Ceiriog Cave, Upper - Entrance filled Length 53m SJ249366 Chirk

A cave with archaeological potential, whose entrance appears to have been lost as a result of tipping by the landowner.

The entrance lies somewhere in a small old quarry, but w hen visited by the writer in 2018, no trace of the entrance was found.

Primary sources describe the cave as:

A crawl over red mud opens into the side of a water-worn passage 2m wide x 1m high. The floor contains remains of stalagmite bosses and the ceiling is covered in a mass of straw stalactites and some helictites. The cave ends at a low bedding plane which could be extended by digging as "it appears to widen out beyond the constriction".

First recorded in 1907 by E. A. Baker and H. E. Balch in 'The Netherworld of Mendip' (page 133).

Entrance re-excavated in 1948 by J. Pierce, W. Day, W.S. Davies and N. Simmons of the Offa Field Club, and resealed on farmers instructions.

Entrance re-excavated in 1962 by Shropshire Caving & Mining Club, the Cave Research Group and the South Wales Caving Club and again resealed on farmers instructions.

Many thanks to D.H.Adams for the above first-hand information (see Bibliography page).

The landowner in 1948 and 1962 was not kindly towards visitors. Things today may have improved. If anyone has any further information, kindly let this website know.

Head for the grid reference above, and the minor quarry workings can easily be seen from the road.

Shropshire Mining Club Account No. 9 (1972) describes the cave as being "north of the road above the farm called Starlings Castle, two miles north west of Selattyn".

Coppy Farm Cave No. 2: - Lost cave - entrance blocked (Cave No 1: SJ0427666788 +/-9ft) Denbigh

Situated between Coppy Farm Caves 1 and 2.

When visited by the writer in the 1970s, it was merely a short crawl partially blocked by boulders, almost midway between Caves 1 & 2. The gentle curve of the passage roof suggested a larger passage blocked by deposits.

When visited in 2013, no trace of the entrance could be found. It may lie below a rough track created by the farmer leading diagonally up to the hillside above.

A short cave exposed by quarrying (but now gone) was found in 1961 by Shropshire Mining Club:

"Permission was gained from Mr. Evans, Manager of Hobbs Quarries, Dyserth, to visit a new cave on the quarry face. A descent of 50ft was made down the crumbly 300ft face to gain entrance to the cave. This was well worth while as it was extremely beautiful. It went in for 40ft to a terminal fall of rock caused by quarry blasting, the passage was roughly 5’ high x 4’ wide except for one short crawl. The first part of the passage was incredibly beautiful containing every imaginable formation of stalactites, stalagmites, rimstone pools, cave pearls, crystal formations, eccentric stalactites, helectites and stalcurtains. The last part of the cave was sadly damaged by nearby blasting and not so well preserved. There is the possibility of further extension as quarrying is continued. A large quantity of good samples of stal formations due to be destroyed were removed for preservation in the Club Room. A more detailed report can be obtained from the Club".

Source: Shropshire Mining Club yearbook 1961-62, page 35. It is available online: http://www.shropshirecmc.org.uk/yearbooks/SMC_Year_Book_1961-62_w.pdf

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Gwaenysgor Cave , Lower - Filled with sewage 'Upper Cave': SJ0802680421 +/-14ft Gwaenysgor Archaeological

Llanymynech Ogof - Mine workings Length: About 350 metres NGR: SJ2657222195 +/-12ft Shropshire (just)

Also called ‘The Ogof’

Survey supplied courtesy of Shropshire Caving & Mining Club

The site is located very close to the English-Welsh border, lying just outside Wales. Although the Welsh term for ‘cave’ is used in the name, the site is entirely comprised of mine workings.

The mine consists of several chambers connected by a series of passages which offer two or three round trips.

Llanymynych Ogof has a long, but sporadic history, dating originally it is thought, to pre-Roman times. It was later worked by the Romans, then in Medieval and post-Medieval times, then lastly in the 1800s when minor work was responsible for the creation of a small shaft, sunk from surface.

Various deliberate burials have been unearthed from within the mine, the latest by a metal detectorist in 2012. This led to C14 testing by the police, of the skull of a 1 or 2 year old dated to 1750 to 1800.

Being close to an ancient hill fort, the mine lies within the boundary of a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Directions: Drive up from the main road following the signs for the Golf Club. Before passing through the gate to enter the course itself, park at the small area off to the left. At the gate, take the public footpath off to the right. This hugs the hedge on your left until, after about 100 yards, the hedge boundary direction bends to the right. The footpath continues straight ahead, crossing the green (a marker post can be seen half way across). Another post indicated where the path enters the woods almost opposite. Take this path for about 10 metres and the mine entrance is just on your right, overlooking the green.

Sources:

A thoroughly researched article by members of Shropshire Mining Club: http://www.llanymynech.org.uk/ll-ech_ogof.HTM

CPAT Report No.1407 (2016): http://orapweb.rcahms.gov.uk/coflein/6/652254.PDF

CPAT Report No.1166 (2012): covering Llanymynych Hill: http://walesher1974.org/herumd.php?linktable=her_source1_link&group=CPAT&level=3&docid=301366168

The account by Thomas Ruddy is copied below..........

The Discovery of the Minera Quarry Cave June 1892

P ublished in Bygones Relating to Wales and the Border Counties 1891-1893 (pages 369-370)

.............. I was taken to the cave. The entrance to it was anything but inviting, but having put on overalls I followed the guide and Mr.Lewis into a hole, something resembling a fox’s earth. I had to lie down on my right side and drag myself head first down a slope with scarcely enough room to wriggle through. After going a few yards in this fashion I got into a long narrow passage where I could nearly stand upright. Each of us had a lighted candle which gave us a good light.

I was soon conducted into a wide passage where there was plenty of room to stand upright; and from this large passage into a large, roomy space, from 40 to 60 feet in length by about 15 feet in width, and over 20 feet in height. The floor was very uneven and deeply covered with damp clay, which made walking very difficult. A great part of the floor was also covered with a thick stalagmite crust, some stalagmites rising like pillars from the floor to the height of from 6 inches to nearly two feet, and being from four to six inches in diameter. Some good stalactites were hanging from the roof like icicles, some were in the form of cylindrical tubes, nearly half a yard in length, and not more than a quarter of an inch in diameter, and composed of clear transparent calcite. Hundreds of the cylindrical tubes had fallen from the roof on to the floor, and were embedded firmly in the stalagmite crust.

I was next conducted into a long and wide chamber with a high roof, but to get to it I had to crawl on hands and knees over the damp clayey floor. The same stalactites and stalagmites were to be seen and the walls of rock were much encrusted with a stalactitic crust. We returned to the first large passage, and by crawling on our hands and knees again we got into another large space with the floor sloping much upwards, and having a very high roof. The floor was thickly covered with stalagmite for the greater part, and there were some beautiful stalactites and pillars of stalagmite.

From this I followed my guide up a narrow passage on hands and knees again; it was like going up a sloping flue until we got into a rough wide space with much broken rock, which evidently had fallen from the roof; the roof was very high and uneven. The floor was partly covered with the usual stalagmitic crusts, and a small stream of water ran over a gravelly bed in one part of it.

I observed several small openings leading away from the principal chambers, but they were too small for anyone to explore them. It is supposed that the whole cave covered nearly two acres; it was laborious work exploring it, and our heads received several hard bumps before we got out again. The cave bears the impress of great antiquity and its proper exploration might lead to important scientific results. At present there is nothing to show that it had ever been explored by man until its discovery about two months ago. Some of the stalagmites are like pillars of alabaster, but most of the best have been carried off (August 24^th 1892).

Notes

• The above report was re-published October 1^st 1965 by J.N.S.Schofield of the Wrexham Caving Club and it has here been re-typed from that source.
• The dashes on the first line infer that the account is only an extract.

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Plas Newydd is a fine period property besides the Menai Straight, Anglesey. After the wooden naval training ship H.M.S. Conway ran aground in the Menai Straight the 1950s, the Marquis of Anglesey opened half of Plas Newydd as a shore base for the cadets. The writer spent three years as a trainee officer here, learning the ropes. Plas Newydd is now owned by the National Trust.

In 2015 the Trust built a modern heating system extracting heat from sea water. During this work, an 'archaeological watching brief' was carried out. This identifies 'at least two caves' and tufa formation at high water mark along the Menai Straight. The description is copied here...... “The pump house occupies a section of the marine walk where the cliff follows a slight concaved plan. The origins of this form is uncertain, however the presence of a series of caves to the north and the presence of what appears to be a flowstone floor running under the line of the cliff to the south suggests the possibility that the slight embayment is the result of a collapsed cave. There are at least two caves immediately to the north of the pump house and a surviving pillar of indurated sediment which has the appearance of having been cave sediment. The caves have been partly blocked with rough stone walling, however there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the caves extend behind the walling, although their full extent is unknown”.

A visit to the site was made by this website in 2016. From a cavers perspective, it appears the ‘caves’ may only be the result of coastal erosion. The calcium-rich waters creating the tufa upon evaporation, appear to originate from seepages higher in the rock-face above. At the moment therefore, the location cannot be included as a cave or caves on this website. The possible 'flowstone floor' is certainly of interest, and does suggest that more work needs to be done at this site.

Although the stone-walling built within the overhang, gives the impression that the ‘cave’ may continue behind the walling, another possible explanation is that during the construction of the old “Marine Walk”, extensive remedial work was carried out to stabilise the hillside above, limiting damage by landslips to the raised footpath which follows the coastline at a height of 2m above high water mark, and the walling may form a part of this work. Closer examination needs to be carried out to establish if the walling merely supports the overhanging roof or is, as suggested, blocking the entrance to a cave or caves.

The Archaeological Assessment was kindly supplied to this website by its author Ian Brooks of Engineering Archaeological Services Ltd.. It is entitled: " Plas Newydd Marine Heat Source Pump: Archaeological Watching Brief". It is available online: http://www.walesher1974.org/her/groups/GAT/media/Non_GAT_Reports/EASreport_2014_05_compressed.pdf

Rhydlydan Rising - Lost - filled SJ13567350 Caerwys

This site has been filled and no trace now exists (re-visited in 2018).

It was a vertical rift 1m wide x 3m long excavated by the writer and others in the 1970s to a depth of 5m to a flooded sump with fluctuating water levels. At this depth the east wall veered away to form a roof with one or two stalactites. The rift resurges in extreme floods and the land-owner claimed that he once heard roaring at his farmhouse (half a mile away to the north), caused by waters issuing from the rift after exceptionally severe flooding. Unfortunately the limestone bedding dips to the east, hence any passage found is likely to lie below the water table. The site may possibly have been of interest to cave divers.

From the road, walk downstream on the east bank for about 30 or 40 metres The entrance is a little above stream level off to the left a few metres past the ruins of an old cottage.

It's worth mentioning that there's a permanent spring (Ffynnon Deg) 400m further down the valley (SJ13357328) and 500m further again there's a slot in a small outcrop where the sound of a small underground stream (perhaps a trickle) can be heard (SJ13377280).