave his report next. Trips have been run as announced during the
year in the B.B. and elsewhere. These
have been mainly to North Wales, but
The Tackle Officers report followed. He stated that this year, no tackle had been
lost. We are now the proud possessors of
410 feet of ladder and 780 feet of lifeline. We have 16 tethers, ranging from 18 inches to 27 feet and we should
finish up, when the present ladder building programme is completed, with 630
feet of ladder. Dave Irwin asked whether
the expenditure quoted by the Hon. Treas. Covered all the remaining ladder. The
Tackle Officer said that it did all except the wire. A vote of thanks was recorded to the Tackle
Officer for his work in producing so much tackle. The adoption of the report was proposed by
Mike Luckwill and seconded by Gordon Tilly and carried.
The Editor of the B.B. then gave his report. Since most of what he said is in the forward
to the issue of this B.B., it will be omitted here. John ransom proposed the report be
adopted. This was seconded by Gordon
Tilly and carried.
The Hut warden announced that bed nights were again very
high and stood at approximately 1800. Very
few breakages had occurred at the Belfry. The hot water system has gone a long way towards dealing with the
washing up situation, but has proved expensive to run. He suggested that it was enough for the time
being. The Hut Warden concluded his
report by saying that he would like to express his thanks to club members for
their co-operation and particularly to Sett and Jan. Kangy asked why the hot water system was held
to be expensive. He wondered if Gordon
could enlarge on this point. Gordon
replied not particularly. Some
discussion on the cost followed. Alan
asked if this years committee could do an analysis of the cost. The Chairman suggested that this be left to
the Committee to decide whether they considered this to be necessary. Alan Thomas asked if the heat from the Belfry
Stove could be utilised in some way. Alfie thought that this was not really practicable. Frank Darbon then proposed that the report be
adopted. This was seconded by Alan
Thomas and carried.
The Hon. Sec. then read a note from Bryan Ellis who stated
that no Caving Reports had been published during the year, but that the sales
of the previously published reports continue. A balance amounting to £4.17.8 is in hand towards the cost of publishing
a further manuscript. Alan Thomas asked
whether anyone knew if a further manuscript was in the course of
preparation. Alfie replied that he
thought one was being prepared by Dave Irwin on the Long Chamber area of St.
Cuthberts. This was confirmed by the
author. The Chairman suggested that continued publicity be given to the sale of
caving Reports in the B.B. This was
noted by the editor.
The Hon. Librarians Report followed. Borrowing was sporadic amongst the older
members but continues amongst the younger members. There had been some 114 borrowings during the
year. Ian left the library all his books
and surveys and maps of caving areas. As
a result we have new maps of all the caving areas in
The Belfry Engineer then gave his report. A coal and coke bin had been made in the
Belfry and two large lockers which were big enough to take rucksacks. The leaks have been repaired in the
roof. A urinal had been built out at the
back. The Belfry had been creosoted, the
ceiling had been done, the asbestos panel for the chimney is being fitted and
the car park extended. There were no
questions and Gordon Tilly therefore moved that the report be adopted. This was seconded by Sett and carried.
At this stage the result of the ballot became known and was
read out by the Chairman. Voting was as
follows: -
Total number of members voting
87. Votes cast for Bob Bagshaw (79); Norman Petty
(78); Roy Bennett (75); Alfie (74); Alan Thomas (65); Kevin Abbey (64); Dave
Irwin (63); Gordon Tilly (53); Keith Franklin (47); Mike Palmer (44); Sett
(43); John Ransom (38); Phil Kingston (20). The Committee therefore consists of Bob Bagshaw, Norman Petty, Roy
Bennett, Alfie, Alan Thomas, Kevin Abbey, Dave Irwin, Gordon Tilly, and Keith
Franklin
After an adjournment for light (non-alcoholic) refreshments,
the Caving Secretary gave his report. He
said that the general level of caving had shown an increase, with Cuthberts
overshadowing all other caves in popularity. There had been no major discoveries outside Cuthberts. However, activity was increasing in digging
projects. Castle Farm Swallet was being
energetically pursued, also Hunters Hole. B.E.C. members has also been active in work on the S.E. Inlet Series in
Swildons. The level of co-operation
amongst cavers was good, but there was some room for improvement. A practice Rescue had been held in
Cuthberts. The New Entrance was now in
full commission and the Old Entrance had been filled in. He concluded with a plea for some serious
scientific studies in Cuthberts. Questioning the Caving Secretary, Roger Stenner asked why the work on
new caves in
Under Members Resolutions, Alfie proposed that No person
under sixteen may stay at the Belfry without the previous consent of the Hut
Warden and the presence of Parent or Guardian. This was seconded by Gaff and carried (38 for, 3 Against)
A resolution that every effort again be made to install the
new shower system within the next six months was proposed by Jill Tuck and
seconded by Alfie. Alan Thomas reported
that work was in hand but was being delayed at present due to a general
shortage of copper pipe. The motion was
carried nem. com.
A further resolution by Jill Tuck that more blankets be
acquired for the Belfry was seconded by Roger Stenner and defeated (1 for, 38
against).
Another resolution by Jill Tuck that a new telephone line
be laid out on Cuthberts was discussed and an amendment was proposed by Mo
in view of the technical possibilities that a communications system be
installed in St. Cuthberts The
amendment was seconded by Alfie and the amended resolution was carried
unanimously.
The meeting went on to discuss the terms of Ians bequest.
Since this will be the subject of a separate announcement, it is omitted from
these notes. There being no further
business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.
The Annual General Meeting was followed by the Annual Dinner
which was held for a change this year in Fairfax House, and the Co-op
Headquarters, in
The speeches went off well, Alan Thomas new gimmick this
year being the use of a tape recorder to enable absent friends to reply in
person. Unfortunately the volume was not
as high as the size of the gathering warranted. The speeches (including the presentation of a useful present to Kevin
Abbey) were followed by one of Kangys floor shows. This time it took the form of a pageant of
Caving through the Ages. This
commenced with a wonderful spectacle of Barry Wilton as Homo Speleogenesis
and Early Homo, who demonstrated the origin of painting by numbers. Next we saw Frank as a Celtic Caver (complete
with A.O.I.F.L. which he waved triumphantly). This was followed by an Elizabethan Caver portrayed by Keith Franklin
and showed us Sir Fancy Cake nonchalantly playing shove hapenny while the Wessex
were invading Cuthberts. Having won his
game, he then pulled the plug out of the dam and drowned them. This was followed by a Victorian Caver in the
person of Gaff Fowler engaged in robbing caves of stal. and oppressing the
working classes (played by Roy Bennett). Finally, we had a glimpse into the future and saw a Super Caver in a
topless wet suit. Keith Franklin played
this part as well as the City Gent Type Caver who followed. I have, of course, missed out the touching
scene which came between the Victorian Caver in which Balch meets Martel in
Celtic embrace.
More drinking followed this pageant when another series of
interludes occurred. Oliver Lloyd was
persuaded to sing his trilogy of Swildons songs; a man recited a poem and a
slightly shambolic singing act took place. A static exhibition featured various aspects of club activities. Displays of caving and climbing photographs;
recent progress in St. Cuthberts; Castle Farm Dig; the B.B.; Caving Gear and a
collection of finds in cave quarries were arranged round the walls of the
room. The dinner appeared to have been a
success at least, not many grumbles have been heard to date!
Note: This account of the A.G.M. and Dinner is not
an official one or guaranteed free from mistakes.
*****************************************
R.J.
Bagshaw. Hon. Secretary and Treasurer.
N. Petty. Tackle Officer
Roy Bennett. Climbing
Secretary & B.B. Postal Department.
Alfie. Committee
Chairman and Hon. Editor, B.B.
Alan Thomas. Belfry Engineer. Kevin
Abbey. Assistant Caving Secretary.
Dave Irwin. Caving Secretary and Minutes Secretary.
Gordon Tilly. Hut Warden.
Keith Franklin. Assistant Caving Secretary.
Joan Bennett. Hon, Librarian.
State of the parties. Caving Secretaries Party 3, Independents 6.
by Derek Ford.
This account is written for fellow members of the Bristol
Exploration club in the hope that it may help them to enjoy their favourite
cave even more. It is based on a study
made there during the summers of 1960 and 1961. This was aimed at determining the mode and sequence of development down
below, which was then compared to similar studies made of Swildons Hole;
In many respects St. Cuthberts proved to be the most
complex and interesting of these caves. This is partly because it is the oldest (the sequence for events at
G.B., for example, is much shorter) and partly because, in the past, it drew
its water from an unusually large surface basin with a varied assemblage of
rocks. Today the cave drains something
less than half a square mile of the adjacent parts of Stock Hill and North
hill, but in former times, its took water from well north of the Miners Arms
via Stock Hill North Hill Valley.
This narrative gives a sequential description of the
creation of modern scenery in the cave. It omits almost all the evidence, for the sake of brevity. When typed out with the evidence my account
of the cave ran to over 200 pages, supported by some 30 diagrams. St. Cuthberts is really quite a place.
Its history is divided into phases and sub-phases,
distinguished by greater or lesser changes in the prevailing dynamic
conditions. These phases are can be
grouped into three major stages of development: Phreatic Erosion, Vadose Infill
and Vadose Re-excavation.
For the purpose of this description, the cave may be divided
into four areas having distinctly different forms.
First is a
central complex of partially collapsed chambers, extending to form Long Chamber
and Coral Chamber in the west, to the September Chambers in the east. These chambers rest on, or close to, the base
of the limestone which are here lying on shaly transitional strata sloping at
about 38 degrees to the S.S.E. The
chambers follow the bedding planes and several systems of joint and fault
fractures, which coalesce in this area creating a very tangled structure.
Second is the
Gour Rift. This is the biggest passage
in the cave, following a major vertical, fault. The original Gour Rift of the explorers is only the South Eastern end of
it. To the
Third is the
Fourth are a
series of comparatively recent inlet passages which developed to feed the
Central Complex or underneath it long after it had been expanded by water from
other sources. The inlets are the
The Phreatic
Expansion. About two thirds of the
volume of the known cave can be attributed to solution under phreatic
conditions (complete water fill beneath a water table surface) or to collapse
which followed immediately after that fill was drained. There are two distinct phases of phreatic
expansion
(a) Phreatic Bore
Passage Phase. In this phase, water
entered the known cave through Rocky Boulder Series and the collapsed area at
the N.W. corner of Upper Traverse Chamber. The contemporary water table was at, or above 660 feet O.D. A series of long narrow rift chambers was
opened below it, between Coral Chamber and Upper Traverse Chamber. They were drained into Gour Rift by a
remarkable system; the
The three higher bores all fed into Plantation
Junction. East of their terminal chokes,
the Upper Traverse and Tunnel bores (the two largest) split into a series if
distributaries, which can be seen, almost entirely choked with stalagmite,
crossing the extension passage at its floor level. Beyond it, they turned south, developing the
choked passage which the Plantation Stream follows today and reaching the junction
at some place beneath the great sand and stalagmite bank there. From the junction, the water cut a fine
elliptical bore passage straight to Beehive Chamber, where it turned steeply
upwards (Pyrolusite Series) to enter the Gour Rift more or less directly above
the highest gours. The modern route from
Beehive Chamber to the rift is a subsequent bore passage, also climbing up to
its outlet. As at Cerberus Hall, the
roof of Gour Rift is highest over these points of input.
The dimensions of individual bore passages remain nearly
constant between tributaries or distributaries. Thus, making some assumptions, it is possible to calculate the
velocities of the formative flow through them. Velocities are very low, despite the efficient flow cross sections of
the passages. The picture is one of water
moving slowly through a mesh of pipes from one system of semi-static reservoirs
(the central complex) to another (the Gour Rift). Correspondingly, the water table was
exceptionally flat and stable and the time taken to expand the cave thus far
was possible as long as all its later phases combined.
(b) Phreatic
Disintegration Phase. A change in
the dynamics of flow, or chemistry, of the groundwater then tore much of the
efficient mesh of bore passage apart and greatly increased the volume of the
cave. The water table remained at 600
feet. Most of the bore passages
developed into bedding planes, the line of the plane bisecting the tube. Disintegration took the form of a wide
expansion along the plane, on one or both sides of the tube. Often the lower half of the tube was
destroyed altogether. This can best be
seen along the direct traverse from The Fingers to the Sewer. Most of the Sewer Passage is a result of this
phase. So is the manner in which the
south wall of the extant Railway Tunnel is torn out along the guiding
plane. To the west, the roof of the
tunnel can be traced curving up a great joint surface over the foot of the
Cascade. The floor here was entirely dissolved
away.
There was much expansion in size of the Central
Complex. The most important development
was a direct connection between the complex and the rift, short circuiting the
old flow lines, through Long Chamber and Curtain Chamber, joining the Rift at
roof level at the choked point between
A new phreatic stream from an independent sink entered the
system during this phase. It opened up
September Series and thus impinged on the Eastern end of the bore passage
mesh. This was overloaded as a result
and the extension passages below Cross Legs Squeeze were developed as
remarkable sub-water table overflow channels. In many parts it will be found that their course is not controlled by
any notable fractures at all.
(c) The fall of the Water Table. At the end of the second phase, the water
table fell from above 660 feet to a little below its present level of 380 feet
O.D. The rate of fall was slow at first
but there were no prolonged stands above 380 feet. The vertical amplitude of the drop at least
200 feet is greater than any detected in the other central Mendip caves that
I have studied and requires explanation.
Fall of the water table in a Mendip inlet cave, such as St.
Cuthberts is caused by a fall of roughly equal proportions at the outlet. In simplest terms, falls at the outlet caves
such as Wookey and Cheddar, can be attributed to falls in the level of a past
sea filling the Somerset Moors to the south. There have been several such falls from maximum level above 500 feet
O.D. The vertical amplitude of each fall
was around 100 feet or less. Swildons
Hole is a complicated cave to explore because it has developed new systems of
passages in response to each of the four major falls of the water table
transmitted to it by the outlet.
St. Cuthberts shows only one fall, its amplitude as big as
the aggregate of the four in Swildons Hole. This is because its outlet lies amidst an unusual geological complexity,
called the Ebbor Thrust Zone. (F.R.A.
Welch, 1929. Quarterly Journal of the
Geological Society of
When the water table fist began to fall in the cave, a new
swallet developed at the surface, close to the modern entrance. Once underground, its stream bifurcated. The larger part opened the Arête and Wire
Rift Passages, though not to their modern dimensions, whilst the smaller passed
into Maypole Series, joining the accessible passage there at the highest right
hand bend (going upstream). A tall but
very narrow rift was opened, the great potholes being later features.
Three gravitational streams now ran into the Central
Complex. One of these (Rocky Boulders
and Wire Rift Water) flowed through Boulder Chamber into the head of Everest
Passage where it undermined the phreatic honeycomb of the disintegration phase,
causing a great deal of collapse, which remains as the base of a long sequence
of deposits.
The second of these streams (Northwest corner of Upper
Traverse Chamber and Wire Rift) flowed into Cascade Chamber and through The
Fingers to join the first. It too caused
collapse all along its route. The
combined stream entrenched the floor of the lowest bore passage (Main Stream
Passage) but did not follow its old route through the Dining room into the
Rift. Instead, the flow broke laterally
into the Sewer. This lay at lower
elevation, causing a waterfall and the abandoned plunge pool which is now
Stalagmite Pitch. There was also entrenchment
between Plantation Junction and Gour Rift. At the cavers entrance to the rift it is twenty feet deep and thoroughly
choked with later stalagmite. The third
stream (September Series) precipitated much of the collapse there. Rock fall has been so heavy in this part of
the cave that little detail can be distinguished.
2. The Main Fill
Period. The rest of the history of
the cave is a sequence of alternating phases of erosion and various kinds of
deposition by gravitational waters. During the first half, deposition predominated and the cave was pretty
thoroughly plugged up to 640feet O.D. This period may be called the Main Fill. It had many phases and sub-phases.
In the central and south eastern parts of the cave, the
first phase alone was significant. Fast
streams from Boulder Chamber and Upper Traverse Chamber plugged the terminal
stream passage with an assorted mixture of silt, sand, pebbles and good sized
stones. Much of the material comes from
erosion of the north side of Stock Hill and places further north. It filled back to Plantation Junction and
then choked the entire
The filling of this phase stopped when the accessible parts
of the Railway Tunnel were about a third full. Two later phases of coarse stream deposition can be recognised in the
remains preserved along the north wall there. The central deposit has a few of the larger stone sizes (cobbles) which
distinguishes it from these above and below. At the close of the third phase, the further parts of the Tunnel were
fully choked also.
The streams thus clogged their first vadose route to Gour
Rift. As a result, they were spilled
through the abandoned phreatic short circuits into
Rhythm is characteristic of their sequence. Any one phase begins with the deposition of
the unsorted, coarse stream fill described above. Then follows a layer of small pebbles and
sand, indicating a reduction of rate of flow of the steam and, almost
certainly, its volume. The next is finer
still, of sand and clay only and this is followed by a layer of stalagmite.
Stalagmite sub-phases are common throughout the vadose
history of the cave. The evidence is
quite clear that, when they occurred, there was no proper stream flow in the
cave. The only water underground was
that permeating tiny cracks, becoming saturated with solutes in them and so
depositing calcite when it reached larger cave spaces. It must not be supposed that calcite
deposition by permeating waters goes on continuously in an air-filled Mendip
cave, spilling into the big stream channels if these are temporarily abandoned
by their erosive waters. Small forms may
be continuous but otherwise the record is again clear, in all of the caves
mentioned. Periods of vigorous stream flow
are periods when the permeating waters erode away the formations that they have
earlier deposited.
The depositional phase described is thus one of
progressively reduced stream flow, terminating in a cessation of flow and
general stalagmite deposition. The next
phase may begin with some vigorous erosion of the stalagmite by a renewed
stream. Coarse deposits follow before
there has been much clearance; then a reduction of flow, with sand deposition,
and so on. In the western half of the
rift, the record shows five of these gradational phases, the first correlating
with that which plugged up the
The Extension Passage was choked. First by fill carried down the Warren Passage
which crosses it, then by the September Stream itself. The original phreatic passage (Continuation
Chamber to
No other
(To be concluded in
the CHRISTMAS edition of the B.B.)
Editors
Note: lthough
it goes against the grain to have to cut the main article of this B.B., its
total length is such that it cannot at the moment be included in a single B.B.
without some production difficulties.
.for August and September.
Edited by
On the 3rd August, another incident occurred in Swildons
whereby a party was trapped because of the absence of ladders. Fortunately, the rescue was only a case of
Noel McSharry and Alan Thomas taking ladders to the top of the pitch.
On August 15, digging tools were brought out of the S.E.
Inlet Dig in Swildons by Alan Coase,
Dave Irwin was at home in the Marble Hall area of St.
Cuthberts on the 22nd, with Mike Luckwill and Phil Kingston. A choke was pushed at the south end of Coral
Chamber, to a 50 foot pot which was choked at the bottom. Stones were dropped through holes in the
choke and travelled a fair way. A
further look at Marble Hall revealed a boulder ruckle with a very large passage
leading off.
On a trip to Trats
Tony Meadon and Mike Luckwill investigated the sump at the
bottom of Cone Chamber on 28th, which has earlier been reported dry. Digging
commenced with bare hands and the length of the passage increased by six feet,
revealing a promising dig.
Roger Stenner went down St. Cuthberts on September 2nd to
examine some of Don Coases surveying gear, and brought out his tripod for
cleaning. Roger also requests leaders to
ensure that old surveying stations have not moved or tampered with, as the new
surveys will not make them obsolete. They will also be of great value when other peoples surveys are tied
in.
On the 15th, Alan Thomas and Dave Irwin removed some of the
fill from the bottom of the 50 pot mentioned earlier, which is near Marble
Hall. Alan had some trouble climbing out
which, at the top, is reported to be extremely interesting.
On the 18th, these same two pushed a passage into a chamber
above Long Chamber Extension. A way on
can be seen but needs some enlarging. A
fine set of curtains were noted, also an erratic which grows upwards in the
stal. floor. On the very next day, the
passage was again pushed by Geoff Bull, Tommy Thomas, Pete Hudson and guess
who?, but was found to close down after about sixty feet.
On the 25th of September, Alan Thomas and Dave Irwin
inspected a hole in the roof of Pillar Chamber, near the three runged
ladder. They followed a passage or forty
feet into a reasonably sized chamber which was immediately above the chamber at
the top of Rocky Boulder Passage. Several other holes were noted on route. A hole in the roof of this chamber led to an even larger chamber with a
vertical rift on the left hand wall. This rift is apparently very well decorated. A bedding plane at the lower end of this
chamber seems to have possibilities of connecting with a bedding plane off Long
Chamber.
What an excellent thing it would be if we had some tools at
the Belfry. If every member of the club
presented one tool, this would make a nucleus of over 170 tools which could be
used to improve and maintain the Belfry. Have YOU an old tool you could give the club? Perhaps your tool is old and worn; perhaps it
is bent or misshapen; perhaps you do not know what it is for or you have grown
tired of it. Perhaps you have two. Whatever its condition we should very much
like to receive it. Tools of every
description come in useful. Tools
donated will be kept under lock and key by the Belfry Engineer so that they
last. A list of all tools and their
donors will be published in due course sharpen chisels, reset saws etc. Please respond to this appeal if you can!
by Alan Bonner.
I recently bought a set of bound copies of The Climbers
Club Journal for the years 1898 1904, and, under the heading Kyndwr Club
Notes found the following report which I hope will be of interest to the
caving members.
At the close of 1902, two members, Baker and Bamforth,
accompanied by Mr. Morland and Dr.
Sheldon, went into eight caverns in the neighbourhood of Burrington and Cheddar
in
At Wookey Hole, the upper galleries as well as the water caverns
were explored, with a view to finding the connecting links and since the Kyndwr
man left, Mr. Balch has cut a way into a new cavern of almost unparalleled
loveliness, which promises to lead on into the unknown region between the two
series of caverns.
The report goes on to mention the
The Kyndwr Club appears to have been formed in
Pending an answer to the last problem, which will appear in
next months B.B., you may like to try this quickie.
One year, Ben decided to count the total number of pints he
served at the Hunters to cavers, so he kept a tally. On totting up the final figure for the year,
he noticed that it ended with a 4 and that, if he moved this 4 to the other end
of the number, the new number thus produced was exactly 4 times as big as the
one he had got. What was the number?
We made ourselves look pretty silly last month, didnt
we? Bragging about the new cover and
stapling machine when it turned out that neither were ready for last
month. In fact, we had to hold last
months B.B. back but even so, the printers let us down. Anyhow, after a false alarm, here actually is
the new cover. We hope you like it
because youre stuck with it for at least eighteen months.
When a caving incident receives national publicity, we feel
bound to follow with a description of our own, if only to let absent members
and other cavers know what actually did happen. In this particular case, the knowledge is first hand, and the account in
this months B.B. is largely that given to the M.R.O. by Marriott, who led the
party involved.
Once again, we sadly note the numerous errors and the
distortion of the facts towards melodramatic indulged in by many of the
national dailies. In particular, the bit
about communication not being established, which appeared in at least one
account, can be refuted by Ken, Prew, and myself, who were in touch with one
another by means of a writing pad in a tin, for the whole time.
This is the clubs Silver Jubilee Year. In this issue is a letter by Tony Johnson on
this subject. It would be a good thing
if some of the older members could give a bit of thought to any sort of article
describing the early years of the club! Alfie
The February meeting of the committee was held at the Belfry
on the 7th. The following new members
were elected and we take this opportunity to welcome them to the club. M.H. Evans, B.G. Clark, R.C. Hawkins, R.J.
Roberts, W.F. (Jug) Jones, and George and Shirley Weston. The last two are Joint Full members and all
the others full members.
Other business dealt with included a discussion on the
recent incident in Cuthberts, and suggestions for further increasing the
safety aspects of this cave, the provision of fluorescent lighting in the
Belfry, the proposed film to be made of the B.E.C., and the usual monthly
reports given by the officers of the club.
The party consisted of thirteen members of the Gloucester
Speleological Society, plus K. Franklin and myself acting as guides.
The party entered the cave at 1.00 pm, noticing a small amount
of water running into the entrance rift, which caused two of members of the
The remainder of our party, now reduced to twelve, went on
and did the usual Weegee trip. On the
return journey it was decided to split the party at Upper Mud Hall, and since
three of the
I then offered to climb the rift next and give the rest of
the party illumination and assistance with the rope if necessary from the
top. This suggestion was agreed to, and
I then climbed the rift. On reaching the
top, I began to encourage the next chap who, by this time, was nearly halfway
up by giving him a heave on the rope. At
this stage, his light went out and he became to be a trifled worried. It became obvious that he would have to
return to the bottom and be assisted by fresh people on the line. I therefore advised him to return while this
could be organised and meanwhile get out of the water.
Meanwhile, at the Belfry, the first members of the party had
reported the heavy water flow down the Entrance Rift and Rowena offered to
change and go as far as the bottom of the Rift, to let the rest of the party
know that assistance was available if required. Rowena met me at the top of the Rift, and volunteered to go down to
check if the second man had got down all right. I then returned to the Belfry to call out assistance.
Alfie was getting into a Goon Suit as I arrived, and
informed me that he had contacted Ken at the Shepton Hut by phone, and that Ken
was standing by and changing. As Alfie
left for the cave, Prew arrived and was put in touch with events. He immediately formed a party to attempt to
make the dam more effective, but it was soon agreed that little immediate
reduction of water was possible by this means. Ken and Alfie then entered the cave, and, on reaching the top of the
Rift, Ken went down after agreeing a code of signals on the rope and promising
to come straight back and report on the condition of the rift and the party
below. He soon returned and reported
that the party were in good hearty, but that it would not be advisable for them
to come out just yet, as they were a little tired after their trip and rather
wet. He suggested that he return to the
bottom to reinforce the party there. Alfie returned to the Belfry and, with the others, got hot tea, dry
clothes &c together to be lowered down the Rift. This was done and the M.R.O. called out. They brought enough Goon Suits to equip each
caver still at the bottom with one, and organised the Fire Brigade to come up
an pump the pond out into
Prew, Mike Holland, Alfie &c then started lowering the
supplies down to the people below. Contact with the party at the bottom was originally carried out by Ken
and Alfie shouting to each other, but this was soon replaced by the use of a
message pad and pencil which could be lowered up and down on the rope. A point to note here. Light articles, such as clothing, will not go
down the Rift easily in polythene bags and a bag full of stones was improvised
to give the bags enough weight. The
supplies ware organised form the Belfry and the Shepton Hut were soon
reinforced with Goon Suits by the M.R.O. and supplies of chocolate, cigarettes
&c which Brenda and Jill organised from the local shop.
The M.R.O. arrived on the scene very quickly, and also the
Fire Pump which, by 9.45 was pumping the pond out at a very impressive
rate. At about this time, a veritable
horde of reporters, photographers (moving and still) and general hangers-on
descended on the site like a swarm of locusts. By 10.45 the water flowing down the entrance rift had considerably
decreased and the first of the people below came out. Further pumping stopped the flow completely
& the last man form the
Kit was then recovered from the cave and taken to the
Belfry, where utter confusion appeared to reign, owning to the fact that thirty
or forty people plus a vast amount of kit were all crammed into the
building. However, this was all gradually
sorted out.
One unfortunate aspect of this affair is that it was not
discovered until we were actually in the cave that two of the party were
novices (from a caving point of view) although one was an experienced climber
and the other had had considerable experience in old iron workings. It was one of these people who failed to
climb the Rift on the first attempt. In
view of this, it would have been inadvisable to have encouraged him to make a
second attempt immediately after his failure. Fortunately, and perhaps due to this prudent attitude, the situation at
no time got out of hand and, thanks to the prompt assistance of the M.R.O., the
Police and the Fire Brigade, the whole operation was carried out very calmly
and smoothly.
From
an account by C.A. Marriott.
Dear Hon. Ed.
Reading the Christmas number of the B.B. which has just
reached me by a rather roundabout way, I see a notification for change of
address. Here is my present one, but
please keep the one which is at present on the books as my permanent address.
Although my copy of the B.B. is not quite hot off the press,
I find it very interesting. I see from
the address list that Tony Rich is now in
I have a job with Shawinigan Chemicals in the Technical
Service and Development Department on Vinyls and other plastics. Only a few of my fellow technicians can speak
English. It is rather like living in a
sort of Americanised France. In the
hills near here (locally termed the bush) there are many lovely lakes
surrounded by forest. They are wonderful
for boating; swimming; water skiing or fishing in the summer. At the moment, most of these lakes have many
inches of ice and in the north where the temperature drops to -40 of -60oF,
several feet of ice are formed.
There is plenty of snow here. We had the first of it in the middle of
October. I have been skiing every
weekend since before Christmas. Ive
been to
Hows the dig on Priddy green? Still draining the cowsh from
John
Pegram
*****************************************
To the Editor, B.B.,
Dear Sir,
Where are they now? Where are the people who have helped over the years to build the B.E.C.
up to what it is now? Some of us are
still circulation, some tragically are no longer with us, but very many have
just disappeared into the shadows.
I wonder where Andre is now. Before the B.B. was ever dreamed of, way back
in the early 1940s, Andre was by way of being a club chronicler in
cartoon. Unfortunately, few of his
efforts survive. What of Johnny half
Pint Dwyer that cussed but intrepid pillion rider of the Cantle motor
cycle. What of Roger himself? I believe he is to be found rushing round
Gloucestershire in a radio controlled car a respectable married man. Thinking of climbing and North
John Bindon is another to have departed, and his
exceptionally fine tenor voice is no longer heard in the Hunters. Of similar vintage, who can remember Tim
Kendrick flying into Cuthberts depression one summers day? This would go on forever. Postle and Dizzie and their famous chariot
Sue, Tony Bamber, Foulmouth McKee and many more.
Luckily some of these old stagers ate still going
strong. Dan Hasell springs to mind at
once. I dont think he would like to be
known as the wise old man of the B.E.C., but his experience has been invaluable
to us on more than one occasion. He probably
doesnt remember, but he was the first to take me up on Mendip and the
Hunters. Sett seems to go on and
on. Sett, for whom Hal Perry once wrote
(after one of his prangs which he indulged at the time)
Now theres Sett of battered face
Likes to fester on apace,
Taking corners over faster
Often leads him to disaster.
There are dozens more. Some known to the present population, some rarely mentioned names,
stretching back almost into prehistory; when the B.E.C. was vastly different
form its present prosperity. I can
remember long discussions during those happy evenings with Harry at
As a gesture on the Silver jubilee of the club, I wonder if
it would be possible to send a complimentary copy of the B.B. to those old but
lost friends whose addresses are not too out of date. Even if some never find their final
recipient, I feel that some at least might be glad to know that the old club is
still alive and kicking and perhaps renew their acquaintance. You never know.
Tony
Johnson
Editors
Note. At the risk of a wildcat strike
in the Postal Dept, I think this could be arranged. We do owe these members quite a lot, and this
would be a nice way of reminding then that they are not quite forgotten.
A preliminary notice appeared in a recent B.B. We have now been sent more information. The expedition will be arranged for 1961 and
it is desired to know a little known caving area in
Alan
Fincham
The University,
Or via the club secretary. Further notices will appear in the B.B. on this subject from time to
time.
It seems absurd to suggest it, but there are still some of
this years subs outstanding. Why not
astound the secretary abet actually paying them?
Roger Stenner has written to point out that the conclusions
printed at the end of the article Use of a Barometer in Cave Surveying which
appeared in the recent Christmnas B.B. were not these which, in fact, he
supplied. This is true and we should
like to may it quite clear that this is not our usual practice. There are, however, reasons which will be
sent to the author. Should he not agree,
a further article on this subject will be printed in the near future.
*****************************************
The Hut Warden would like to remind you that kit is left at
the Belfry at YOUR OWN RISK. Old caving
and other gear is liable to be turned out periodically and may be
destroyed. Dont let this happen to you!
*****************************************
THE BELFRY BULLETIN. February 1960. No. 144.
Secretary, R.J. Bagshaw,
Editor, S.J. Collins, 33
Postal Dept, B. Prewer,