Banwell Ochre Caves

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Banwell Ochre Caves
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Shown within Somerset
Area of Search	Avon
Grid reference	ST407593
Coordinates	51°19′47″N 2°51′09″W / 51.3297°N 2.8525°W / 51.3297; -2.8525Coordinates: 51°19′47″N 2°51′09″W / 51.3297°N 2.8525°W / 51.3297; -2.8525
Interest	Geological
Area	12.46 ha (30.8 acres)
Notification	1983 (1983)
Natural England website

Banwell Ochre Cave
Location	Banwell
Depth	12m
Length	62m
Geology	Limestone
Cave survey	Mendip Cave Registry & Archive: (1) and (2)

Banwell Ochre Caves (grid reference ST407593) are a 12.46-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Banwell, North Somerset, notified in 1983.

There are five caves in total which contain the most extensive and accessible yellow ochre workings in the Mendip Hills. A wide variety of ochre types and iron hydroxides (limonites) can be examined in situ, and the evidence of their accumulation as residual ore-bodies associated with Ice Age (Pleistocene) sediments is clearly visible.^[1] The caves are also a nesting site for the Horseshoe bat a protected species.^[2]

The caves were first exploited for ochre mining in the 1930s and worked until 1948.^[2]

Cave one is 62 metres (203 ft) long,^[3] Cave two 154 metres (505 ft),^[4] cave three 92 metres (302 ft)^[5] cave four 62 metres (203 ft)^[6] and cave five 31 metres (102 ft) long.^[7] A small additional cave is choked with rocks at a depth of 4 metres (13 ft).^[8]

References

↑ "SSSI citation sheet". English Nature. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ochre mining in Banwell". Banwell History. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 1". Mendip Cave Registry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 2". Mendip Cave Registry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 3". Mendip Cave Regsitry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 4". Mendip Cave Registry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 5". Mendip Cave Registry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
↑ "Banwell Ochre Cave - 6". Mendip Cave Registry. Retrieved 23 September 2012.

v t e Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon

Aust Cliff Avon Gorge Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Barnhill Quarry Barns Batch Spinney Bickley Wood Bleadon Hill Bourne Bowlditch Quarry Brinkmarsh Quarry Brown's Folly Buckover Road Cutting Burrington Combe Cattybrook Brickpit Clevedon Shore Compton Martin Ochre Mine Court Hill Cullimore's Quarry Damery Road Section Dundry Main Road South Quarry Gordano Valley Ham Green Hampton Rocks Cutting Hartcliff Rocks Quarry Hawkesbury Quarry Hinton Charterhouse Pit Hinton Hill, Wellow Holly Lane Huish Colliery Quarry Kenn Church, Kenn Pier & Yew Tree Farm Kilmersdon Road Quarry Lower Woods Lulsgate Quarry Middle Hope Newton St Loe Nightingale Valley North Road Quarry, Bath Portishead Pier to Black Nore Quarry Steps, Durdham Down Severn Estuary Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall Spring Cove Cliffs Stidham Farm Tytherington Quarry Weston-in-Gordano Winterbourne Railway Cutting Writhlington

Neighbouring areas Gloucestershire Somerset Wiltshire

v t e 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 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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Banwell Ochre Caves

See also

References