I was looking at the caves in the tower testing station up Tutters Hill, Cheddar which are currently inaccessible and found that Box's cave, Chelm's Coombe cave and Reynold?s Rift were all dug by the Chelm's Coombe Caving Club around 1972 -74. Now if I'm not mistaken Chelm's Coombe quarry (Tower testing station) is in Cheddar and has been for a very long time! If there was a Chelm's Coombe Caving Club that means we (ChCC) are not the first caving club in Cheddar as we mention in the "Who Are We" section of the website. I can only find one reference on google and that is on an old Belfry Bulletin by the BEC. Does anyone else know anything about the Chelm's Coombe Caving Club?

Was it this?

From Belfry Bulletin No 316, February 1974

"We have received the following from the Chelm's Coombe Caving Club - a branch of the National Tower Testing Station Sports and Social Club.

On the 6th of December, 1973, members of the Chelm's Coombe Caving Club broke through into an open cave passage in their dig 'Reynolds?s Rift' at the National Tower Testing Station, Cheddar.

We have so far discovered two hundred feet of passage with a vertical range of fifty feet.  A hundred feet of this is stream passage.

No visits are allowed at the present time, while clearance work is done, while a report is prepared for the National Tower Testing Station.  Digging will be continued by club members.

The situation as far as access is concerned will be in the full report which will follow when clearance is completed.

J. Aylott,
Secretary, C.C.C.C.
"

Actually I was looking at Belfry Bulletin No 318, I dint notice the 316 below lol. But that pretty much sums up who they where anyway.

I heard a rumor this year that the quarry was up for sale. I had a sniff round there with my old man (he used to work on tower & crane testing for the CEGB) but all we could glean was that an Irishman owned it currently, and wanted in the region of ?300k for it.

do you know any other rumours?

I believe a planning application was recently turned down (posh house or two, I think.).

Hughie said:

I believe a planning application was recently turned down (posh house or two, I think.).

Click to expand...

Turned Down 

Didn't they give enough of a bung?  :doubt:

The sign on the entrance (which is very over grow) says it belongs to AC Tech. Googeling them just tells you they are acoustic engineers and gives you the quarry address and tel no. I used to know a chap who lived up Tutors hill who was the gates key holder (unofficial caretaker) but he says the locks have been changed and now cant get in. Looking at the locks two weeks ago they have not been opened for a very long time!

I'm really interested in the historical aspect of the Chelm's Combe Caving Club, Does anyone know who J. Aylott is? Sad that this cave is denied access.