A Brief History Of Goughs Caves, Cheddar
by Dave Irwin
The history of Gough's Old and New Caves is a story of two caves that were destined to become among the best known public show-caves in the country; the earlier of which is now closed to the public. The caving world has long appreciated that these are part of the same cave system in geomorphological sense, but to the public the two separate sites in print, at least, was assumed to be the same cave that has been progressively extended leading to confused reports in the past. This has been based on contemporary information, full details of which have bee given in separate papers by the author published in the U.B.S. Proceedings (Irwin, 1986a, 1986b).
The caves at the lower end of Cheddar Gorge lie in a region
that was known to 19th century inhabitants of Cheddar as Rock-End. Another interesting name that has emerged is
the point we know today as Black Rock was known in 1805 as Stags Cross. Rock-End is the area from what is now the car
parks in the Coopers Hole area to the bottom of the Gorge by Birchs Bridge. There were several paper and grist mills in
the area utilising the water from the resurgence; contemporary maps show that
there were about 10 limekilns in the
The earliest reference to cave guides appears in the 1780s
and the commonly visited site was Long Hole. Remember at this time and up to 1933 the scree slope from the Slitter
which lies to the west of the cave entrances, spilled out to the modern road
edge thus making the ascent to Long Hole a relatively easy climb. In the early 19th century steps were cut into
the soil near the top of the slope to further ease the climb. An interesting sketch (1816) by the Reverend
John Skinner, of Camerton, of the Slitter clearly shows the entrance to the
Long Hole and Gough's
The less fortunate individuals and families were forced to
inhabit the caves. They boarded up the
entrances to protect themselves from the weather and were able to eek out an
existence by selling spar and potatoe stone. One such site was Goughs
Phelps (1836) describes the caves that were known at the
time. Briefly these are long Hole,
Sayes Hole, Goughs Old and
To make matters clear the names of Gough's Caves shall be used as we know them today. Goughs Old Cave needs no explanation but Goughs Cave (that which is now open to the public) was originally known as Goughs New Cave between the date of discovery and about 1910; by then the Old Cave appears to have been closed for public viewing.
Visitors to Cheddar had the opportunity to view several
caves in the neighbourhood from as early as the 17th century. This situation continued until George Cox
(1800-1868) discovered Coxs Cave in 1837. For the next year he developed the inside of the cave and opened it to
the public in 1838. At the same time
George developed the
Back to the Gough's
Anther early record of the Great Stalactite Cavern is an entry
in the diary of the Reverend KiIvert, the great 19th century traveller. He visited Gough's
Richard Cox Gough,
born in
Photograph of Jack
and Nancy Beauchamp said to be taken in 1860.
Notice Goughs old Cave entrance (upper centre)
(from an old postcard c.1905)
The railway came to Cheddar in 1869, and with cheap
excursion tickets during the summer months, the many visitors making Cheddar a
popular tourist spot. Works outings
particularly from
In addition to the showing of the cave, Gough organised several events in the cave during the off-peak season. In September 1877 the Welford Family gave a hand-bell concert in the cave and in 1881 E.R. Sleator, a photographer an exhibition of his work on local views in the Concert Chamber. For this occasion the cave was decorated with Chinese Lanterns and additional lighting was provided by oxy-hydrogen lights. The photographs were described as being very realistic.
Gough installed gas lighting in the cave in April 1883. The gas was obtained from petroleum by the use of a special apparatus. The conversion apparatus was installed in the entrance chamber and for this action Gough was hauled before the Axbridge Magistrates because he did not possess the necessary licence to store petroleum and because the apparatus was a potential danger to the public. Gough claimed that he had been advised that a licence was not necessary for the quantity that he was storing but he was nevertheless fined 10 shillings and the petroleum confiscated. He was warned that if he did not place the apparatus in a safe location he would not be granted a further licence. Gough asked that if he complied the Police requirements would he get his petroleum back? Gough said I have committed no crime. It is like taking the bread out of a mans mouth to take the petroleum away. Colonel Luttrell (chairman of the Magistrates Bench) replied You would have been fined much more heavily if the petroleum was not forfeited and the Bench will therefore reckon that your fine your petroleum is forfeited. The newspaper report continued " ... The defendant said he would like the Magistrates to visit the cave, and Col. Luttrell replied that he should be afraid to do so under the present circumstances. (Weston-super-Mare Gazette, 1883, 2nd May).
Goughs next breakthrough came in 1887 when he discovered the Cathedral Chamber and the Queens Jewel Chamber at the end of the cave. The route to these chambers was already open and only required crawling through to find them. The original route is still there to see. To make assess easy for the public, Gough excavated at the top of the Concert Chamber and cleared a passage below the two chambers. He opened them to the public in 1888 hence they became known in the advertisements of the day, as the 1888 Chambers. The first newspaper account of the new chambers appeared in the Weston-super-Mare Mercury (26th May 1888) which said
"Through this passage (the excavated one) the members were now conducted and emerged in what might be termed two grottoes of stalactites ..these were well illuminated and the beauty of the effect difficult to describe. In one place a small natural fountain played in the centre of stalactites and stalagmites."
Gough employed his sons to act as guides and William Gough recalls in a letter to Thorneycroft (1949) before I was 12 [c.1883] I was able to conduct parties through the caves as well as the next.," It is reported that augment the formations in the cave Gough purchased cart-loads of stalagmite from Loxton Cave which had been open to the public for a short time to the public in the 1860s. In addition to the added formations Gough used various devices to enhance the cave such as fountains in the chamber and reflected pools in the entrance chamber.
The last discovery was St. Valentine's Chamber - a side grotto at the entrance to the Concert Chamber (February, 1869). The existence of the chamber was probably not unknown to Gough but to add to the 'latest important discovery' the grotto was opened up sufficiently to enable the public to peer into it. This grotto seems to have been enhanced with foreign stalagmites!
Competition between the Cox's and Gough rose to unprecedented levels. The cave proprietors made exaggerated claims about the merits of their respective caves for by now Gough's Cave was obviously biting into the takings at Coxs Cave, the proprietors of which had a monopoly until 1877. Even then Gough probably made little impact on Coxs Cave but by the mid 1880s the situation was changing. Between 1877 and 1887 Gough had 20,000 visitors to the cave. Edward Cox tried desperately to play down the importance of the discovery of the Concert Chamber in Gough's Cave typified by the following advertisement:
Cox's Stalactite Cavern.
Visited by H.R.H. THE
PRINCE OF
NOTICE - There is no truth
in the announcement of the discovery of a new great cave in 1877. It is one of the original
Edward Cox, the then proprietor, was not being wholly truthful as Nicholls' book only mentions Cox's Cave and Long Hole! The outburst from Richard Gough is not unexpected:
VISITED BY ROYALTY-
Visitors Read this before Seeing Caves.
GOUGH'S CAVES of 1877-1888-1889,
are the most wonderful .. ,
Visited
by H,R.H. the Prince of
..CAUTION: Station Drivers and others who are interested in other Caves are not my Colleagues. I employ no "Touts." I received a letter from the EARL OF KIMBERLEY, dated June 9th, 1888, contradictory of a Statement posted at another Cave. H.R,H. the Prince of Wales has not visited Cheddar since a youth, with his tutor ..
Goughs Entrance
(c.1927 showing scree slope from slitter. (Courtesy of
Neither of the proprietors were being honest with the public. Touts were employed and the drivers received a back-hander from the respective proprietors. This technique continued well into the 20th century. In fact fighting between the drivers was a regular event if local memories are to be believed!
To develop the site still further Gough and his wife,
Frances, opened a formal tea garden outside their house and so were now in
competition with the
Gough made no further discoveries at the
NOVEL CONCERT The numerous audience was delighted with the cave and its decorations, which were profuse and tasteful and the geni of the cavern came in for numerous and well-deserved compliments for the manner in which the novel concert hall was illuminated consisting of fairy lamps, Chinese lanterns, gas and candles, the whole interlaced with hundreds of bannerettes. The devices were few but good, meeting the eye on coming up the cliffs was the 'Setting Sun" at an elevation of 100 or 200 feet over the entrance. In the cave, at a height of about 60 feet over the placid water, was the "New Moon" and at the cave entrance to the left was the device "Praise God" illuminated in blue, red and pink ... "
Gough was to make two further major discoveries. In April 1893 he discovered the passage up to
and just beyond
NEW DISCOVERY- The extensive and beautiful cave, several hundred yards long was discovered by Mr. Gough on April 12th 1893 and now shown to the public at a moderate charge.
But Gough's crowning glory came in November 1898 when he and
his sons; after sporadic digging; broke up through the end choke into
When I visited the scenes, some five years ago, this particular cave was esteemed of no importance, another cave, Cox's Cave, so called, was the popular one. Now all is changed, it is simply a case of transformation.
Among the important visitors to Gough's
Following the discovery of the new cave, Gough commenced re-organising the approach to the caves. The old cave notices were removed and an arched gateway built by the edge of the road. Inside the perimeter of the ground he erected several rustic buildings housing the offices and museum. Entrance to the cave was by a downward flight of steps to the left of the entrance archway. Winter flooding of the cave, which still plagues the modern cave management, was hoped to be overcome by excavating further into the infilled sand and gravels in the Vestibule. In 1903 during this clearing operation the Gough brothers accidentally discovered the skeleton of Cheddar Man in the area now known as Skeleton Pit into which the water was hoped to drain. This discovery made Goughs cave a household name. Handbills, picture postcards (which had now become exceedingly popular with the public) all mentioned or showed photographs of the skull and bones. Eminent archaeologists studied the skeleton and estimated its age between 40,000 and 80,000 years. Today, researchers have suggested, after radio carbon dating, that it is about 91,000 years old.
Approach to Goughs
caves c.1927. (Note change of cave
name). (Courtesy of
Minor discoveries were made in 1908 when Aladdin's Grotto
was opened and in 1935, after an archaeological dig at Pixie Forest a couple of
hundred feet of low passage was discovered. This was claimed to be a major discovery by the then manager, Thomas
gill, and he announced that a circular route to
Richard Gough died in February 1902 at the age of 75
years. The well known photograph of him
was taken some eight years earlier by Stanley Chapman of Dawlish. Chapman had long been a friend of the family
and produced the earliest interior photographs of Goughs
The major part of the collection at the Cheddar Caves Museum was discovered in March 1911 when the Gough brothers were excavating gravel to surface a car-park between the cave entrance and the river rising. In doing so they unearthed many human bones and pieces of pottery half-way up the Slitter, just below Long Hole. In addition they found some 200 coins including 1 gold example. The archaeological papers merely record that bones and coins were found at Goughs Cave in 1911. But the newspapers and the local photographer, Charles Henry Collard come to the historians rescue. So far 5 different photographs have been discovered and recorded. Some are general scenes of the dig showing Herbert Balch, William and Arthur Gough inspecting the site, and another being a photograph of the finds layed out for display.
The Gough lease ran out c.1927 and the property returned to
the Longleat Estates who have been operating the site ever since. The first change enacted by the new
management was to re-name the cave
Sympathetic management at
Selected reading matter:
Balch., H.E. 1927 The Caves of
Mendip.
[Green, E.] 1935 Mendip -
Cheddar, its gorge and caves. Wells: Clare, 1st. Ed.
Hensler, E. 1869 The
tourist's guide to Cheddar Cliffs. Wells: Green
Irwin, D.J. 1968
"Ninety-nine years ago", WCC Jnl 10(118)102
1986a The
exploration of Gough's Cave and its development as a show cave.
Proc. Univ.
Bristol Spelaeol. Society 17(2) for 1985, 95-104
1986b
Gough's
North, C. 1968
Phelps, w. 1836 The History
and antiques of Somersetshire, Vol.1, part 2.
Stevens, N.E. 1869 A Guide to
Cheddar and the neighbourhood. Cheddar:
Bryne
Thorneycroft, L.R. 1949 The
story of Cheddar its gorge, caves and ancient history.