MERE GILL HISTORY

It is necessary to make a summary of the history of the successful attacks of 1912 and 1914, and of the visits of 1934 1935 to the extra 200 yards found at the end of the long final passage, owing to loose statements recently published.

The low entrance to the cavern on the beach at the foot of the waterfall into the great surface rift was unnoticed till 1904, or probably 1905, by the end of which year its existence was quite well known.

Whitsun, 1905, and Easter, 1906. Messrs. E. Simpson, F. Howorth, C. E. Burrow, R. F. Cook, C. Stringer and D. Burrow reach the head of the Second pitch.

Whitsun, 1907. The first of seven camps by the pothole arranged by the late Frank Payne. Entrance hopelessly under water. The fall was persuaded into a wooden trough and thence into a canvas pipe which finally broke loose. H. Williamson went down in a bathing suit and boots and felt the edge of the entrance, but it is a legend that he dived through.

Whitsun, 1908 (see Y.R.C.J., II, p. 312 and IV, 30). Payne, Hoessly, Roberts, Boyd and Oechlin reached the Second pitch, using ropes only, the hand and body line method. Hoessly and Roberts were lowered, and made the first march down the Canyon to the Third Pitch.

July, 1908 (see above). Night Attack. Thirteen men went down, and unsuccessful attempts were made to fix a pulley at the Second Pitch. Hoessly, Roberts, Boyd, Erik Addyman and Hazard reached the Third and made partial descents. The use of ropes only was found quite unsuitable, far too much friction particularly at the head of the Second.

In 1909 the Mere was hopelessly high and the party became involved in the Gaping Gill Flood adventure. In 1910 the Sunset Hole accident happened. At the easiest and simplest place for a straight drop on a single rope over a pulley which I have ever seen, the second rope was discarded as a nuisance, but the body line broke at a rotten place and Boyd’s thigh was broken. Talk of complicated methods, such as counterpoise (whatever that is), is nonsense.

Whitsun, 1911 (see Y.R.C.J., IV., 30). Heavy wide ladders, home-made. Trench dug and the stream juggled with to get the Mere as low as possible. Payne, Hazard, Addyman, Stobart and Roberts. The last two went down the Third Pitch and discovered two pools beyond. That Whitsun men had to return on Monday night.

Coronation Week. Payne, Hazard, Addyman and Roberts left the Third Pitch ladders ready tied and returned to the surface in 70 minutes. Rain for 36 hours set in that night, and even a week later the Mere was still drowning the cave.

Whitsun, 1912 (see IV, 30). Victory! Payne, Erik Addyman, Hazard, Stobart, E. E. Roberts, and R. E. Wilson (killed in E. Africa) descended the Third pitch. Addyman was sent on and reported to Hazard, Stobart and Roberts a passage over J mile. These three went right past the Torrent, lost the water among stones and crawled forward over stones till jammed between floor and roof. Y.R.C.J., IV, p. 41, begins twenty lines on the journey beyond the Torrent.

The ladders lost in 1911 were replaced by four narrow Botterill ladders and these immediately became the standard for first-class tackle.

Whitsun, 1914 (see note Y.R.C.J., IV, 272 and VI, 336). Further discovery work with eight men in two waves as the safest measure. Third pitch tackle taken down Second by Erik and Oscar Addyman (killed in France), Stobart and Barstow. Third Pitch rigged by Payne, Roy Sanderson (killed in France), Stewart Sanderson and Roberts. The dry cross-over on the left beyond the Bridge Pool was followed right through to a stream by Roy Sanderson and Roberts, the latter part being so difficult the rope was abandoned. The stream was followed down quarter of a mile and proved to be the Torrent. The other two were having trouble with the kinking of a special new life-line, but had gone down singly to the Bridge Pool.

Payne, the driving spirit, had not been to the end, so he went down with the first party next day. Stobart got up into a high passage before the Torrent, then he and Barstow went right to the final jam, Payne and Oscar Addyman stopping on the dry stones according to my recollection. Erik maintains he stopped at the Third Pitch.

July, 1928 (Y.R.C.J., V., p. 329). The Gritstone Club in a night attack went to the Bridge Pool but do not claim to have done the great passage.

July, 1934 (see Y.R.C.J., VI., pp. 336 and 350). Long Passage extended by the Northern Cavern and Fell Club. Drought, no water on the pitches. Dawson followed the cross­ over to the difficult part. Procter, Buckley, and Butterworth went to the 1912 point which had altered, and on the left they scraped through into a passage 4-5 ft. high, carrying a mere trickle, and went 150-200 yards to a pool six feet wide touching the roof. On the return Butterworth was pushed up into the Torrent, went to its head and back. Gregson and Thornber also went to the new finish. Mr. Simpson surveyed to the Torrent.

Jubilee Week, 1935 (Y.R.C.J., VI., 337-8 and 350). Davis Burrow, Hilton, and Nelstrop went right through to the 1934 finish, followed by F. S. Booth, H. L. Stembridge, and E. E. Roberts. The fourth expedition to reach the 1912 finish.

August, 1947. The B.S.A. descended the cavern and a party led by Mr. R. D. Leakey went down the great passage to what is obviously the 1912 finish, both from the description of it and from the survey which they had the patience to carry on.

An anonymous article appeared in Cave Science III., Jan. 1948, claiming the complete exploration and first conquest of Mere Gill, instead of the fifth visit to the 1912 finish. The author appears not to have consulted Y.R.C.J., VI., p. 336-8, and from internal evidence has not been along the great passage. It is clear that the entrance to the 1934 extension has silted up again.

August, 1947. A fortnight later the Craven Pot-hole Club descended the three pitches, but did not give enough time to complete the expedition. The first two pitches were dry.

New discovery – Twenty feet down on the Second Pitch, Mr. A. C. Waterfall crawled under the overhang, and advanced moving stones until he was seen and the wall of the Canyon climbed up to him.

It will be observed the difficult bit of the Cross-over has only been done once, in 1914, and the Torrent twice, and are not surveyed.

SUNSET HOLE

Some amount of legend has gathered about the exit made into the bottom of Braithwaite Wife Shake-hole in the September after the accident to Boyd in 1910.  A large party from a Y.R.C. Meet at the Hill Inn, went down the end pitch, and resumed the burrowing at the small talus slope in a side cavern with such success that a shaft began to form outside against the rock face.  Two men were already at work there and voices were audible.  Work went on with tremendous enthusiasm after the first cave-in, until a vertical shaft about 8 ft. was formed against the rock, up which came Erik Addyman, followed by the brothers Stobart, by Kentish, Wingfield and last Tom Booth.

The shaft was obviously a tempting danger, so the latter at his next visit pushed enough rocks off the cliff to stop anyone getting into trouble. Some years later there was a rockfall which covered the hole completely and in later years there has been a slide of earth with a continuous washing down, so that work done against the rock face has found the boulders embedded in clay and silt.