The Long Search for Charnel Shaft
A Mendip Caving Mystery Unravels
For over half a century, a whisper of a lost cave, known only as Charnel Shaft, has drawn members of the Mendip Caving Group (MCG) to spend numerous hours walking over the Charterhouse and Ubley Rakes, poking into the numerous holes and depressions in an attempt to find something that was found and then lost on the same day. This is a tale of intrepid explorers, harsh winters, tantalizing clues, and the unwavering dedication of a caving group.
From the early days of caving in the 1950s and ’60s, to significant events like the great flood of 1968 that opened up new caves, the Rakes have always been at the heart of MCG’s explorations. The club’s various headquarters have consistently been located nearby, making the Rakes a natural magnet for underground adventures.
The Winter of ’63 and a Fleeting Glimpse
The legend of Charnel Shaft began in the unforgiving winter of 1962-63. On February 24th, a quartet of cavers, including MCG legend Tony Knibbs, ventured onto the Gruffy Ground to seek out “blowholes” in the snow. Their persistence paid off, revealing a dark, vertical shaft. The logbook records a descent of 40 feet into a high rift passage, where mounds of animal carcasses gave the cave its chilling name: Charnel Shaft.
In the dense, pitted landscape, and with deep snow obscuring landmarks, the explorers were unable to relocate the shaft on subsequent visits. It became a phantom, a tantalising mystery that lingered for decades.
Echoes of the Past, A New Lead
In the 1982 MCG Journal, Tony Knibbs provided a survey and a grid reference for the lost cave. Spurred on, members once again tried in vain to relocate the shaft. A promising find in 2005 turned out to be “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Charnel” (ICBINC).
Years later, through research into local mining history, a new lead emerged: a shaft recorded as “MCG-20” had been surveyed in 1995 but never descended. On April 5th, 2019, a small team headed out to finally discover what lay beneath its metal grill.
Descending into the Unknown
The first caver down was met with a beautifully constructed ginged rectangular shaft collar. The shaft opened into an impressive rift, some 3 meters across and over 10 meters end-to-end. Exploring north, the team found a wet, muddy passage with scattered bones, a mineral vein, and a promising draught of air. To the south, a pit littered with bones and mining debris suggested potential for more exploration.
A powerful realisation hit the explorers: the layout was identical to the 1963 survey. This was undeniably the lost Charnel Shaft, hidden in plain sight 350 meters from the original grid reference.
Survey
Modern photogrammetry surveys have confirmed the rediscovery, matching Tony Knibb’s original sketch with remarkable accuracy.
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