Charterhouse Cave
{{Short description|Cave in Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox cave
| photo =
| name = Charterhouse Cave
| map = Somerset
| map_width =
| coordinates = {{coord|51.302558|N|2.750806|W|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| depth = {{convert|228|m|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|4868|m|abbr=on}}
| elevation = {{convert|255|m|abbr=on}}
| location = Charterhouse, Somerset
| geology = Limestone
| grid_ref_UK = ST 4774756201
| access = Locked; access by permit with an approved leader; no novices
| registry = Mendip Cave Registry{{cite mcra |id=118 |name=Charterhouse Cave |accessdate=2012-03-30}}
| survey = [http://www.thegcr.org.uk/GIA%5C12%5Cfigures%5CJPEGsHiRes%5CGCRv12c05f003.jpg The Geological Conservation Review]
}}
Charterhouse Cave, on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, is the deepest cave in southern England.{{cite web|url= http://www.ukcaves.co.uk/onecave-charterhouse |title= Charterhouse Cave| publisher= UK Caves database |access-date=5 September 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcaves.co.uk/all-deepest|title=Deepest caves|work=ukcaves.co.uk|publisher=UK Caves database|access-date=8 September 2009}}
History
Charterhouse Cave was first excavated in 1972. By 1977 the Sidcot School Speleological Society had reached Bat Chamber,{{cite journal |author=Chapman,P.R.J.|author2=Moody,A.A.D.|author3=Moody,P.D.|author4=Smart,P.L.|title=Charterhouse Cave: Exploration, geomorphology and fauna |year=1984|publisher=UBSS|journal=UBSS Proceedings|volume=17 | issue = 1 |pages=5–27|url=http://www.ubss.org.uk/search_literature_browse.php?ArticleId=308&ArticleName=The+hydrology+of+the+Burrington+Area%2C+Somerset
}} although the first main breakthrough into the system was made in 1982.{{cite book |last=Irwin |first=David John |author2=Knibbs Anthony J. |title=Mendip Underground: A Cavers Guide |year= 1999 |publisher=Bat Products |isbn=0-9536103-0-6 }}
Active exploration continues and breakthroughs were made in April 2008{{cite journal |author=Moody, P.|title=Breakthrough by WCC in Charterhouse Cave |year=2008|publisher=UBSS|journal=UBSS Newsletter|volume=3 | issue = 9 |pages=1–2|url=http://www.ubss.org.uk/resources/newsletter/UBSS_NL_web_series3_v1_sv9.pdf}}[http://www.mendipcavinggroup.org.uk/sections/news/oldnews.html Breakthrough by WCC in Charterhouse Cave] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121231452/http://mendipcavinggroup.org.uk/sections/news/oldnews.html |date=21 November 2008 }}, Mendip Caving Group newsletter April 2008, when {{convert|300|m|ft}} of passage big enough to walk through was discovered, and again when the Portal Pool Sump was passed in May 2009 revealing another {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} of passage. Continued exploration in 2010 and 2011 brought the cave to its current length and depth
Access
The cave is situated on land owned by Somerset Wildlife Trust. Because of the various well-preserved formations in the cave, the entrance blockhouse is kept locked and access is restricted to those with permits issued by member clubs of the Charterhouse Caving Company.{{cite web|title=The Charterhouse Area and the Charterhouse Caving Company Ltd|url=http://charterhouse-caving-company.ltd.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=start|publisher=Charterhouse Caving Company Ltd|access-date=21 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426000406/http://charterhouse-caving-company.ltd.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=start|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead}} For the same reason, no novices or cavers aged under 16 are allowed to enter.{{cite web|url= http://www.ubss.org.uk/cave_access_mendip_wales.php |title= Access to Caves in Mendip and Wales| publisher=University of Bristol Spelaeological Society |access-date=5 September 2009}}{{cite web |url= http://www.cscc.org.uk/registry/registry_view.php?SiteNameLettersOnly=CHARTERHOUSE%20CAVE |title= Charterhouse |publisher= Council of Southern Caving Clubs |access-date= 9 November 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000737/http://www.cscc.org.uk/registry/registry_view.php?SiteNameLettersOnly=CHARTERHOUSE%20CAVE |archive-date= 21 July 2011 |url-status= dead }}
Description
The cave has three large chambers, Midsummer Chamber, The Citadel, and Times Square; The Citadel is almost as large as the chambers in GB Cave and Lamb Leer.Hendry, P., Charterhouse Cave goes on and on, [http://www.mendiptimes.co.uk Mendip Times magazine], September 2009 There are a number of long, fairly straight passages which are approximately {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} across and the same high.
Various parts of the cave contain delicate formations, including Forbidden Passage, Midsummer Chamber, The Citadel, The Grotto of the Singing Stal, and the First and Second Inlets.
When Portal Pool Sump was passed in May 2009, about {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} of new passage was discovered, as well as a number of side-passages. Surveys conducted after the breakthrough in May 2009 show approximately {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} of passage, with an estimated 500 m unsurveyed plus a number of leads yet to be explored. The surveys have also confirmed the depth at over {{convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
The stream in nearby GB Cave flows into Charterhouse Cave and ultimately rises near Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, approximately {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} away.
Fauna
There is a hole in the concrete blockhouse over the entrance to the cave to allow the entrance of bats.
The insect life found within the cave is fairly typical of caves on the Mendip Hills, including a number of troglophiles and troglobites such as the freshwater shrimp (niphargus fontanus) and the springtail (onychiurus schoetti).
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite mcra|id=118|name=Charterhouse Cave}}
- Picture of the [http://www.fuchsiamagic.com/caving/ch2.jpg Grotto of the Singing Stal]
{{Mendip Hills}}