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Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationSomerset
Grid referenceST385555
InterestBiological and Geological
Area332.2 hectares (3.322 km2; 1.283 sq mi)
Notification1952
Natural England website

Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill (grid reference ST385555) to (grid reference ST430560) is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1952. The line of hills runs for approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east and includes: Crook Peak, Compton Hill, Wavering Down, Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill. Most of the site is owned by the National Trust who bought 725 acres (293 ha) in 1985,[1] and much of it has been designated as Common land.[2]

Description

The site extends for some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from west to east. Near its eastern end it is divided by a gap used by the A38 road and the disused Cheddar Valley railway line. At the western end of the hills, closest to the M5 motorway is Crook Peak which reaches 191 metres (627 ft), and forms a prominent feature from the surrounding landscape. It was used as the site of a beacon at the time of the Spanish Armada.[3]

Evidence of early human occupation of Crook Peak includes a polished flint axe.[4] A ridge to the south east of Crook Peak, known as 'The Razor', is used by the West Mendip Soaring Association to fly model aircraft in south-westerly / southerly or north-easterly winds.[5]

Compton Hill is above the village of Compton Bishop. Also within the parish of Compton Bishop is Wavering Down which reaches a height of 210 metres (690 ft).[6] Around the small village of Cross is Wavering Down House which was, for the last 20 years of his life, the home of the British comedian Frankie Howerd.[7] The house is now a tourist attraction, and in the summer hosts concerts and opens regularly as a museum of Howerd's collection of memorabilia to raise fund for charities.[7]

Above the village itself is Cross Plain. Further east is Shute Shelve Hill, east of the A38 road, reaching a height of 233 metres (764 ft), above the town of Axbridge and adjoining Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill.

A long-distance footpath, the Mendip Way, follows much of the northern boundary of the site. There is a also a 165 metres (541 ft) long tunnel which was part of the Cheddar Valley Line but is now used for pedestrians and cyclists. Within the tunnel the central surface has been paved with tarmac but it is unlit except for a central guide line of small guide lamps. The north half of the tunnel is brick lined, but about midway it reverts to unlined rock for the southern half, marking a change in the underlying geology from sandstone to limestone.[8]

Etymology

Crook Peak has been important as a landmark and boundary from very early times, and the origins of the name are unclear. Some believe the name 'Crook' comes from Old British 'Cruc' meaning 'peak' or 'pointed hill'.[9][10]

Somerset slang for something that is not straight is 'crook' - as in crooked

Biological

King's Wood between Cross Plain and Shute Shelve Hill

This site comprises a wide range of habitats which includes ancient and secondary semi-natural broadleaved woodland, unimproved calcareous grassland and a complex mosaic of calcareous grassland and acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath.[11] Four of the calcareous grassland communities, two of the woodland types and the calcareous grassland/acidic dry dwarf-shrub heath mosaic all have a restricted distribution in Britain. Four nationally rare and seven notable plant species are also present. Plants of interest include the nationally rare Cheddar Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), Bedstraw (Galium fleurotii), Dwarf Sedge (Carex humilis) and Dwarf Mouse-ear (Cerastium pumilum). Rose Wood and King's Wood are ancient woodland sites. King's Wood has coppiced hazel and nationally important small leaved lime.[12] The nationally rare Purple Gromwell (Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum) occurs at Rose Wood.[13]

Geological

Shute Shelve Hill, which is formed of Carboniferous Limestone laid down in the Dinantian period about 350 million years ago, rises to 233 metres (764 ft) above sea level. It is an anticline with younger limestones on the lower slopes.[14] Black Rock Limestone is exposed at several sites but is commonly covered by Burrington Oolite.[15]

There are cave deposits of interest at the southern end of Crook Peak. Picken's Hole is of considerable importance because of its clear, well-stratified sequence of deposits and faunas, all dating from within the Devensian. The rich Layer 3 fauna, radiocarbon dated to 34,265 (+2600/–1950) years BP, includes Spotted Hyena, Lion, Arctic fox, Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, horse, reindeer, suslik and Tundra Vole. The site is a major source of information for this phase of the Middle Devensian. It is also the most carefully excavated hyena-den site and assemblage from Britain.[13]

Shute Shelve Cavern is located on Shute Shelve Hill. It is a natural cave system which was mined for its yellow ochre, until the 1920s.[16] The phreatic cave contains fossils of speleothems over 350,000 years old.[17]

Barton Camp

Barton Camp, which is on the northern slopes of Crook Peak, is run by the Bristol Children's Help Society which was founded in 1884 to help needy children. The facilities include classrooms, a sports hall, outdoor pool, playing field and bunkhouse accommodation.[18][19]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill.
  1. ^ "Trust fundraising push reached new heights". Western Daily Press. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Crooks Peak and Compton Bishop Hill". Common Land in England. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  3. ^ Dommett, Pete. "Crook Peak, Mendip Hills". Countryfile. BBC. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Winscombe Parish — A more detailed history. Early Settlement". Winscombe and Sandford Parish Council. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Our location". West Mendip Soaring Association. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  6. ^ Roberts, James (1997). Walking in Somerset. Cicerone Press. pp. 102–106. ISBN 9781852842536.
  7. ^ a b Smith, Stephen (17 March 2007). "Titter ye not — it's Frankie's pad". BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  8. ^ "Exploring the Strawberry Line". The Strawberry Line. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Winscombe Parish". Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Not a soul in the West Mendips". Times Online. London. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
  11. ^ "Landscape Assessment of the Mendip Hills". Mendip AONB. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Village Design Statement The Parish of Compton Bishop" (PDF). Compton Bishop. p. 3. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
  14. ^ Haslett, Simon K. (2010). Somerset Landscapes: Geology and landforms. Usk: Blackbarn Books. pp. 38–41. ISBN 9781456416317.
  15. ^ "Crook Peak and Axbridge". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Crook Peak and Axbridge". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  17. ^ Farrant, A.R.; Gray, A. (1993). "Shute Shelve Cavern. Exploration, History and Geomorphology" (PDF). Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelaeology Society. 3: 283–290.
  18. ^ "Barton Camp". The Bristol Children's Help Society. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  19. ^ Steve Eggington (August 2006). "Serious Playtime". Mendip Times. 2 (3): 10–11.
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