Wookey Hole
Encyclopedia
Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave
and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole
on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills
near Wells
in Somerset
, England
.
Wookey Hole cave was formed through erosion of the limestone
hills by the River Axe. Before emerging at Wookey Hole the water enters underground streams and passes through other caves such as Swildon's Hole
and St Cuthbert's Swallet
. After resurging, the waters of the River Axe are used in a handmade paper mill, the oldest extant in Britain, which began operations circa 1610, although a corn grinding mill operated there as early as 1086.
Nearby is the limestone Ebbor Gorge
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) and a more tranquil spot than the busy Wookey Hole, which is itself an SSSI for both biological and geological reasons.
The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole – a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury
. It is also the site of the first cave dives in Britain.
The caves, at a constant temperature of 11 °C (51.8 °F), have been used by humans for around 50,000 years. The low temperature means that the caves can be used for maturing Cheddar cheese
.
(Welsh
) for 'cave', "Ogo" or "Ogof" which gave the early names for this cave of "Ochie" "Ochy". Hole is Anglo-Saxon
for cave which is itself of Latin/Norman derivation. Therefore the name Wookey Hole Cave basically means cave cave cave.
Wookey Hole was occupied by humans in the Iron Age
, while nearby Hyena Cave was occupied by Stone Age
hunters. Badger Hole and Rhinoceros Hole are two dry caves on the slopes above the Wookey ravine near the Wookey Hole resurgence and contain in situ cave sediments laid down during the Ice Age.
In 1544 products of Roman lead
working in the area were discovered. The lead mines across the Mendips have produced contamination of the water emerging from the underground caverns at Wookey Hole. The lead in the water is believed to have affected the quality of the paper produced.
, who moved to Somerset
to study classics with the vicar of Wookey
. On hearing of the discovery of bones by local workmen he led excavations in the area of the hyena den. His work led to the discovery of the first evidence for the use by Palaeolithic man in the Caves of the Mendip Hills
.
Herbert E. Balch
continued the work from 1904 to 1914, where he led excavations of the entrance passage (1904–15), Witch's Kitchen (Chamber 1) and Hell's Ladder (1926–1927) and the Badger Hole (1938–1954), where Roman coins from the 3rd century were discovered along with Aurignacian
flint implements. The 1911 work found a 4 to 7 ft (1.2 to 2.1 ) of stratification, mostly dating from the Iron age
and sealed into place by Romano-British artefacts. Finds included a silver coin of Marcia (124BC), pottery, weapons and tools, bronze ornaments, and Roman coins from Vespasian
to Valentinian II
.
E. J. Mason from 1946 to 1949, and G. R. Morgan in 1972 continued the work. Books by Dawkins and Balch are now prized items amongst those with an interest in cave archaeology.
Later work led by Edgar Kingsley Tratman (1899–1978) OBE DSc MD FSA explored the human occupation of the Rhinoceros hole, and showed that the fourth chamber of the great cave was a Romano-British cemetery.
During excavations in 1954-7 at Hole Ground, just outside the entrance to the cave, the foundations of a 1st century hut and Iron Age pottery were seen. These were covered by the foundations of Roman buildings, dating from the 1st to the late 4th century.
Diving was first tried by the Cave Diving Group
under the leadership of Graham Balcombe
in 1935. With equipment on loan from Siebe Gorman, he and Penelope ("Mossy") Powell penetrated 170 ft (51.8 m) into the cave, reaching "Chamber 7" using standard diving dress
. The events marked the first successful cave dives in Britain.
Diving at Wookey resumed in early June 1946 when Balcombe used his home-made respirator and waterproof suit to explore the region between Resurgence and First Chamber, as well as the underground course of the river between Chamber 3 and Chamber 1. During these dives, the Romano-British remains were found and archaeological work dominated the early dives in the cave. The large Ninth Chamber was first entered on 24 April 1948 by Balcombe and Don Coase. Using this as an advance dive base, the Tenth and then the Eleventh Chambers were discovered. The way on, however, was too deep for divers breathing pure oxygen from a closed-circuit rebreather
. The cave claimed its first life on 9 April 1949 when Gordon Marriott lost his life returning from Chamber Nine. Another fatality occurred in 1981 when Keith Potter was drowned on a routine dive further upstream.
Further progress required apparatus which could overcome the depth limitation of breathing pure oxygen. Using an aqualung and swimming with fins, Bob Davies reached the bottom of Chamber 11 at 15 metres (49.2 ft) depth in clear water and discovered the 12th and 13th Chambers. Unfortunately, he got separated from his guideline and the other two divers in Chamber 11, ending up spending three hours trapped in Chamber 13 and had much trouble getting back to safety. Opinion hardened against the use of the short-duration aqualung in favour of longer-duration closed-circuit equipment. Likewise, the traditional approach of walking along the bottom was preferred over swimming.
Employing semi-closed circuit nitrogen-oxygen rebreathers, between 1957 and 1960 John Buxton and Oliver Wells (grandson of science fiction writer H. G. Wells
) went on to reach the elbow of the sump upstream from Chamber 9 at a depth of 22 metres (72.2 ft). This was at a point known as "The Slot", the way on being too deep for the gas mixture they were breathing.
A six-year hiatus ensued while open circuit air diving became established, along with free-swimming and the use of neoprene wetsuits. The new generation of cave diver was now more mobile above- and under-water and able to dive deeper. Using this approach, Dave Savage was able to reach air surface in the 18th Chamber (Chambers did not have to have air spaces to be so named; they were the limits of each exploration) in May 1966. A brief lull in exploration occurred while the mess of guidelines laid from Chamber 9 was sorted out until John Parker progressed first to the large, dry, inlet passage of Chamber 20 and thence followed the River Axe upstream to Chamber 22 where the way on appeared to be lost.
Meanwhile, climbing operations in Chamber Nine found an abandoned outlet passage which terminated very close to the surface, as well as a dry overland route downstream though the higher levels of Chambers 8 to 6 as far as Chamber 5. These discoveries were used to enable the show cave to be extended into Chamber 9 and helping cave divers to start directly from here and bypassing the dive from Chamber 3.
Eventually, on 23 February 1976, Colin Edmunds found a way on in the static sump at the far end of Chamber 22. Controversially, he was beaten to the discovery of the magnificent active streamway of Chamber 24 by Geoff Yeadon and Oliver Statham a couple of days later. Edmunds returned with Martyn Farr on 27 February 1976 when the latter was able to dive from Chamber 24 into Chamber 25. To this day, Chamber 25 represents the furthest upstream air surface in Wookey Hole Cave. From here the River Axe rises up from a deep sump where progressive depth records for cave diving have been set: firstly by Farr (45m) in 1977, then Rob Parker (68m) in 1985, and finally by John Volanthen and Rick Stanton (76m) in 2004. The following year, the pair returned to explore the cave to a depth of 90m.
In 1996-1997 water samples were collected at various points throughout the caves and showed different chemical compositions. Results showed that the location of the "Unknown Junction", from where water flows to the Static Sump in Chamber 22 by a different route from the majority of the River Axe, is upstream of Sump 25.
in the first chamber of the caves and the central character in an old English legend
. The story has several different versions with the same basic features:
A man from Glastonbury
is betrothed to a girl from Wookey. A witch living in Wookey Hole Caves curse
s the romance so that it fails. The man, now a monk
, seeks revenge on this witch who—having been jilted herself—frequently spoils budding relationships. The monk stalks the witch into the cave and she hides in dark corner near one of the underground rivers. The monk blesses
the water and splashes some of it at the dark parts of the cave. Catching the witch off guard, the monk splashes the water at the dark corner she is hiding in. The blessed water immediately petrifies the witch, and she remains in the cave to this day.
It was partly down to the legend of the witch that prompted TV's Most Haunted
team to visit Wookey Hole Caves and Mill to explore the location in depth, searching for evidence of paranormal activity. The show, which aired on 10 March 2009, was the last episode transmitted in series eleven of the show's run on the satellite and cable TV channel Living.
In 2009 a new 'witch' was chosen by Wookey Hole Ltd amid much media interest. Carole Bohanan in the role of Carla Calamity was selected ahead of over 3,000 other applicants.
The current paper mill
building, whose water wheel
is powered by a small canal from the river, dates from around 1860 and is a Grade II-listed building. The production of handmade paper ceased in February 2008 after owner Gerry Cottle concluded there was no longer a market for the product, and therefore sold most of the historic machinery. Visitors to the site are still able to watch a short video of the paper being made from cotton
. Other attractions include the dinosaur
yard, a small museum about the cave and cave diving, a theatre with circus shows, House of mirrors
and Penny arcade
s. Bear Shop.
In 1956, Olive Hodgkinson, a cave guide whose husband's family owned the caves for over 500 years, was a contestant on What's My Line?
The cave and mill were joined, after purchase, by Madame Tussauds
in 1973 and operated together as a tourist attraction. The present owner is the former circus
proprietor Gerry Cottle who purchased the site for around £6million.
At least one ghost, that of a drowned potholer, is said to haunt the cave. There are also uncanny powers associated with the Witch, all adding to the attraction's popularity with visitors.
The cave was used for the filming of episodes of the BBC
TV series Doctor Who
: the serial Revenge of the Cybermen
(1975) starring Tom Baker
. The cast and crew reportedly had several ghostly encounters in the cave. This has since been referenced in the comedy of The League of Gentlemen
. The cave was also used in the filming of the British series "Blake's 7
" (1978) and "Robin of Sherwood
" (1983).
On 1 August 2006, CNN
reported that Barney, a Doberman Pinscher employed as a security dog at Wookey Hole, had destroyed parts of a valuable collection of teddy bear
s, including one which had belonged to Elvis Presley
, which was estimated to be worth $75,000. The insurance company insuring the exhibition of stuffed animals had insisted on having guard dog protection. :“He just went berserk,” said Daniel Medley, general manager of Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the six-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Barney. A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground.
There are plans to open a new hotel as part of the complex in 2009.
In February 2009 Cottle turned the Victorian bowling green next to the caves into a crazy golf course without first obtaining planning permission.
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...
and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole
Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England.Wookey Hole cave was formed through erosion of the limestone hills by the River Axe...
on the southern edge 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...
near Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Wookey Hole cave was formed through erosion of the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
hills by the River Axe. Before emerging at Wookey Hole the water enters underground streams and passes through other caves such as Swildon's Hole
Swildon's Hole
Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest ....
and St Cuthbert's Swallet
St Cuthbert's Swallet
St Cuthbert's Swallet is the second longest, and most complex, cave on the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It forms a major part of the Priddy Caves system and water entering this swallet re-emerges at Wookey Hole....
. After resurging, the waters of the River Axe are used in a handmade paper mill, the oldest extant in Britain, which began operations circa 1610, although a corn grinding mill operated there as early as 1086.
Nearby is the limestone Ebbor Gorge
Ebbor Gorge
Ebbor Gorge is a limestone gorge in Somerset, England, close to Wells, designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Mendip Hills, notified in 1952....
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site 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...
(SSSI) and a more tranquil spot than the busy Wookey Hole, which is itself an SSSI for both biological and geological reasons.
The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole – a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. It is also the site of the first cave dives in Britain.
The caves, at a constant temperature of 11 °C (51.8 °F), have been used by humans for around 50,000 years. The low temperature means that the caves can be used for maturing Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
.
History
The name Wookey is derived from the CelticCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
(Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
) for 'cave', "Ogo" or "Ogof" which gave the early names for this cave of "Ochie" "Ochy". Hole is Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
for cave which is itself of Latin/Norman derivation. Therefore the name Wookey Hole Cave basically means cave cave cave.
Wookey Hole was occupied by humans 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...
, while nearby Hyena Cave was occupied by Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
hunters. Badger Hole and Rhinoceros Hole are two dry caves on the slopes above the Wookey ravine near the Wookey Hole resurgence and contain in situ cave sediments laid down during the Ice Age.
In 1544 products of Roman 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...
working in the area were discovered. The lead mines across the Mendips have produced contamination of the water emerging from the underground caverns at Wookey Hole. The lead in the water is believed to have affected the quality of the paper produced.
Cave archaeology
Archaeological investigations were undertaken from 1859 to 1874 by William Boyd DawkinsWilliam Boyd Dawkins
Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins, FRS, KBE was a British geologist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Curator of the Manchester Museum and Professor of Geology at Owens College, Manchester. He is noted for his research on fossils and the antiquity of man...
, who moved to Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
to study classics with the vicar of Wookey
Wookey
Wookey is a village and civil parish west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. Wookey is often confused with its sister village Wookey Hole which is perhaps best known today for the Wookey Hole Caves...
. On hearing of the discovery of bones by local workmen he led excavations in the area of the hyena den. His work led to the discovery of the first evidence for the use by Palaeolithic man in 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 :...
.
Herbert E. Balch
Herbert E. Balch
Herbert Ernest Balch MA FSA was an English archaeologist, naturalist, caver and geologist who explored the Mendip Hills' underground labyrinths and pioneered many of the techniques used by modern cavers...
continued the work from 1904 to 1914, where he led excavations of the entrance passage (1904–15), Witch's Kitchen (Chamber 1) and Hell's Ladder (1926–1927) and the Badger Hole (1938–1954), where Roman coins from the 3rd century were discovered along with Aurignacian
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, located in Europe and southwest Asia. It lasted broadly within the period from ca. 45,000 to 35,000 years ago in terms of conventional radiocarbon dating, or between ca. 47,000 and 41,000 years ago in terms of the most...
flint implements. The 1911 work found a 4 to 7 ft (1.2 to 2.1 ) of stratification, mostly dating from 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...
and sealed into place by Romano-British artefacts. Finds included a silver coin of Marcia (124BC), pottery, weapons and tools, bronze ornaments, and Roman coins from Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
to Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
.
E. J. Mason from 1946 to 1949, and G. R. Morgan in 1972 continued the work. Books by Dawkins and Balch are now prized items amongst those with an interest in cave archaeology.
Later work led by Edgar Kingsley Tratman (1899–1978) OBE DSc MD FSA explored the human occupation of the Rhinoceros hole, and showed that the fourth chamber of the great cave was a Romano-British cemetery.
During excavations in 1954-7 at Hole Ground, just outside the entrance to the cave, the foundations of a 1st century hut and Iron Age pottery were seen. These were covered by the foundations of Roman buildings, dating from the 1st to the late 4th century.
Exploration
The cave as far as the Third Chamber and side galleries has always been known. Prior to the construction of a dam at the resurgence to feed water to the paper mill downstream, two more chambers (the Fourth & Fifth) were accessible. Further upstream the way on lay underwater.Diving was first tried by the Cave Diving Group
Cave Diving Group
The Cave Diving Group is a United Kingdom-based diver training organisation specialising in cave diving.The CDG was founded in 1946 by Graham Balcombe, making it the world's oldest continuing diving club...
under the leadership of Graham Balcombe
Graham Balcombe
Graham Balcombe born Francis Graham Balcombe in Manchester, was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder of the Cave Diving Group together with Jack Sheppard....
in 1935. With equipment on loan from Siebe Gorman, he and Penelope ("Mossy") Powell penetrated 170 ft (51.8 m) into the cave, reaching "Chamber 7" using standard diving dress
Standard diving dress
A standard diving dress consists of a metallic diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and boots...
. The events marked the first successful cave dives in Britain.
Diving at Wookey resumed in early June 1946 when Balcombe used his home-made respirator and waterproof suit to explore the region between Resurgence and First Chamber, as well as the underground course of the river between Chamber 3 and Chamber 1. During these dives, the Romano-British remains were found and archaeological work dominated the early dives in the cave. The large Ninth Chamber was first entered on 24 April 1948 by Balcombe and Don Coase. Using this as an advance dive base, the Tenth and then the Eleventh Chambers were discovered. The way on, however, was too deep for divers breathing pure oxygen from a closed-circuit rebreather
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
. The cave claimed its first life on 9 April 1949 when Gordon Marriott lost his life returning from Chamber Nine. Another fatality occurred in 1981 when Keith Potter was drowned on a routine dive further upstream.
Further progress required apparatus which could overcome the depth limitation of breathing pure oxygen. Using an aqualung and swimming with fins, Bob Davies reached the bottom of Chamber 11 at 15 metres (49.2 ft) depth in clear water and discovered the 12th and 13th Chambers. Unfortunately, he got separated from his guideline and the other two divers in Chamber 11, ending up spending three hours trapped in Chamber 13 and had much trouble getting back to safety. Opinion hardened against the use of the short-duration aqualung in favour of longer-duration closed-circuit equipment. Likewise, the traditional approach of walking along the bottom was preferred over swimming.
Employing semi-closed circuit nitrogen-oxygen rebreathers, between 1957 and 1960 John Buxton and Oliver Wells (grandson of science fiction writer H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
) went on to reach the elbow of the sump upstream from Chamber 9 at a depth of 22 metres (72.2 ft). This was at a point known as "The Slot", the way on being too deep for the gas mixture they were breathing.
A six-year hiatus ensued while open circuit air diving became established, along with free-swimming and the use of neoprene wetsuits. The new generation of cave diver was now more mobile above- and under-water and able to dive deeper. Using this approach, Dave Savage was able to reach air surface in the 18th Chamber (Chambers did not have to have air spaces to be so named; they were the limits of each exploration) in May 1966. A brief lull in exploration occurred while the mess of guidelines laid from Chamber 9 was sorted out until John Parker progressed first to the large, dry, inlet passage of Chamber 20 and thence followed the River Axe upstream to Chamber 22 where the way on appeared to be lost.
Meanwhile, climbing operations in Chamber Nine found an abandoned outlet passage which terminated very close to the surface, as well as a dry overland route downstream though the higher levels of Chambers 8 to 6 as far as Chamber 5. These discoveries were used to enable the show cave to be extended into Chamber 9 and helping cave divers to start directly from here and bypassing the dive from Chamber 3.
Eventually, on 23 February 1976, Colin Edmunds found a way on in the static sump at the far end of Chamber 22. Controversially, he was beaten to the discovery of the magnificent active streamway of Chamber 24 by Geoff Yeadon and Oliver Statham a couple of days later. Edmunds returned with Martyn Farr on 27 February 1976 when the latter was able to dive from Chamber 24 into Chamber 25. To this day, Chamber 25 represents the furthest upstream air surface in Wookey Hole Cave. From here the River Axe rises up from a deep sump where progressive depth records for cave diving have been set: firstly by Farr (45m) in 1977, then Rob Parker (68m) in 1985, and finally by John Volanthen and Rick Stanton (76m) in 2004. The following year, the pair returned to explore the cave to a depth of 90m.
In 1996-1997 water samples were collected at various points throughout the caves and showed different chemical compositions. Results showed that the location of the "Unknown Junction", from where water flows to the Static Sump in Chamber 22 by a different route from the majority of the River Axe, is upstream of Sump 25.
Witch of Wookey Hole
The Witch of Wookey Hole is a stalagmiteStalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
in the first chamber of the caves and the central character in an old English legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
. The story has several different versions with the same basic features:
A man from Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
is betrothed to a girl from Wookey. A witch living in Wookey Hole Caves curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
s the romance so that it fails. The man, now a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, seeks revenge on this witch who—having been jilted herself—frequently spoils budding relationships. The monk stalks the witch into the cave and she hides in dark corner near one of the underground rivers. The monk blesses
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
the water and splashes some of it at the dark parts of the cave. Catching the witch off guard, the monk splashes the water at the dark corner she is hiding in. The blessed water immediately petrifies the witch, and she remains in the cave to this day.
It was partly down to the legend of the witch that prompted TV's Most Haunted
Most Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
team to visit Wookey Hole Caves and Mill to explore the location in depth, searching for evidence of paranormal activity. The show, which aired on 10 March 2009, was the last episode transmitted in series eleven of the show's run on the satellite and cable TV channel Living.
In 2009 a new 'witch' was chosen by Wookey Hole Ltd amid much media interest. Carole Bohanan in the role of Carla Calamity was selected ahead of over 3,000 other applicants.
Tourism
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
building, whose water wheel
Water wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
is powered by a small canal from the river, dates from around 1860 and is a Grade II-listed building. The production of handmade paper ceased in February 2008 after owner Gerry Cottle concluded there was no longer a market for the product, and therefore sold most of the historic machinery. Visitors to the site are still able to watch a short video of the paper being made from cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
. Other attractions include the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
yard, a small museum about the cave and cave diving, a theatre with circus shows, House of mirrors
House of mirrors
A house of mirrors or hall of mirrors is a traditional attraction at funfairs and amusement parks. The basic concept behind a house of mirrors is to be a maze-like puzzle. In addition to the maze, participants are also given mirrors as obstacles, and glass panes to parts of the maze they cannot...
and Penny arcade
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade may refer to:* Penny arcade, a venue for coin-operated devices* Penny Arcade ** Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, a series of video games based on the webcomic...
s. Bear Shop.
In 1956, Olive Hodgkinson, a cave guide whose husband's family owned the caves for over 500 years, was a contestant on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
The cave and mill were joined, after purchase, by Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
in 1973 and operated together as a tourist attraction. The present owner is the former circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
proprietor Gerry Cottle who purchased the site for around £6million.
The cave was used for the filming of episodes of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
: the serial Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 19 April to 10 May 1975.-Synopsis:...
(1975) starring Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
. The cast and crew reportedly had several ghostly encounters in the cave. This has since been referenced in the comedy of The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
. The cave was also used in the filming of the British series "Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
" (1978) and "Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood , was a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel...
" (1983).
On 1 August 2006, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported that Barney, a Doberman Pinscher employed as a security dog at Wookey Hole, had destroyed parts of a valuable collection of teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
s, including one which had belonged to Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, which was estimated to be worth $75,000. The insurance company insuring the exhibition of stuffed animals had insisted on having guard dog protection. :“He just went berserk,” said Daniel Medley, general manager of Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the six-year-old Doberman Pinscher named Barney. A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground.
There are plans to open a new hotel as part of the complex in 2009.
In February 2009 Cottle turned the Victorian bowling green next to the caves into a crazy golf course without first obtaining planning permission.
Further reading
- Balch, H.E. (1928) Excavations at Wookey Hole and other Mendip caves 1926-7. Antiquaries Journal 8: 193-210.
- Balch, H.E. & Troup, R.D.R. (1911) A late Celtic and Romano-British cave-dwelling at Wookey-Hole, near Wells, Somerset. Archaeologia 62: 565-592.
- Bell, Alan (1928) Wookey Hole: The cave & its history. A description and history of the three great caverns, their ancient occupation and the legend of the witch of Wookey.
- Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1990) The Romano-British finds from Wookey Hole: a re-appraisal. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History SocietySomerset Archaeological and Natural History SocietyThe Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society was founded in 1849. The Society bought Taunton Castle in 1874, and leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. A substantial proportion of the items held by the Museum were originally collected by the Society...
134: 57-80. - Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1991) A Gazetteer of Romano-British Cave Sites and their Finds. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield.
- Dawkins, W.B. (1862) On a hyaena den at Wookey Hole, near Wells. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 18: 115-126.
- Dawkins, W.B. (1863) On a hyaena den at Wookey Hole, near Wells. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 19: 260-274.
- Dawkins, W.B. (1874) Cave Hunting. London, MacMillan.
- Hanwell, J.D, Price, D.M. & Witcombe, R.G. (eds.)
- Hawkes, C.F.C. (1950) Wookey Hole. Archaeological Journal 107: 92-93.
- Hawkes, C.J., Rogers, J.M. & Tratman, E.K. (1978) Romano-British cemetery in the fourth chamber of Wookey Hole Cave, Somerset. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 15: 23-52.
- Jacobi, R.M. & Hawkes, C.J. (1993) Archaeological notes: work at the Hyaena Den, Wookey Hole. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 19: 369-371.
- Mason, E.J. (1950) Note on recent exploration in Wookey Hole. Archaeological Journal 107: 93-94.
- Mason, E.J. (1951) Report of human remains and materials recovered from the River Axe in the Great Cave of Wookey Hole during diving operations from October 1947 to Jan. 1949. Transactions of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History SocietySomerset Archaeological and Natural History SocietyThe Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society was founded in 1849. The Society bought Taunton Castle in 1874, and leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. A substantial proportion of the items held by the Museum were originally collected by the Society...
96: 238-243. - McBurney, C.B.M. (1961) Two soundings in the Badger Hole near Wookey Hole in 1958 and their bearing on the Palaeolithic finds of the late H.E. Balch. Mendip Nature Research Committee Report 50/51: 19-27.
- McComb, P. (1989) Upper Palaeolithic Artefacts from Britain and Belgium. An Inventory and Technological Description. British Archaeological Reports International Series 481.
- Sanford, W.A. (1870) On the rodentia of the Somerset caves. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 26: 124-131.
- Shaw, T.R. (1996) Why some caves become famous - Wookey Hole, England. Cave and Karst Science 23: 17-23.
- Stack, M.V. & Coles, S.G. (1983) Concentrations of lead, cadmium, copper and zinc in teeth from a cave used for Romano-British burials: effect of lead contamination. . Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 16: 193-200.
- Tratman, E.K. et al. (1971) The Hyaena Den (Wookey Hole), Mendip Hills, Somerset. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 12: 245-279.
- Tratman, E.K. (1975) The cave archaeology and palaeontology of Mendip. In Smith, D.I. & Drew, D.P. (eds) Limestones and Caves of the Mendip Hills. David and Charles, Newton Abbott, pp. 352–403.