Burrington Combe
Encyclopedia
Burrington Combe is a carboniferous limestone
gorge near the village of Burrington
, on the north side of the Mendip Hills
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
, in North Somerset
, England.
"Combe" or "coombe" is a word of Celtic origin found in several forms on all of the British Isles, denoting a steep-sided valley or hollow. Burrington Combe is a gorge through the limestone hills although there is now no river running through it. Various cave entrances are exposed which have been occupied by humans for over 10,000 years, with a hillfort being built beside the combe in the Iron Age
. The geology has led to a diversity of plant life.
According to legend Augustus Montague Toplady
was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe, although recent scholars have disputed this claim.
has exposed rocks from the Devonian
sandstones of the Portishead Formation which show through the limestone and mudstone
of the Avon Group and younger marine Carboniferous Black Rock
Limestone. The northern and lower end of the combe, which was once the bed of the Congresbury Yeo
, cuts through Clifton Down Limestone. Triassic Dolomitic Conglomerate can also be seen.
with some evidence of occupation during the Upper Palaeolithic
period. The combe contains the entrances to many of the caves of the Mendip Hills
, including Aveline's Hole
, Sidcot Swallet
and Goatchurch Cavern
. A through trip has been dug from Rod's Pot
to Bath Swallet, which are both on the hills above the majority of Burrington caves. Further afield and equally accessible is Read's Cavern
.
Goatchurch Cavern is 1500 m (4,921.3 ft) long and has a surveyed depth of 61.5 m (201.8 ft). It was first recorded in 1736, and explored by lead
miners in the 19th century.
Around 1901, the owner unsuccessfully tried to turn it into a show cave
. Notes of exploration in the 1920s record finds from the Pleistocene
period including bones of mammoth
, bear
, hyaena
and cave lion. During November 2003 inscribed marks were noticed in Goatchurch Cavern while cleaning away graffiti
. Three finely cut marks were uncovered, resembling the letter W with a patina
darker than in nearby graffiti dated 1704. These have been identified as ritual protection marks, possibly dating from the period 1550 to 1750. The term ritual protection mark was preferred to the description "witch marks
".
A swallet, also known as a sinkhole
, sink, shakehole, swallow hole or doline, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water flowing beneath the water-table at considerable depth. Sidcot Swallet is named after the Sidcot School
Speleological Society who explored it in 1925.
The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain was found at Aveline's Hole. The human bone fragments it contained, from about 21 different individuals, are thought to be between roughly 10,200 and 10,400 years old. A series of inscribed crosses found on the wall of the Aveline's Hole cave are believed to date from the early Mesolithic
period just after the Ice age
.
univallate hill fort
known as Burrington Camp
. It is around 100 metres (328.1 ft) by 80 metres (262.5 ft) and includes Romano-British
elements.
in 1952.
The calcareous grasslands support a diverse flora which includes Salad burnet
(Sanguisorba minor), Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa and Centaurea nigra), Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) and Wild thyme
(Thymus praecox). On the higher, more acidic, slopes Goldenrod
(Solidago virgaurea), Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia) and Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris) can be found. There are also scrub plants including Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Mountain ash
(Sorbus aucuparia), gorse
(Ulex europaeus) and Elder
(Sambucus nigra). Several of the caves support bat populations.
Geologically it is recognised as a fluvial
karst
feature which partly intersects a buried and filled gorge of Triassic
age.
(1740–1778), who was the curate at Blagdon
, was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe during a thunderstorm
in the late 18th century. The rock was subsequently named after the hymn. It is now generally accepted that the attribution of this location to the writing of Rock of Ages only arose well after Toplady's death (the 1850s is suggested by Percy Dearmer
in Songs of Praise Discussed, 1933) and has no proven factual basis.
The then Vicar at Westbury-on-Trym H. J. Wilkins published a 16-page booklet in 1938 titled "An Enquiry concerning Toplady and his Hymn "Rock of Ages" and its connection with Burrington Combe, Somerset" that found that in relation to the hymn "All available evidence goes to show that it was published in 1776, soon after it was written." Toplady had left the neighbourhood of Burrington Combe in 1764.
In George Lawton's 1983 publication Within the Rock of Ages the author finds the claim that Rock of Ages was written at Burrington Combe to be only a legend, although he does state that "It is extremely doubtful whether at this distance of time, the legend that it was written in a cleft there can be proved or disproved." In George Ella's 2000 study A Debtor to Mercy Alone any links between the hymn and Burrington Combe are again said to be no more than legendary, with readers being referred to Lawton's 1983 study.
C. H. Sisson
wrote a poem entitled Burrington Combe.
Carboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...
gorge near the village of Burrington
Burrington, Somerset
Burrington is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated in the Unitary authority of North Somerset, north east of Axbridge and about east of Weston-super-Mare...
, on the north side of the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, in North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
, England.
"Combe" or "coombe" is a word of Celtic origin found in several forms on all of the British Isles, denoting a steep-sided valley or hollow. Burrington Combe is a gorge through the limestone hills although there is now no river running through it. Various cave entrances are exposed which have been occupied by humans for over 10,000 years, with a hillfort being built beside the combe in the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. The geology has led to a diversity of plant life.
According to legend Augustus Montague Toplady
Augustus Montague Toplady
Augustus Montague Toplady was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages"...
was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe, although recent scholars have disputed this claim.
Geology
Water draining from Black DownBlack Down, Somerset
Black Down is the highest hill in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, in south-western England. Black Down lies just a few miles eastward of the Bristol Channel at Weston-super-Mare, and provides a view over the Chew Valley...
has exposed rocks from the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
sandstones of the Portishead Formation which show through the limestone and mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
of the Avon Group and younger marine Carboniferous Black Rock
Blackrock (geology)
Blackrock is a type of limestone, with its name originating from a place in Somerset where it occurs. It is not always necessarily black, often a dark grey color....
Limestone. The northern and lower end of the combe, which was once the bed of the Congresbury Yeo
Congresbury Yeo
The River Yeo is a river which flows through North Somerset, England.- River course :...
, cuts through Clifton Down Limestone. Triassic Dolomitic Conglomerate can also be seen.
Caves
Archaeological discoveries of early cemeteries demonstrate human occupation of the combe and its caves from the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
with some evidence of occupation during the Upper Palaeolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
period. The combe contains the entrances to many of the caves of the Mendip Hills
Caves of the Mendip Hills
The Caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills, with large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain.- Geology :...
, including Aveline's Hole
Aveline's Hole
Aveline's Hole is a cave at Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain was found at Aveline's Hole...
, Sidcot Swallet
Sidcot Swallet
Sidcot Swallet is a cave near Burrington Combe, in the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.It was named after the Sidcot School Speleological Society who explored it in 1925....
and Goatchurch Cavern
Goatchurch Cavern
Goatchurch Cavern is a cave on the edge of Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.-Description:Due to early attempts to turn it into a show cave, there are the remains of iron handrails inside the cave. There is a large amount of decoration throughout the cave...
. A through trip has been dug from Rod's Pot
Rod's Pot
Rod's Pot is a limestone cave above Burrington Combe in the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.The cave was first excavated in 1944 by the University of Bristol Spelæological Society...
to Bath Swallet, which are both on the hills above the majority of Burrington caves. Further afield and equally accessible is Read's Cavern
Read's Cavern
Read's Cavern is a cave at Burrington Combe, Somerset, England, in which traces of Iron Age occupation have been found. It lies under Dolbury Hill. Its large main chamber has a boulder ruckle floor and is parallel to a cliff face...
.
Goatchurch Cavern is 1500 m (4,921.3 ft) long and has a surveyed depth of 61.5 m (201.8 ft). It was first recorded in 1736, and explored by lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
miners in the 19th century.
Around 1901, the owner unsuccessfully tried to turn it into a show cave
Show cave
Show caves — also called tourist caves, public caves, and in the United States, commercial caves — are caves that are managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee...
. Notes of exploration in the 1920s record finds from the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period including bones of mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
, hyaena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
and cave lion. During November 2003 inscribed marks were noticed in Goatchurch Cavern while cleaning away graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
. Three finely cut marks were uncovered, resembling the letter W with a patina
Patina
Patina is a tarnish that forms on the surface of bronze and similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure...
darker than in nearby graffiti dated 1704. These have been identified as ritual protection marks, possibly dating from the period 1550 to 1750. The term ritual protection mark was preferred to the description "witch marks
Witches' mark
According to witch-hunters during the height of the witch trials , the witches’ mark indicated that an individual was a witch. The witches' mark and the devil's mark are all terms applied to essentially the same mark. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the...
".
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
, sink, shakehole, swallow hole or doline, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water flowing beneath the water-table at considerable depth. Sidcot Swallet is named after the Sidcot School
Sidcot School
Sidcot School is a British co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England....
Speleological Society who explored it in 1925.
The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain was found at Aveline's Hole. The human bone fragments it contained, from about 21 different individuals, are thought to be between roughly 10,200 and 10,400 years old. A series of inscribed crosses found on the wall of the Aveline's Hole cave are believed to date from the early Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
period just after the Ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
.
Hillfort
Above the combe on its eastern side is the site of an Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
univallate hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
known as Burrington Camp
Burrington Camp
Burrington Camp, also known as Burrington Ham, is a Iron Age hill fort in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated in the Mendip Hills approximately south from the village of Burrington....
. It is around 100 metres (328.1 ft) by 80 metres (262.5 ft) and includes Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
elements.
Special Scientific Interest
In recognition of its biological and geological interest, an area of 139.1 hectares (343.7 acre) within and around the combe was notified as a Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in 1952.
The calcareous grasslands support a diverse flora which includes Salad burnet
Salad Burnet
Sanguisorba minor is a plant in the family Rosaceae that is native to western, central and southern Europe; northwest Africa and southwest Western Asia; and which has naturalized in most of North America...
(Sanguisorba minor), Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa and Centaurea nigra), Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) and Wild thyme
Wild thyme
Thymus serpyllum, known by the common names of Breckland Thyme, Wild Thyme or Creeping Thyme is a species of thyme native to most of Europe and North Africa. It is a low, usually prostrate subshrub growing to 2 cm tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm long, with oval evergreen leaves...
(Thymus praecox). On the higher, more acidic, slopes Goldenrod
Goldenrod
Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are also a few species native to Mexico, South...
(Solidago virgaurea), Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia) and Common Bent (Agrostis capillaris) can be found. There are also scrub plants including Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Mountain ash
Sorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
(Sorbus aucuparia), gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
(Ulex europaeus) and Elder
Sambucus nigra
Sambucus nigra is a species complex of elder native to most of Europe.It is most commonly called Elder, Elderberry, Black Elder, European Elder, European Elderberry, European Black Elderberry, Common Elder, or Elder Bush when distinction from other species of Sambucus is needed...
(Sambucus nigra). Several of the caves support bat populations.
Geologically it is recognised as a fluvial
Fluvial
Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
karst
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
feature which partly intersects a buried and filled gorge of Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
age.
Rock of Ages
There is a legend that Augustus Montague TopladyAugustus Montague Toplady
Augustus Montague Toplady was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages"...
(1740–1778), who was the curate at Blagdon
Blagdon
Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 1,172...
, was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering under a rock in the combe during a thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
in the late 18th century. The rock was subsequently named after the hymn. It is now generally accepted that the attribution of this location to the writing of Rock of Ages only arose well after Toplady's death (the 1850s is suggested by Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer, was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of The Parson's Handbook, a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy. A lifelong socialist, he was an early advocate of the public ministry of women and concerned with social justice...
in Songs of Praise Discussed, 1933) and has no proven factual basis.
The then Vicar at Westbury-on-Trym H. J. Wilkins published a 16-page booklet in 1938 titled "An Enquiry concerning Toplady and his Hymn "Rock of Ages" and its connection with Burrington Combe, Somerset" that found that in relation to the hymn "All available evidence goes to show that it was published in 1776, soon after it was written." Toplady had left the neighbourhood of Burrington Combe in 1764.
In George Lawton's 1983 publication Within the Rock of Ages the author finds the claim that Rock of Ages was written at Burrington Combe to be only a legend, although he does state that "It is extremely doubtful whether at this distance of time, the legend that it was written in a cleft there can be proved or disproved." In George Ella's 2000 study A Debtor to Mercy Alone any links between the hymn and Burrington Combe are again said to be no more than legendary, with readers being referred to Lawton's 1983 study.
C. H. Sisson
C. H. Sisson
Charles Hubert Sisson CH was a British writer, best known as a poet and translator.-Life:...
wrote a poem entitled Burrington Combe.