Priddy Pools () is a

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 ...

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 1972. The pools provided the water supply for the Priddy Mineries which is now a

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Biological

This site supports a very rich invertebrate and amphibian fauna. A wide range of seminatural habitats are present, including valley mire, open water, swamp and tall fen. These habitats have a restricted distribution in the Mendip Hills. Priddy Pools is situated in the central Mendip

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

orefield and the ecology of the area bears the mark of the lead industry. The northern pool was dammed in the 1850s to provide a supply of running water for the sifting and washing of slag. Lead was processed at St Cuthbert's Works until 1908. The hydrology of the site is complex. Nutrient-poor water flows from springs in the north of the site to St Cuthbert's Swallet where it disappears before re-emerging at Wookey Hole. A valley mire has developed in the area immediately to the south of the springs. Sphagnum recurvum and Sphagnum auriculatum are the most frequent mosses, and a range of higher plants can be found. Additional interest lies in the flora that can tolerate high concentrations of lead in the soil such as spring sandwort (''Minuartia verna'') and the

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

'' Ditrichum plumbicola''. Priddy Pools supports a very rich fauna. Fifteen species of

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

have been recorded; as well as supporting the only population of downy emerald in the Mendips, the site hosts the notable four-spotted chaser (''Libellula quadrimaculata'') and ruddy darter (''Sympetrum sanguineum''). Five British species of amphibian occur and there are good populations of great crested newt (''Triturus cristatus''),

smooth newt The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt (''Lissotriton vulgaris'') is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced species, introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown ...

(''Triturus vulgaris'') and palmate newt (''Triturus helveticus''). Three species of reptile, viviparous lizard (''Lacerta vivipara''), adder (''

Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, ...

''),

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecie ...

(''Natrix natrix''), and at least two species of fish;

European perch The European perch (''Perca fluviatilis''), also known as the common perch, redfin perch, big-scaled redfin, English perch, Euro perch, Eurasian perch, Eurasian river perch, Hatch, poor man's rockfish or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the ...

, (''Perca fluviatilis'') and

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

(''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') are present. Breeding birds include moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''),

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usual ...

(''Fulica atra''),

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

(''Anas platyrhynchos''), reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') and sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus''). Priddy Pools is an important research site. Detailed study of the

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

in the northern pool was carried out in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as part of the International Biological Programme.

Geological

The site contains the entrance to St Cuthbert's Swallet cave, and overlies a large part of the cave complex reached through St Cuthbert's Swallet. This cave is an integral part of the Priddy Caves system which contains over 10 miles of surveyed cave passages divided between two major systems and four minor systems, all interconnected. All the caves are sink hole systems, fed by sink holes at the ground surface, and 3 of them exceed 100 metres in depth; in all the caves the detailed disposition and form of the passages can be seen clearly to have followed marked lines of natural weakness in the rocks. St Cuthbert's Swallet was formed by the erosive action of water flowing beneath the water-table at considerable depth (so called "phreatic development"). St Cuthbert's Swallet is a classic example of a deep

phreatic ''Phreatic'' is a term used in hydrology to refer to aquifers, in speleology to refer to cave passages, and in volcanology to refer to a type of volcanic eruption. Hydrology The term phreatic (the word originates from the Greek , meaning "well" ...

cave system, containing inclined bedding plane mazes at many levels, fault-guided rifts and some significant chambers. Nine successive phases of

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

deposition,

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 ...

deposition and stream erosion have been recognised in St Cuthbert's Swallet, providing an exceptional record of environmental change through the warm and cold phases of the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

Use in literature

In his 1995 book " Our Game",

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

uses "Priddy Pool" as the site for the drowning of one of his characters.

References

External links

Priddy Caves in GCR databaseBristol Exploration Club
{{SSSIs Somerset biological Mendip Hills Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1972 Wetland Sites of Special Scientific Interest Geology of Somerset