Belfry Bulletin Number 008

Belfry Bulletin Vol. 2 No. 8

BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB

December 1947

This is the first number of our second Volume of the B.B. I think we have fulfilled our purpose on bringing out the B.E.C. Mag., and I hope in 1948 to have a much greater number of contributions from Members.

So, to all Members of the B.E.C., Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year’s Caving.

D.T.S., D.H.H. ***************** Minutes of the 1947 Annual General Meeting held at 74. Redcatch Road, Bristol 4, on Saturday, Nov. 29th.

Meeting opened at 6.35pm, there being present:T.F. Stanbury, Mr. and Mrs. Thompsett, A. Needs, G. Fenn, M. Hannam, W. Rucker, G.T. Lucy, J.A. Dwyer, J.V. Morris, D.A. Coase, A. Johnson, J.C. Weekes, J. Ridyard, Miss M. Thompson, P. Wallace, J.D. Pain, A.M. Innes, S.C.W. Herman, P.A.E. Stewart, Miss P. Richards, F.A. Edwards. R.A. Setterington was representing the B.E.C. at the C.R.G. Annual General Meeting and arrived at this (B.E.C.) one at its (C.R.G.) close.

It was proposed by J. Weeks that D.A. Coase be elected Chairman for the meeting. This was seconded by J.A. Dwyer and carried. The 1947 Committee having resigned, the following were elected to represent the club in 1948: T.H. Stanbury (Hon. Sec. & Hon. Treas.); D.H. Hassall (Hon. Editor, B.B.); D.A. Coase (Hut Warden & Hon. Equip. Officer); A.M. Innes (Hon. Librarian); J.C. Weekes.

Hon. Sec. asked if he might have an assistant Sec. appointed for such routine work as making up BB’s etc.; this was agreed to and J.C. Weekes was appointed to the job.

Hon. Sec. reported that: - Owing to the colossal number of small trips taking place, no accurate records could be kept as in previous years, but 48 large scale trips have been organised, and in these, 536 persons went underground. Besides these, there were two and sometimes three smaller trips every weekend.

The year has brought the important discovery of Lower Stoke Lane, of Browne’s Hole, entered a fortnight ago, and the initial penetration of Withybrook Swallet.

A good week’s sport was held in Derbyshire, and several weekends in Wales, together with one in Cornwall, were greatly enjoyed by all concerned.

The Club Library, thanks too the generosity of various persons, has been greatly extended and boasts 195 volumes of various kinds. No opportunities have been missed to purchase books suitable for inclusion.

(These are the most interesting items from the Hon. Sec.’s Report.

Space will not allow his complete report to be printed, or a complete itemised Financial Report. Theses may be inspected at Redcatch Road. Ed.) Arising from the Hon. Sec.’s Report: - D.A. Coase suggested that a loose leaf log book be used after Jan. 1st next. This was agreed by all.

Hon. Treas. Report: During 1947, the Club income was: - £79/7/8.

Whilst expenditure was: £69/16/6½.

BB8. 2 Arising from Hon. Treas. Report: - D.A. Coase proposed that 1/- sleeping fee for the Belfry should cover fuel for the fire as well as for lighting and cooking. This was seconded by S.C.W. Herman and carried.

Hut Warden and Hon. Equipment Officer’s Report: The major item in this report is the Belfry, which has certainly proved its worth. The erection of the Belfry last winter was done under conditions of considerable difficulty in the midst of blizzards etc., but on Feb. 1st. it was officially opened for sleeping. The hut is now weather tight, although one gale threatened to remove it entirely. A large part of the main hut is now lined inside, and the electric lighting has been installed. The generator is at the moment fitted in the ‘married quarters’, and although a lean-to has been constructed at the back for it, it is proposed to leave it where it is for the winter. The lean-to being used meanwhile for storing firewood, timber, etc.

Unfortunately we have erected the Belfry rather near the farm-house with the result that we have received one or two, complaints, about noise late at night and I would stress the importance to all that ALL unnecessary noise is taboo after 10pm, and that anyone entering the lane with M/T after this time should be as quiet as possible.

The major source of difficulty has been the emptying of the detailer. I can’t order anyone to do it, or rather enforce the order; I can only appeal to them. Another point is cleaning up the Belfry, This is done by the same old Regulars, and although they use the place more often than the others it is time that some of the other perishers did their share.

Now for some facts and figures. Since December lst.1946, the Belfry has slept altogether a total of over 400 members, 50 visitors and 30 members of B.C.C., a total of well over 500. The Hon. Treas. has already given you the figures for the Belfry a/c, but I would remind you that in just a year the Belfry has paid for itself and shows a profit of £4/6/-. To date the Belfry has cost £27/15/-.

One trouble with the Hut is that times it is too small. At August Bank Holiday, we had 17 people sleeping in the Belfry and several more had to go to Main’s Barn at Priddy. Although the hut will sleep 12 in comparative comfort, the room available for living in is rather cramped with more than 6 or 8.

Equipment. The tackle has periodically been tested, and the two 35 ft. ladders we took over from the E.C.C. have been scrapped. The rungs have been salvaged and one ladder has been made up with new ropes. The other one has been made up but has not yet been completed. Two ropes, a 40ft and a 60ft have been scraped as well. The 40 ft dural ladder is reported to have frayed on one wire, but it is still down Stoke Lane together with a 20 ft. ladder, a 60ft, rope and some tools. Anyone feeling energetic can retrieve these and return them to the Belfry. Digging implements have been in great demand this year and the small shovels made Les Peters proved very effective. A few more large spades, a pick-axe, and a bucket would be useful however.

The Belfry is now fairly well stocked with equipment although with regard to sleeping gear, a few more blankets, and mattresses would be useful. Also another Primus, half-a-dozen knives, and especially a water container, would prove their worth.

D.A. Coase.

Arising from above: - J.C. Weeks questioned the desirability of a. Running about nude in the vicinity of the Belfry, b. Drunkenness, c. Questionable behaviour. After lengthy discussion it was decided that there should be general tightening up of behaviour generally. R. Wallace proposed that the matter be reviewed at the end of three months by the Committee. This was seconded by Mrs. Tompsett and carried.

J.C. Weeks proposed that a Swear Box be instituted, the fine imposed be 1d. per word, ‘Household Language’ excepted, the box to come into operation on Jan. 1st., and the proceeds, if any, to go to Wells Hospital. After much hilarious discussion as to what was meant by ‘Household Language’, the motion vas seconded by G. Fenn and carried.

R.A. Setterington proposed that the following be entered in the minutes: - ‘That no member of B.E.C. Committee can serve on the governing body of any other Cave Club!’ An amendment by J.M. Tompsett that: - ‘No B.E.C. Committee member may be on the Committee of, or hold any official position in, any other Caving Club at the same time, without the permission of the Committee of the B.E.C.’ was seconded

by J.C. Weeks and carried.

BB8. 3 Omission from Rule Sheet. Hon. Sec. proposed, in view of the agreement at the 1946 A.G.M. not to change the Rule Sheet for 3 years, that the rules omitted be left out permanently, and that the Annual Subs, become due on the anniversary of the member’s date of joining. This was seconded by S.G.W. Herman, and carried unanimously. The principle of the B.E.C. having a Banking account was discussed and agreed to by the meeting, the details to be worked out by the Committee. This was proposed by J.C. Weekes, seconded

by Mrs. Thompsett, and carried unam.

Hon. Sec. presented to D.A. Coase, the membership card won by him in the BB X-word competition.

J.V. Morris told the meeting the Devon Speleo. Socy. have given an open invitation to the Club to use the HQ etc. whenever in the area. A proviso being that an adequate notice be given of such trips. Hon. Sec. asked Mr. Morris to convey the thanks of B.E.C. to D.S.S. and to tell them of course we are delighted to offer similar facilities to D.S.S. whenever they should be on Mendip.

A resume of the C.R.G. A.G.M. was given by Mr. R.A. Setterington, after which the meeting broke up.

Although the shortage of fats, etc. made the usual ‘after A.G.M.’ feed impossible, cake etc. was consumed in large quantities. The thanks of the club are due to the work done by the lady members and especially to the Hon. Sec.’s wife who had the arranging of the room and also the clearing up to see to. ******************** The following outburst was probably caused by the remarks at the A.G.M. concerning Belfry Behaviour.

(Possibly there are other causes). Rather obviously to be sung to the tune of ‘Much Binding in the Marsh’.

At our Belfry on the Hill, The purity campaign has really started, At our Belfry on the Hill, From swearing and bad manners we’ve departed, We’re fixing up Swear Box on the table by the wall, And Don must pay a shilling if he lets his fig-leaf fall, In case the Bristol Brownies should decided to pay a call At our Belfry on the Hill.

At our Belfry on the Hill, Politeness is the order of the day there, At our Belfry on the Hill, In fact it’s really quite a strain to stay there.

Our dear old maiden aunties couldn’t blush at what is said, And fairy tales and fables are the only stories read, At night we say our prayers and then we toddle off to bed, At our Belfry on the Hill.

At our Belfry on the Hill, We used to talk of motor-bikes and caving At our Belfry on the Hill, But now we’re concentrating on behaving, You can bring your little sister and your favourite blonde up too, They wouldn’t mind our language, but they mightn’t like out stew, But if they start complaining, well, they know that they can do At our Belfry on the Hill At our Belfry on the Hill, We’re sure you’ll like our table cloth and flowers At our Belfry on the Hill, We sit and knit to pass away the hours.

Quite early Sunday mornings we go off to church in twos, But first we clean our teeth and comb our hair and shine our shoes, And if we’re offered pints of beer, we graciously refuse, At our Belfry on the Hill.

DIZZIE

BB8. 4 EASTERN MENDIP. The Discovery of Withybrook Cave. by P.M. Browne.

Withybrook Swallet, in the hamlet of Withybrook, is a walled in depression upon the North side of the main road between Oakhill, about half a mile from Stoke. The stream which is usually flowing in to the swallet is conveyed under the road in pipes.

Discovery and Exploration.

The system was opened by Messrs. P.M & L.M. Browne, with Mr. Sam Treasure acting as Engineer. A sloping shaft, some 8ft. in depth, was excavated through sand, gravel and boulders, until on Sept. 10th. 1947, the first open passage was struck. Beyond, the two explorers could see their goal, made inaccessible merely by one massive rock, wedged across the way. Many hours were spent in a vain attempt to force a way through, but finally it was decided to clear the obstruction by blasting.

On Sept.10th., two plugs of explosive were used on the obstinate boulder, which fell with a crash into the ‘chamber’ beyond ------ to be cleared from the jagged opening before the cavern could be entered, but at last the discoverers crept through, and on into the unknown.

Description of the Cave Beyond the bottom entrance shaft, a sloping rift chamber about 14ft. long, 5ft. wide and 8ft. high, with a very unstable roof, goes off to the East. Suddenly a stream course appears and the whole system begins to follow the dip of the strata, running North, at an angle of about 45 degrees for about 40ft. Here the way becomes choked with mud and boulders. Above the sink, a promising, but at present inaccessible, passage leads away. Another interesting passage, running west for 40ft., terminates in two small rift chambers. The second of these runs due south.

Geology and Water.

Geo1ogically speaking this small system is very interesting, for inside it is possible to study the curious system of intersecting rifts and bedding planes, of which the whole District seems to consist.

Although inaccessible to man this ‘fissure system’ must hold many hundreds of gallons of water, (in wet seasons) at a high pressure. The stream, which enters the swallet, I believe to unite with the waters of Stoke Lane Slocker and to reappear at St. Dunstans well some distance below.

P.M.B. 1947 ******************** CAVING IN PALESTINE. Yes, believe it or not, in spite of the troubles in the Holy Land, the heat, and the apparent impossibility of finding a suitable ‘orrid ole’, a B.E.C. member station with the army near Haifa has been successful in discovering a cave. So Greetings to Terry White, and may he soon be wallowing in the cooling waters of Mendip!! Below are extracts from his letter giving a description of his tour through the Goat shelters of Palestine.

We are stationed in a camp just outside of Haifa, and life at the moment is not to bad. At the back of the Camp there is a small range of hills. I have been over them many times, but up till now I have found nothing, startling in the way of carves. There are numerous small holes dotted here and there, but none of these call for a prolonged stay, for at some time or other they have been inhabited by goats, and that speaks for itself.

One cave did turn out to be a little interesting though. The entrance of this one must have been too small for the goats to get in, for we found no traces of them whatever. The first thirty yards we did crawling on our stomachs. The roof then rose until we were able to stand upright. Taking a left and then a right turn, we walked until we we’re brought up by a very narrow passage. Through the passage we came to a small cavern, its floor littered with well gnawed bones, evidence that animals had once lived there. The thought that the animal, or animals, might still be lurking in the rear of the cave, made us sweat a little more. I forgot to mention that the cave was very hot, the hottest cave I have ever been in.

BB8. 5 In the left hand corner of the cavern was another small passage, bearing around to the left. Continuing on through, we came upon another cavern the same size as the last one, and much to our relief it was devoid of any living creatures, although there were plenty of bones to show they had been, none human thank goodness.

Whilst in here we noticed a tight squeeze, through which we emerged to find ourselves by the entrance again. I was disappointed by the finish, but we very lucky to find a cave at all, especially in these regions.

The formations in the cave surprised me, although very poor by our standards. I did not expect to see any with such a dry climate. I could not form an opinion as to the type of Rock it was, but it looked to me to be of a volcanic nature. ********************** ELEPHANT, OR SO IT SEEMS An elephant escaped from the Bristol Zoo last week unnoticed by the Keeper. A woman in Clifton, who had never seen an elephant before, discovered the animal in her garden. She rang up the police and said.

“Hello, there is a strange animal in my garden and its pulling up all my flowers with its tail”. “Is that so, Madam? Then what is it doing with them?” "You wouldn’t believe me if I told you”, she answered. *********************** ADVENTURES OF THE MENACE. EPISODE 2 PRIDHAMSLEIGH CAVE. SOUTH DEPVON. We started out for the cave at the ungodly hour of 0930 hours, in pouring rain. I had been told it was a very muddy cave, but when I saw the large clean entrance I began to doubt it, not for long, however, for it soon dwindled down to a filthy hole something like the upper ox-bow in Stoke Lane, and we quickly became plastered from head to foot. On making some choice remarks about the cave in general, Squeek said, “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet; wait till you see the Deep Well”. The Deep Well was what we intended to Cross. Imagine at high rift with 30ft. of water in the bottom 21ft. long and just too wide to chimney, there you have the Deep Well.

Squeek said, “Well, what did you think of it?” I said, “Personally I don't, but you can only die once".

No, I didn’t fall in (pity Ed.) but by becoming a contortionist, I got safely across. From there we pressed on regardless, until we came to the so-called end, a sump with deep water. I was just making up my mind to dive it when Frank pointed out a hole up in the roof. So up I went, and managed to get to the other side of the sump. I carried on chimneying till I found myself in a pot above another sump, with the passage clearly continuing about two feet under the water, which was about 20ft. deep.

Unfortunately as I was climbing down to get a closer look I slipped and fell head first into the water. I thought I would freeze to death and even language didn’t warm the water up. The bind was that I could not climb back up and had to swim back through the sump. All the others could do when I surfaced was laugh.

From there we took a high level route which we found back to the Deep Well, re-crossed and carried on to the lake. It is not as bad as lakes go, and quite impressive, it is 60ft. deep in the middle. Here accident No. 2 happened. We decided to take some photos, and trying to light the flash powder I must have touched it directly with the candle. All I knew there was a loud bang and I was blind for the next half-hour.

After that I staggered out behind the rest, and arrived at the surface after six hours underground.

We then strolled down through the village and were met by cries of ‘SPIVS’, from the local inhabitants, so we beat a hasty retreat to the hut.

J.V. Morris

BB8. 6 Further List of Publications available in B.E.C. Library (Earlier Lists Appeared in B.B.’s 2, 3 and 6) CAVING Pennine Underground Cave Science No.2 B.S.A. ARCHAEOLOGY List of Ancient Monuments

by N. Thornber

H.M.S.O.

ASTRONOMY The Astronomical Horizon

by Sir J. Jeans

TRAVEL Log of the Fortune

by T. Lindley Life and Exploration of Dr. Livingstone A Scamper through America

by T.S. Pudgson The Great Gold Land of South Africa by S. Faver S. W. Scotland Beautiful Britain LOCAL INTEREST History of Clifton Suspension Bridge A Short History of Malmsbury Miscellaneous Legends and Stories of Ireland River Legends Summer Time in the Country Manual of Botany Legs and Wings The Common Object of the Sea Shore The Fisheries of the World Popular Scientific Recreations Pictorial Chronicle of the Mighty Deep.

FANTASY The Food of the Gods

by N. Piddick

by P. Fargesson

by R. Wilmott

by P. Brown

by T. Wood

by H.G. Wells