Pen Park Hole
Encyclopedia
Pen Park Hole is a large cavern situated underground, at the edge of Filton
Golf Course. The cavern was discovered accidentally in the 17th Century. The first descent into the hole was by Captain Sturmy on the second of July, in the year 1669.
The entrance is adjacent to the Southmead
and Brentry
housing estates of north Bristol
. Access is tightly controlled by Bristol City Council.
On 17 March 1775 Reverend Thomas Newnam of Redcliffe Church
on fell to his death while attempting plumb
the depth when the tree branch to which he was holding broke. His body was recovered 17 days later.
The cave consists of some short climbs, and a few chambers, the last of which is a very tall rift chamber with a lake that changes height by as much as 20 metres. Side passages contain impressive dogtooth spar
. The cave was formed by rising geothermal water (and is one of the best examples of a hydrothermal cave in the UK or Ireland), making it far older than other caves in the area, at around 190 million years old.
Filton
Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building...
Golf Course. The cavern was discovered accidentally in the 17th Century. The first descent into the hole was by Captain Sturmy on the second of July, in the year 1669.
The entrance is adjacent to the Southmead
Southmead
Southmead is a northern suburb and council ward of Bristol, in the southwest of England. The town of Filton , and the Bristol suburbs of Monks Park, Horfield, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym lie on its boundaries....
and Brentry
Brentry
Brentry is a suburb of north Bristol, England, between Henbury and Southmead which is spread along the southern edge of the Avonmouth-London railway line....
housing estates of north Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. Access is tightly controlled by Bristol City Council.
On 17 March 1775 Reverend Thomas Newnam of Redcliffe Church
St Mary Redcliffe
St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St...
on fell to his death while attempting plumb
Sounding line
A sounding line or lead line is a length of thin rope with a plummet, generally of lead, at its end. Regardless of the actual composition of the plummet, it is still called a "lead."...
the depth when the tree branch to which he was holding broke. His body was recovered 17 days later.
The cave consists of some short climbs, and a few chambers, the last of which is a very tall rift chamber with a lake that changes height by as much as 20 metres. Side passages contain impressive dogtooth spar
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
. The cave was formed by rising geothermal water (and is one of the best examples of a hydrothermal cave in the UK or Ireland), making it far older than other caves in the area, at around 190 million years old.