Morecambe Rock & Pot
Club
Reading Jim Newton’s account of the early
explorations in Back Lane Quarry Cave
reminded our librarian Sandra Wilkinson of a couple of articles she encountered
whilst cataloguing some very early “British
Caver” Journals which had recently been donated to the club library. Jim
Newton of course commenced his caving in the early 1950’s with the Morecambe
Rock & Pot Club before joining the Red Rose.
The first item reports the formation of the new
club in 1951.
*** Formation of the
“MORECAMBE ROCK & POT CLUB”
A feature of the Club
is the youthfulness of its members, whose ages range from 16 to 23.
The aims of the club
is “to promote interest in pot-holing and climbing, & encourage a spirit of
adventure among its members working as a team”
The members are drawn
from Morecambe, Lancaster & the outlying districts, and we operate in the
Ingleborough – Peny Ghent, Whernside
area.
Secretary:- B.Parkin,
*** Extracted from British
Caver Vol. 22 (1951) p22-23.
The second item of interest is entitled:-
*** ““RUTHVEN REPORTS – Being some activities of
the Morecombe Rock & Pot Club by their
Chairman:-“”
10/12/51
One of our members,
Patrick Hanson, Descended DUNALD MILL HOLE at Nether Kellet,
one day in early July, with a very determined look in his eye, and a hammer and
chisel in his pocket. The result was an entry into a small dome shaped chamber,
about 10 ft. in diameter and 8 ft. high,
containing a floor of calcit gours with a few gypsum flowers in one corner. Other
excavations in the same cave, based on Norbert Casteret’s
theory that every siphon pool has a by-pass, have been showing great promise, a
silted up passage having been entered, which shows great promise for the
future.
Another cave, of
no-little interest has been discovered near Carnforth. A single entrance leads
to two passages, one upstream, one downstream. Both passages are very wet,
there being some 2ft. of water with as much mud beneath. Added to this, the
roof is low all the way, so it is certainly no joy. Two small chambers are
included in the upstream section which ends in a siphon pool where the water is
6ft. deep. Total length just under 100yds.”
*** Extracted from British
Caver Vol. 23 (1952) p14 & 16.
The second article should be of great interest
to devotees of
Patrick Hanson seems to have held a similar
interests to our own Jim Newton, and it makes me chuckle to wonder now where
Jim got his enthusiasm for hammer and chisels
… and his now infamous bar.
Mel Wilkinson