ACG&AS Journal Vol. 2 No. 2 Sept. 1954, Page 37 – The Axbridge Hill Report by R. J. Weare.

There exists on the above hill directly along the 400 foot contour line a series of four know chambers.

Large Chamber Cave [ST 4288 5493] - is the latest to be discovered and its infilling is in the process of excavation. The infilling consists of the usual ochreous earth and possible displaced roof rocks. No bones or flint artefacts of any type have been encountered and it appears to have been sealed off at an earlier period than Triple-H Cave.

Triple-H Cave [ST 4293 5494] – a large chamber with a least two entrances in the roof, one of which has been opened and the other near the present working site at the vertical entrance. The diameter of the chamber is approximately 40 feet. This chamber like Large Chamber Cave goes into the hill northwards. Some fine Pleistocene fauna remains have been collected from this chamber.

Letter Box [ST 4310 5497] – is also a similar chamber having a roof span of 30 feet and a steeply sloping earth floor. This chamber, again, goes into the hill Northwards and is probably circular like Triple-H. No excavations have, as yet, been undertaken as difficulty in removing the debris occurs.

Crevice [ directly between Letter Box and [Axbridge] Ochre Cavern] – in an outcrop of rocks, at the bottom, is a small crevice. This was dug to a depth of six feet and 72 flints were found a third of which have worked edges. [Now know as Flint Crevice (ST 4312.5502)]

[Axbridge] Ochre Cavern [ST 4306 5498] – this cave is a rift or enlarged fissure type of cave, its walls have some fine fluting and is an offshoot of the main fissure or rift opened by the ochre miners.

I do not express an opinion on the phenomenon of these cavities at the 400 foot line. Perhaps they are connected with the old sea level and are, in fact the remains of sea caves existing before the present elevation of the land.

It is also worth noting that Shute Shelve Cavern also lies on the 400 foot contour line.

During the next few years there were no large discoveries on this portion of the hill, interest waned and the digs were abandoned.

The ACG continued in their search for caves on the hill the largest find to date has been Shute Shelve Cavern (found in 1992) and described in Mendip Underground by D J Irwin & A R Jarratt (1999) as “includes some of the largest chambers to be found in the west Mendip caves.”

John Chapman also told me of an interesting fact that I believe has not been documented before - he had also been told in the distant past, by the miner, that the lost cave of Axbridge was located at the end of the miner’s track way. The miner who was taken up the hill to try and locate the lost cave was in his nineties and was unable to walk up to the location and so he was taken up the track way by van. This could have increased his confusion since he was used to walking up the hill to his workplace. In addition during the twenty or so years that miner had not worked on the hill the landscape had changed with many shrubs and trees growing on what was a bare hillside. In fact according to John where the miner indicated as a possible dig site the track became very indistinct.

I wondered if the miner had been very confused and took the 1950’s ACG members to the wrong end of the track way and perhaps the caves with the large chambers are to be found on the next hill Shute Shelve rather than Axbridge Hill – this is probably speculation – but offers encouragement to dig for the lost cave!

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