Stoke Lane Slocker () is a cave near

Stoke St Michael Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills north east of Shepton Mallet, and west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History Since the 14th century the village has also been known as Stoke Lane, ...

, in the

Carboniferous Limestone Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian Epoch of the Carboniferous Period. These rocks formed between 363 ...

of the

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

, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. It is 2.18 km in length and reaches a depth of 30m. – which also contains a detailed description of the cave. It was previously known as Stoke Lane Swallet, but now the local name is preferred. The origin of the word ''"Slocker"'' is obscure, possibly from ''"slock"'' meaning to entice or lure away although the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

word for

swallow hole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

is ''"sluighaire"''.

History

It is believed that the first person to explore the cave in modern times was a Mr Marshall from

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultu ...

around 1905, but major exploration and measurement of this cave really started in 1947 when Sump 1 was reached. That sump was passed the same year and the decorated chambers of Stoke Two discovered. Sumps 2 to 7 were passed over the course of the 1960s. The Bailey-Ward series of chambers was discovered in 1971. Cases of

Weils Disease Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...

have been reported in those who have been into the cave.

Description

The submerged entrance to the cave lies near the disused Stoke Lane Quarry, and from it an underground stream emerges into daylight to feed a water-source known as St Dunstan's Well. The cave has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county coun ...

, ''Quarrying in Somerset: a survey of the history, practice and prospects of the quarrying industry in North Somerset and an examination of conflicting interests'' (Somerset County Council Planning Department, 1971), p. 290: "The disadvantage of this quarry is that it lies close to Stoke Lane Slocker, one of the major cave systems in Mendip, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, through which flows an underground stream feeding St Dunstan's Well." Stoke One (the length of passage between the entrance and

Sump A sump is a low space that collects often undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. Sump can also refer to an area in a cav ...

1), is mainly made up of low passageways. However the Bailey-Ward Series of chambers includes Bernard's Rift, which is high and contains crystal pools containing

calcite Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scra ...

-encrusted

goniatite Goniatids, informally goniatites, are ammonoid cephalopods that form the order Goniatitida, derived from the more primitive Agoniatitida during the Middle Devonian some 390 million years ago (around Eifelian stage). Goniatites (goniatitids) survi ...

snail shells, and

cave pearl A cave pearl is a small, usually spherical, speleothem (cave formation) found in limestone caves. Cave pearls are formed by a concretion of calcium salts that form concentric layers around a nucleus. Exposure to moving water polishes the surf ...

s. The area between Sumps 1 and 2, Stoke 2, contains a number of highly decorated chambers including the Upper Grotto, Traverse Grotto and the Throne Room which contains a high

stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

boss named ''The King'' and a second stalactite, high, named ''The Queen'' after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. The once-spectacular formations in the Princess Grotto have suffered damage since the cave was discovered. When the Bone Chamber, which is not decorated, was found it contained a number of human and animal bones, along with ash and charcoal. Beyond the second sump is a long stretch of passage containing a further six sumps.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.22527, -2.47581, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST66874745), display=title, format=dms Caves of the Mendip Hills Limestone caves

History

Description

See also

References

External links