Stump Cross Caverns

Image:Stump Cross Caverns (791409019).jpg

The caverns at Stump Cross lie beneath Greenhow Hill, {{convert|1,275|ft}} above sea level. Their name was taken from Stump Cross, which in ancient times marked the limit of Knaresborough Forest. The area above the caves consists largely of moorland, the nearest towns being Pateley Bridge and Grassington. One mile of the caves have been open to the public for many years, although the entire system is much more extensive than the show caves, extending more than {{convert|4|mi|km|0}}. It has not yet been fully explored.

The system is in a region of limestone extending from Wharfedale to Greenhow and the Craven Fault. Lead has been mined in the region since the era of the Roman Empire.

{{cite book |last1=Lowe |first1=David J. |title=Caves and Karst of the Yorkshire Dales |date=2017 |publisher=British Cave Research Association |isbn=978-0900265488 |pages=28.3–28.6 |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=b89cbe2d30af6cec80eb79ceadb17eba31243c18 |access-date=28 December 2024}}

The caves are thought to have been formed around 500,000 years ago, although the process by which they were created began during a much earlier period in which the region was covered by ocean.{{cite web |url=http://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk/thecaves.htm |title=About the caves |publisher=Stump Cross Caverns |accessdate=22 September 2011}} They were discovered in January 1860 by William and Mark Newbould,{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ramblesinupperw00harkgoog |last=Harker |first=Bailey |title=Rambles in Upper Wharfedale |publisher=Edmunson & Co |year=1869 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ramblesinupperw00harkgoog/page/n266 236]}} who were amongst a group of miners prospecting for lead veins in the Yorkshire Dales.{{cite news |url=http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/nostalgia/nostalgia_history/8247800.Spirits_of_the_lead_miners_that_still_stalk_Stump_Cross/ |title=Spirits of the lead miners that still stalk Stump Cross |newspaper=Craven Herald |date=3 July 2010 |accessdate=21 September 2011}} Some sources have given the date of their discovery as 1858.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2792221.stm |title=Caves become hot property |work=BBC News |date=23 February 2003 |accessdate=21 September 2011}} By 1867 {{convert|1,100|yd}} of the caves had been explored.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/gri_33125015064427 |last=Murray |first=John |title=Handbook for travellers in Yorkshire |publisher=John Murray |year=1867 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gri_33125015064427/page/n318 251]}}

In 1922 the caves were explored more thoroughly by Christopher Long, a student at Caius College, Cambridge.{{cite journal |last1=Reckert |first1=Nick |title=Half a Century On |journal=Cambridge Underground |date=1972 |pages=35–40 |url=https://cucc.survex.com/jnl/1972/50yrs.htm |access-date=17 July 2024}} His discoveries included stalactites in a range of colours, suggesting that they were impregnated with iron and lead.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ofw-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=rk0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6667,5428987&dq=stump-cross+caverns&hl=en |title=A Subterranean Stethoscope |newspaper=Border Cities Star |date=19 August 1922}} Long claimed that he had also discovered an underground lake, but is said to have sealed its entrance when the caves' owners refused to allow him a share of the revenue generated by tourism to the site.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/feb/07/martinwainwright |last=Wainwright |first=Martin |authorlink=Martin Wainwright (journalist) |title=Underground property set to go over the top |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 February 2003 |accessdate=21 September 2011}}

The caverns were sold in 1926 to Septimus Wray, the owner of the Heysham Head Pleasure Gardens, for £400. He installed his son-in-law, Harry Deane Hornby, to run them on his behalf. Wray's grandson, George Gill, later took over the running of the caves, and installed electric lighting and started to promote the caves as a tourist attraction. The caves remained in his family until 2003.{{Failed verification|date=October 2023}} Stump Cross developed into a tourist destination in the decades that followed, gaining an information centre, gift shop and a two-bedroomed cottage for the owners.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/propertymarket/3311682/What-lies-beneath.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505065035/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/propertymarket/3311682/What-lies-beneath.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2013 |last=Wilkinson |first=Paul |title=What lies beneath |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |date=1 March 2003 |accessdate=21 September 2011}}

In 1963 Geoffrey Workman spent 105 days in the caves, a world record, as part of a study on the effects of isolation on the body.{{cite web |url=https://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk/geoff-workman-s-record-breaking-stump-cross-stay-60-years-on |title=Geoff Workman's record-breaking Stump Cross stay: 60 years on |first=Simon |last=Edward |date=22 September 2023 |publisher=Stump Cross Caverns |access-date=26 October 2023}}

The caves gained Site of Special Scientific Interest designation, and the Reindeer Cave was opened to the public in 2000, forty-five years after it was first discovered. In 2001 the caves were affected by the cleanup of nearby farms during the foot-and-mouth crisis.{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/disinfectant_disaster_fear_for_caverns_1_2411007 |title=Disinfectant disaster fear for caverns |newspaper=Yorkshire Post |date=17 July 2001 |accessdate=21 September 2011}} By 2003 over 60,000 people visited the caves every year. In the same year they were put on the market by then-owner Gordon Hanley, a son of George Gill's second wife, for £675,000.

Ownership of the site passed to the Bowerman family, who also part-own the Richmond Brewery Company, which in 2008 released an ale named after Stump Cross.{{cite news |url=http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/2402721.the_ale_now_arriving/ |title=The ale now arriving... |newspaper=Darlington & Stockton Times |date=18 July 2008 |accessdate=21 September 2011}}

Several fossils have been discovered in the Stump Cross system. The initial discoverers of the caves found four near-complete reindeer fossils and a smaller skeleton believed to be that of an unborn reindeer. These have since been privately restored. Christoper Long's 1922 exploration revealed more prehistoric reindeer bones, and also those of wolverines. The wolverine bones are now on display at the site's visitor centre. Bison remains have also been found.

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• [http://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk Stump Cross Caverns website]

Category:Show caves in the United Kingdom

Category:Nidderdale

Category:Caves of North Yorkshire

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Yorkshire

Category:Appletreewick