Thrupe Lane Swallet

Thrupe Lane Swallet
Location	Croscombe, Somerset
OS grid	ST603458
Coordinates	51°12′38″N 2°34′08″W / 51.21047°N 2.568998°W / 51.21047; -2.568998Coordinates: 51°12′38″N 2°34′08″W / 51.21047°N 2.568998°W / 51.21047; -2.568998
Depth	117 metres
Length	1417 metres
Geology	Limestone
Cave survey	Geological Conservation Review

Thrupe Lane Swallet (grid reference ST603458) is a 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1992. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site.

The name Thrupe Lane comes from the nearby hamlet of Thrupe, which in Anglo-Saxon meant dairy farm.^[1]

The swallet is a small, single pothole cave system that is dominated by a series of deep (117 metres (384 ft)) and mainly vertical passages, which follow fault lines, natural joints in the rock and mineral veins.^[2] It shows a form of cave development not seen elsewhere in the Mendips and contains the tallest vertical shaft in any known cave on the Mendip Hills, Atlas Pot, which is 60 metres (197 ft) deep.^[3] The stream that flows through the cave is one of those that feeds St Andrew's Wells in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace in Wells.^[4]

Thrupe Lane Swallet was first entered in 1974 following digging by three caving groups. The entry shaft has been blasted open to ensure a stable entrance.^[5]

References

↑ Witcombe, Richard (2009). Who was Aveline anyway?: Mendip's Cave Names Explained (2nd ed.). Priddy: Wessex Cave Club. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-9500433-6-4.
↑ "Thrupe Lane Swallet" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
↑ "Mendip Caves: Eastern Mendip". British Geological Survey. 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
↑ "Thrupe Lane Swallet". Mendip Cave Registry and Archive. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
↑ Irwin, David John; Knibbs, Anthony J. (1999). Mendip Underground: A Cavers Guide. Bat Products. ISBN 0-9536103-0-6. —which also contains a detailed description of the cave.

External links

Mendip Cave Registry and Archive
English Nature website (SSSI information)

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

SSSIs	Ben Knowle Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Brean Down Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Bruton Railway Cutting Cheddar Complex Cloford Quarry Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Doulting Railway Cutting Emborough Quarries Glenthorne Godminster Lane Quarry and Railway Cutting Greylake Ham Hill Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Hurcott Farm Hurcott Lane Cutting Lamb Leer Langport Railway Cutting Laycock Railway Cutting Leighton Road Cutting Low Ham Maes Down Maesbury Railway Cutting Miller's Hill, Milborne Wick Moon's Hill Quarry Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Rodney Stoke SSSI Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Seavington St Mary Shepton Montague Railway Cutting Snowdon Hill Quarry St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Thrupe Lane Swallet Vallis Vale Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wookey Hole Wookey Station Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

Neighbouring areas	Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire

Mendip Hills

Settlements	Ashwick Axbridge Banwell Bishop Sutton Blagdon Bleadon Burrington Charterhouse Cheddar Chewton Mendip Compton Bishop Compton Martin Cross Draycott East Harptree Easton Hinton Blewett Hutton Leigh-on-Mendip Litton Oakhill Priddy Rodney Stoke Rowberrow Sandford Shepton Mallet Shipham Ubley Webbington Wells West Harptree Westbury-sub-Mendip Winscombe Wookey Hole

Rivers and lakes	River Axe Cheddar Yeo River Chew River Yeo Lox Yeo River Blagdon Lake Cheddar Reservoir Chew Valley Lake Litton Reservoirs

Hills	Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen Hill Purn Hill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down

Caves and gorges	Attborough Swallet Aveline's Hole Axbridge Ochre Mine Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Burrington Combe Charterhouse Cave Cheddar Gorge Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cox's Cave Eastwater Cavern Ebbor Gorge Fairy Cave Quarry GB Cave Goatchurch Cavern Gough's Cave Hunter's Hole Lamb Leer Longwood Swallet Manor Farm Swallet Picken's Hole Pierre's Pot Priddy Caves Read's Cavern Reservoir Hole Rhino Rift Rod's Pot Shatter Cave Shute Shelve Cavern Sidcot Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stoke Lane Slocker Swildon's Hole Thrupe Lane Swallet Tyning's Barrow Swallet Upper Flood Swallet W/L Cave Wookey Hole Caves

Quarries	Batts Combe Callow Rock Cloford Cloud Colemans Cook's Wood Doulting Stone Dulcote Emborough Fairy Cave Gurney Slade Halecombe Hobbs Holwell Moon's Hill Torr Works Viaduct Whatley Windsor Hill

SSSIs	Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Barns Batch Spinney Blagdon Lake Bleadon Hill Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Burledge Hill Burrington Combe Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Chew Valley Lake Cloford Quarry Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Dolebury Warren Draycott Sleights Ebbor Gorge Emborough Quarries Harptree Combe Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Kingdown and Middledown Lamb Leer Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Perch Rodney Stoke St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Shiplate Slait Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

History	Priddy Circles Cheddar Man Drove Cottage Henge Dolebury Warren Charterhouse Roman Town Fosse Way King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge Priddy Mineries Somerset Coalfield Somerset Coal Canal Cheddar Valley line East Somerset Railway

Transport	Mendip Rail Mendip Way Monarch's Way National Cycle Route 24 A37 road A39 road A368 road A371 road

Councils	Bath and North East Somerset Mendip North Somerset Sedgemoor

Surrounding areas	Chew Valley Somerset Levels North Somerset Levels

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Thrupe Lane Swallet

See also

References

External links