Balch Cave
Encyclopedia
Balch Cave is a cave in Fairy Cave Quarry
, near Stoke St Michael
in the limestone of the Mendip Hills
, in Somerset
, England
. The cave is part of the complex of passages feeding to St. Dunstan's Well Catchment
Site of Special Scientific Interest
and an abandoned Bristol Water
abstraction point.
It is named in honour of Herbert E. Balch
who was famous for his exploration of the Caves of the Mendip Hills
.
The cave was broken into by quarry blasting in November 1961. Much of the cave has since been quarried away and by the end of the 1960s, major sections were destroyed.
An exploration in December 1961 found a series of decorated rifts, mainly of sparkling flowstone, with a grotto fillet with pure white stalactites and pillars and a set of "organ pipes" about 10 feet (3 m) wide and 15 feet (5 m) high.
A further visit in January 1962 explored the fourth chamber which is richly ornamented with white and cream flowstone, several narrow curtains, and miscellaneous white stalactites, and the fifth and sixth chambers with multiple Stalagmite formations.
In the subsequent years continued blasting from the quarry breached the central chambers of the cave destroying some 425 feet (130 m) of passages, with rockfalls destroying many of the remaining formations, and rendering other sections of the cave inaccessible. Stabilisation work at the end of the quarry's life resulted in the destruction of a further 300 feet (91 m) of passage, including the original entrance series and Great Chamber.
The Fairy Caves Management Committee administers the access to this cave on behalf of the quarry owners. The cave is closed from 1 October to 30 April to protect the hibernating bats.
Fairy Cave Quarry
Fairy Cave Quarry is between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s. In 1963 the quarry was acquired by Hobbs Ltd., and production on a much larger scale began...
, near Stoke St Michael
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:...
in the limestone of the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The cave is part of the complex of passages feeding to St. Dunstan's Well Catchment
St. Dunstan's Well Catchment
St. Dunstan's Well Catchment is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, covering near Stoke St Michael in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1967.Formerly known as Stoke St Michael Slocker.- Geological :...
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
and an abandoned Bristol Water
Bristol Water
Bristol Water supplies 300 million litres of drinking water to over 1 million customers in a area centred on Bristol, England. It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991...
abstraction point.
It is named in honour of Herbert E. Balch
Herbert E. Balch
Herbert Ernest Balch MA FSA was an English archaeologist, naturalist, caver and geologist who explored the Mendip Hills' underground labyrinths and pioneered many of the techniques used by modern cavers...
who was famous for his exploration of the Caves of the Mendip Hills
Caves of the Mendip Hills
The Caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills, with large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain.- Geology :...
.
The cave was broken into by quarry blasting in November 1961. Much of the cave has since been quarried away and by the end of the 1960s, major sections were destroyed.
An exploration in December 1961 found a series of decorated rifts, mainly of sparkling flowstone, with a grotto fillet with pure white stalactites and pillars and a set of "organ pipes" about 10 feet (3 m) wide and 15 feet (5 m) high.
A further visit in January 1962 explored the fourth chamber which is richly ornamented with white and cream flowstone, several narrow curtains, and miscellaneous white stalactites, and the fifth and sixth chambers with multiple Stalagmite formations.
In the subsequent years continued blasting from the quarry breached the central chambers of the cave destroying some 425 feet (130 m) of passages, with rockfalls destroying many of the remaining formations, and rendering other sections of the cave inaccessible. Stabilisation work at the end of the quarry's life resulted in the destruction of a further 300 feet (91 m) of passage, including the original entrance series and Great Chamber.
The Fairy Caves Management Committee administers the access to this cave on behalf of the quarry owners. The cave is closed from 1 October to 30 April to protect the hibernating bats.
See also
- Caves of the Mendip HillsCaves of the Mendip HillsThe Caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills, with large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national centre for caving. The hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain.- Geology :...