Lamb Leer () is a 14.59

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

(36.04 acre)

geological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

between

East Harptree East Harptree is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated north of Wells and south of Bristol, on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills overlooking the Chew Valley. The parish has a population of 644. The parish include ...

and

Priddy Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north-west of Wells, Somerset, Wells. The village lies in a small hollow near the summit of the Mendip range of hills, at an elevation of above sea-leve ...

in the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the River Frome, Somerset ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, notified in 1983. The cavern is a fragment of a very ancient major cave system which now contains one of the largest chambers in the Mendip Hills.

History

Several explanations have been suggested for the origin of the name. One links to an old name for the area which was "Lambden". An alternative suggestion is that in the 1670s miners spoke of ''"leirey places, that is cavernous"'' which links to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

word "leer" which means void and may have been introduced by German miners. A more likely explanation is from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

word "lear" meaning empty or void. Lamb Leer Cavern was first found by miners looking for lead around 1676, and in 1681, the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

John Beaumont, the pioneer of pit caving, gave an account of his descent into the cave to the Royal Society. It was rediscovered in 1880, when a new shaft was driven in, and became something of a tourist attraction. By the 1920s, the new shaft had become blocked and in 1936 the original entrance was re-opened. In the late 1930s, a

cablecar Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bic ...

was in place across the Great Chamber. Additional chambers were discovered in the 1960s and 1970s. – which also contains a detailed description of the cave. In 1974, an un-lifelined caver fell off a ladder in Lamb Leer Cavern, and a novice caver who was at the bottom of the ladder was badly injured, resulting in legal action against the caving club for damages.

Access

Access to this cave is not permitted by the landowner.

Description

The system is dry, lying well above the present day water-table, and it is thought that the passages may well have originated before the Ice Age (

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

Period) began. Sediments preserved in the caves are important as they allow

geologists A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the field and the laboratory. Geolog ...

to study the record of the changing environmental conditions which occurred over this long period of time. The entrance shaft is known as Beaumont Shaft.''Your Flexible Friend ... the Ladder'' by Dave Irwin in ''Belfry Bulletin: Journal of the Bristol Exploration Club'', Autumn 2007, Number 529 Vol 36 No 3 The first large chamber encountered is The Beehive which contains a large

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

boss. Next is the Great Chamber which is high and across, and contains some formations. A passage from the roof of the Great Chamber leads to the St Valentine Series of passages, a number of which are well decorated.

References

External links

Lamb Leer Cavern from GCR Database
* {{SSSIs Somerset geological Caves of the Mendip Hills Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1983 Limestone caves Wild caves Geology of Somerset

History

Access

Description

See also

References

External links