 | |
  Location within Somerset and the United Kingdom | |
| Established | 1893 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wells, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°12′39″N2°38′40″W / 51.2109°N 2.6445°W Coordinates: 51°12′39″N2°38′40″W / 51.2109°N 2.6445°W |
| Website | www.wellsmuseum.org.uk |
The Wells and Mendip Museum is a museum in the city of Wells. It is a registered charity and an accredited member of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The exhibits include items of local history and archaeological finds.
The museum is next to Wells Cathedral, and housed in the former Chancellors' House, with 15th-century origins, however most of the current fabric of the building is from the 17th and 18th centuries. The stone building has gabled roofs of Welsh slate. A small entrance hall provides access to a staircase hall leading to a salon in gothic revival style with a marble fireplace. The front of the building was remodelled around 1828 and the rear includes a 20th-century extension. It has been designated as a Grade II listed building. [1]
It was founded by Herbert E. Balch in 1893, to display his collection of local artefacts and memorabilia, and further exhibits have been added since. It is run by the Wells Natural History and Archaeological Society and moved from its original site in the Cathedral cloister to its present home in 1932. [2]
The Balch Room houses exhibits of geology and fossils collected from the Mendip Hills, many of which date from the Stone Age and Iron Ages. Other exhibits include lead ingots from Roman Britain, statuary from Wells Cathedral, and a collection of 18th century samplers. Speleological exhibits include a skeleton found by Balch in Wookey Hole Caves and thought to be that of the Witch of Wookey Hole; [3] and a collection of animal bones found in 2004, when a cave was discovered in the car park of the Hunters Lodge Inn in Priddy. [4]
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).
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 21 miles (34 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare, 22 mi (35 km) south-west of Bath and 23 mi (37 km) south of Bristol. Although the population recorded in the 2011 census was only 10,536, and with a built-up area of just 3.244 km2 (1.253 sq mi), Wells has had city status since medieval times, because of the presence of Wells Cathedral. Often described as England's smallest city, it is actually second smallest to the City of London in area and population, but unlike London it is not part of a larger urban agglomeration.
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.
Sir William Boyd Dawkins was a British geologist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Curator of the Manchester Museum and Professor of Geology at Owens College, Manchester. He is noted for his research on fossils and the antiquity of man. He was involved in many projects including a tunnel under the Humber, a Channel Tunnel attempt and the proving of coal under Kent.
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).
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.
Ebbor Gorge is a limestone gorge in Somerset, England, designated and notified in 1952 as a 63.5-hectare (157-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Mendip Hills. It was donated to the National Trust in 1967 and is now managed by Natural England as a national nature reserve.
St Cuthbert Out, sometimes Wells St Cuthbert Out, is a civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It entirely surrounds the city and parish of Wells. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 3,749.
Banwell Caves are a 1.7-hectare geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Banwell, North Somerset, England notified in 1963.
The A371 is a primary road in England running from Wincanton to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, through Shepton Mallet, Croscombe, Wells, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Rodney Stoke, Draycott, Cheddar, Axbridge, Winscombe, Banwell and Weston-super-Mare.
Wookey is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length of the village. There used to be a port at Bleadney on the river in the 8th century which allowed goods to be brought to within 3 miles (5 km) of Wells. Wookey is often confused with its sister village Wookey Hole, site of the Wookey Hole Caves.
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.
Eastwater Cavern is a cave near Priddy in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is also known as Eastwater Swallet. It was first excavated in April 1902 by a team led by Herbert E. Balch composed of paid labourers and volunteers from the Wells Natural History Society. Progress was initially slow, but by February 1903 Balch and Willcox had discovered substantial passage, following the streamway down to the bottom of the cave. Dolphin Pot was dug in 1940 by the Wessex Cave Club, with Primrose Pot following in 1950. West End series was the most recent significant discovery, in 1983.
Wookey Hole is a village in Somerset, England. It is the location of the Wookey Hole show caves.
Somerset is a county in the south west of England. It has a varied cultural tradition ranging from the Arthurian legends to The Wurzels, a band specialising in Scrumpy and Western music.
The Bishop's Palace and accompanying Bishops House at Wells in the English county of Somerset, is adjacent to Wells Cathedral and has been the home of the Bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.
John Arthur Sheppard was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder, together with Graham Balcombe, of the Cave Diving Group.
Recreational caving in the United Kingdom dates back to the mid-19th century. The four major caving areas of the United Kingdom are North Yorkshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, and the Mendips. Minor areas include Devon, North Wales, and the Scottish Highlands.
Herbert Ernest Balch MA FSA was an English archaeologist, naturalist, caver and geologist who explored the caves of the Mendip Hills and pioneered many of the techniques used by modern cavers. Born in Wells, he gained a scholarship to The Blue School before leaving school at the age of 14 to become a messenger for Wells Post Office.