Cheddar Yeo

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Cheddar Yeo
Dam below Cheddar Gorge.jpg
The dam at the bottom of Cheddar Gorge
Location
Country England
District Somerset
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationCheddar, Somerset, England
 • coordinates 51°16′54.45″N2°45′58.93″W / 51.2817917°N 2.7663694°W / 51.2817917; -2.7663694
Mouth River Axe
 • location
Near Rackley, Somerset, Somerset, England
 • coordinates
 51°17′22.96″N2°53′30.37″W / 51.2897111°N 2.8917694°W / 51.2897111; -2.8917694 Coordinates: 51°17′22.96″N2°53′30.37″W / 51.2897111°N 2.8917694°W / 51.2897111; -2.8917694

The Cheddar Yeo is a small river in Somerset, England. [1] Beneath the limestone of the Mendip Hills it forms the largest underground river system in Britain. [2] After emerging into Cheddar Gorge it flows through the village of Cheddar, where it has been used in the past to power mills. From the Middle Ages until the 19th century the river had ports for seagoing vessels but is no longer navigable. Some of the water, which is of good quality, is diverted into Cheddar Reservoir to provide drinking water for Bristol.

Contents

Course

Inside Gough's Cave Gough's Cave, Alladdin's Cave.jpg
Inside Gough's Cave

The Yeo rises from a spring near Charterhouse and then disappears under the Limestone of the Mendip Hills before reappearing in Gough's Cave before emerging into Cheddar Gorge. Within Gough's Cave the river forms the largest underground river system in Britain. [2] [3] From a point relatively close to the areas of the cave open to the public, the cave-divers' descent into Sump 1a begins through a tight passage known as Dire Straits. The bottom of that passage opens into the river passage, which is several meters across. This has been explored for 335 m (1,099 ft) downstream, whilst upstream a dive of 150 m (490 ft) brings the diver out in a 20 m (66 ft) long chamber named Lloyd Hall (which can now also be reached by an alternative, dry, route). [4] [5] Another dive of 140 m (460 ft) through Sump 1b, finishing with an ascent through a rising passage, leads to another chamber, 60 metres (197 ft) long and 25 metres (82 ft) wide at its widest point, and full of large boulders, called Bishop's Palace. This chamber is the largest chamber currently found in the Cheddar caves. Further on, three sump pools (named the Duck Ponds) lead to Sump 2 which is about 27 metres (89 ft) deep at its lowest point and 150 metres (492 ft) long. [4] [5] Air is again reached at Sheppard's Crook, which is followed by Sump 3. This sump is 55 metres (180 ft) deep and at its bottommost point is about 30 metres (98 ft) below sea level. Following Sump 3, a wide ascending passage continues for 370 metres (1,214 ft) before reaching an impassable blockage, still below the water's surface. [4] [5]

After emerging from the cave the river flows through Cheddar past the site of a Saxon palace, [6] [7] in the grounds of The Kings of Wessex School, together with a 14th-century chapel dedicated to St. Columbanus. [8] Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site. [7] [9]

It then flows south under a disused railway bridge which used to carry the Cheddar Valley line and west through Rackley before joining the River Axe.

The catchment area is 54 square kilometres (21 sq mi). [3]

History

The Cheddar Yeo at Hythe Cheddar Yeo from Hythe Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 193386.jpg
The Cheddar Yeo at Hythe

As early as 1527 there are records of watermills on the river. [7] In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which ground corn and made paper, with 13 mills on the Yeo at the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915. [10] In the Victorian era it also became a centre for the production of clothing. [2] The last mill in Cheddar, which was used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s. [10]

Rackley was a trading port in the Middle Ages following construction of a wharf in 1200. In 1324 Edward II confirmed it as a borough, however by the end of the 14th century the port was in decline. [11] In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from Wells used Rackley to export cloth and corn to Portugal, and received iron and salt in exchange. Later slate was imported through this route and it may have still be possible to trade through Rackley until the act of 1915 authorising the drainage of the Axe and installation of the flood gate at Bleadon. [12]

There was also a small port at Hythe on the Wedmore Road, just south of Cheddar, which was used until the 19th century. [13]

Reservoir

The arches which can be seen in the centre are the start of the pipe transporting water to the reservoir Cheddar Yeo weir and reservoir feed.jpg
The arches which can be seen in the centre are the start of the pipe transporting water to the reservoir

Water from the river also flows into Cheddar Reservoir which is a circular artificial reservoir operated by Bristol Water. The inlet grate for the 54 inches (1.4 m) water pipe that is used to transport the water can be seen next to the sensory garden in Cheddar Gorge. Dating from the 1930s, the reservoir has a capacity of 135 million imperial gallons (610,000 m3). [14] It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its wintering waterfowl populations. [15]

In 2007 it announced that the new reservoir close to the existing site would be one of the options considered in its Draft 2009 Water Resources Plan. [16] [17] The new reservoir would hold 6,000 million litres, roughly the same size as the existing reservoir, and built on the alluvial flood plain the Cheddar Yeo. [18]

Water quality

The Environment Agency have rated the Cheddar Yeo as having moderate water ecological quality, but failed the chemical assessment in 2016. [19]

Related Research Articles

Cheddar, Somerset Human settlement in England

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.

Wookey Hole Caves Series of limestone caverns in Somerset county, England

Wookey Hole Caves are a series of limestone caverns, a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England. The River Axe flows through the cave. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for both biological and geological reasons. Wookey Hole cave is a "solutional cave", one that is formed by a process of weathering in which the natural acid in groundwater dissolves the rocks. Some water originates as rain that flows into streams on impervious rocks on the plateau before sinking at the limestone boundary into cave systems such as Swildon's Hole, Eastwater Cavern and St Cuthbert's Swallet; the rest is rain that percolates directly through the limestone. The temperature in the caves is a constant 11 °C (52 °F).

Cheddar Gorge Valley in Somerset, England

Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites. The gorge is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Cheddar Complex.

Mendip Hills Range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England

The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Chew Valley and other tributaries of the Avon to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which administers most of the area. The higher, western part of the hills, covering 198 km2 (76 sq mi) has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which gives it a level of protection comparable to a national park.

Swildons Hole cave in Somerset, England

Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At 9,144 metres (30,000 ft) in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

River Axe (Bristol Channel) river in Somerset, England

The River Axe is a river in South West England. The river is formed by water entering swallets in the limestone and rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley. The geology of the area is limestone and the water reaches Wookey Hole in a series of underground channels that have eroded through the soluble limestone. The river mouth is in Weston Bay on the Bristol Channel.

Burrington Combe

Burrington Combe is a Carboniferous Limestone gorge near the village of Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England.

Geology of Somerset

Somerset is a rural county in the southwest of England, covering 4,171 square kilometres (1,610 sq mi). It is bounded on the north-west by the Bristol Channel, on the north by Bristol and Gloucestershire, on the north-east by Wiltshire, on the south-east by Dorset, and on the south west and west by Devon. It has broad central plains with several ranges of low hills. The landscape divides into four main geological sections from the Silurian through the Devonian and Carboniferous to the Permian which influence the landscape, together with water-related features.

Cheddar Reservoir A reservoir in Somerset, England

Cheddar Reservoir is an artificial reservoir in Somerset, England, operated by Bristol Water. Dating from the 1930s it has a capacity of 1350 million gallons (6,140,000 cubic metres). The reservoir is supplied with water taken from the Cheddar Yeo river in Cheddar Gorge. The inlet grate for the 54 inches (1.4 m) water pipe that is used to transport the water can be seen immediately upstream from the sensory garden in Cheddar Gorge. It lies to the west of the village of Cheddar and south east of the town of Axbridge. Because of this it is sometimes known as Axbridge Reservoir. It is roughly circular in shape, and surrounded by large earth banks which are grazed by sheep.

Blagdon Lake Lake in the United Kingdom

Blagdon Lake lies in a valley at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, close to the village of Blagdon and approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Bristol, England. The lake was created by Bristol Water, when it dammed the River Yeo, starting construction in 1898, to designs by Charles Hawksley, and completing this in 1905. The Wrington Vale Light Railway was constructed primarily to bring building materials for the lake.

Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest

Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset. The line of hills runs for approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust who bought 725 acres (293 ha) in 1985, and much of it has been designated as common land. It was notified as an SSSI by Natural England in 1952.

Compton Bishop Human settlement in England

Compton Bishop is a small village and civil parish, at the western end of the Mendip Hills in the English county of Somerset. It is located close to the historic town of Axbridge. Along with the village of Cross and the hamlets of Rackley and Webbington it forms the parish of Compton Bishop and Cross.

Goughs Cave Cave and archaeological site in the United Kingdom

Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is 115 m (377 ft) deep and is 3.405 km (2.12 mi) long, and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.

Caves of the Mendip Hills

The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: 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.

GB Cave limestone cave in Somerset, England

GB Cave is a cave between Charterhouse and Shipham in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England.

Stoke Lane Slocker limestone cave in Somerset, England

Stoke Lane Slocker is a cave near Stoke St Michael, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in the English county of Somerset.

The Mendip Way is an 80-kilometre (50 mi) long-distance footpath across the Mendip Hills from Weston-super-Mare to Frome. It is divided into two sections.

Charterhouse Cave

Charterhouse Cave, on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, is the deepest cave in southern England.

Geography of Somerset

The county of Somerset is in South West England, bordered by the Bristol Channel and the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, and Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south, and Devon to the west. The climate, influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the prevailing westerly winds, tends to be mild, damp and windy.

Reservoir Hole

Reservoir Hole is a cave in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, southwest England. It contains what is believed to be the largest chamber yet found under the Mendip Hills.

References

  1. ↑ There are several rivers called the Yeo in the West Country of England: see River Yeo. Yeo is from a Saxon word ēa, meaning simply "river", "stream", or "water" district (cf. French l'eau)'.
  2. 1 2 3 "A brief history of Cheddar". Cheddar Web Site. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Cheddar Yeo". Somerset Rivers. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Thomas, Alan (1989). The Last Adventure. Wells: Ina Books. ISBN   1-869897-05-6. which contains a first-hand account of the exploration of the river passage by Richard Stevenson
  5. 1 2 3 Irwin, David John; Knibbs Anthony J. (1999). Mendip Underground: A Cavers Guide. Wells: Bat Products. ISBN   0-9536103-0-6. – which also contains a detailed description of the cave.
  6. ↑ Rahtz, Phillip. "The Saxon and Medieval Palaces at Cheddar, Somerset — an Interim Report of Excavations in 1960–62" (PDF). Archaeology Data Service. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 Richardson, Miranda (2003). "Cheddar Archaeological Assessment" (PDF). Somerset Extensive Urban Survey. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Former chapel dedicated to St Columbanus". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  9. ↑ "School dig uncovers Roman grave". BBC News. 20 January 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  10. 1 2 Outhwaite, John. "A Short History of Cheddar". Cheddar Parish Council. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  11. ↑ "An archaeological assessment of Rackley" (PDF). Somerset County Council. Retrieved 26 November 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ↑ Toulson, Shirley (1984). The Mendip Hills: A Threatened Landscape. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN   0-575-03453-X.
  13. ↑ "The Cheddar Yeo or Cheddar Water". Real Alternative Site. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  14. ↑ "Cheddar Reservoir Introduction". Bristol Water. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  15. ↑ English Nature SSSI information for Cheddar Reservoir Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "Strategic Environmental Assessment of Bristol Water's Draft Water Resources Plan — Scoping Report" (PDF). Entec. October 2007. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  17. ↑ "Water Resources Plan" (PDF). Bristol Water. April 2004. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  18. ↑ "WR1 – Cheddar Reservoir Number 2 Preliminary Design Report" (PDF). Bristol Water. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  19. ↑ "Cheddar Yeo - source to conf Stubbingham Rhyne". Environment Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
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