Mystery Photo of Puttrell
- Thread starter yrammy
- Start date
AR
Well-known member
It's definitely not Thirst House, attached is a photo I took today of the entrance. I also don't think it's Blackwell Dale, that has low bedding plane cave at floor level visible at the entrance but there's no sign of that on the photo. I'm thinking that it was something that had been exposed in one of the Wye valley quarries but has since disappeared.
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Definitely not Blackwell Dale Cave.
(I agree that it's not Great Douk - I was misremembering and it's a long time since I was there.)
Not Thirst House Deepdale either, even if it does say that on the back of the photo; and it doesn't really look right for the cave entrance high up on the opposite side of the dale. However, the date could be correct and it might be something lower down Deep Dale which has since been removed or buried by waste from the Topley Pike Quarry, as AR has suggested.
(I agree that it's not Great Douk - I was misremembering and it's a long time since I was there.)
Not Thirst House Deepdale either, even if it does say that on the back of the photo; and it doesn't really look right for the cave entrance high up on the opposite side of the dale. However, the date could be correct and it might be something lower down Deep Dale which has since been removed or buried by waste from the Topley Pike Quarry, as AR has suggested.
The photo caption is correct, it is Thirst House Cave. Bear in mind that the photo of Puttrell has very high contrast and has no scale - the far wall of the cave could be 5 feet away or 35 feet.
The giveaways are the column of rock and the four beddings directly opposite Puttrell to the right of the photo. These can clearly be seen on AR's photo. The column of rock on Puttrell's photo shows no detail as it is completely blown out by the high contrast. Features of the wall to the left of the column at the height of Puttrell's knees and chest can also be seen on AR's photo.
Having spent many hours poking around in Deepdale, I'd be very surprised if anything on the dale sides of such a size has been buried.
The giveaways are the column of rock and the four beddings directly opposite Puttrell to the right of the photo. These can clearly be seen on AR's photo. The column of rock on Puttrell's photo shows no detail as it is completely blown out by the high contrast. Features of the wall to the left of the column at the height of Puttrell's knees and chest can also be seen on AR's photo.
Having spent many hours poking around in Deepdale, I'd be very surprised if anything on the dale sides of such a size has been buried.
pwhole
Well-known member
To be honest the roof looks so jagged I can't see that being naturally weathered - it looks like it's been blasted open in a working quarry - at least the top section does. Maybe it was originally a much lower entrance that rose inside and quarrying then removed the low part?
AR
Well-known member
Quite possible off an old-fashioned negative, it could well have been a glass plate if the photographer was Frank Brindley! I'm intending to go back tomorrow morning, this time with a copy of the reversed image and I'll get a snap from the other side. Might also be worth getting a better scan of the photo and tweaking brightness/contrast to see the roof behind Putterell better?
AR
Well-known member
Just got back from Deepdale and I've had a good look from the other side - the photo doesn't match Thirst House Cave from that side either, the features on the original photo don't match very well and more tellingly, it's a much smaller entrance than Thirst House - Jim Putterell was not 4m tall! I'll sort out my photos from today later and put them up as a contrast.
pwhole
Well-known member
Enlarged and enhanced as best I can - it's pretty crap. But it's definitely Brindley, it's definitely a glass plate (the emulsion's peeling off it) and it's definitely printed the right way round. His info is just visible at bottom right - Abbeydale Road, which is where he lived for a while - I think he had a darkroom there too. Sadly no location for the cave! The cracks in that roof suggest it's recently been blasted to me. It is possible this trip is mentioned in Puttrell's caving scrapbooks, which are in Sheffield Reference Library on microfiche. If I can get time (and if the place is open) I can try and find this.
But it would we well worth checking with Geoff at DPC first as they may have the original in their big photo album. I got to look through it once - sigh
But it would we well worth checking with Geoff at DPC first as they may have the original in their big photo album. I got to look through it once - sigh
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