Old Cumbria Gazetteer |
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| Pate Hole Mouth, Great Asby | ||
| Pate Hole Mouth | ||
| site name:- | Asby Gill | |
| locality:- | Great Asby | |
| civil parish:- | Asby (formerly Westmorland) | |
| county:- | Cumbria | |
| locality type:- | pothole | |
| coordinates:- | NY67871212 | |
| 1Km square:- | NY6712 | |
| 10Km square:- | NY61 | |
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 CFW64.jpg (taken 6.3.2017)  CFW65.jpg (taken 6.3.2017) |
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| evidence:- | old map:- OS County Series (Wmd 22 7) placename:- Pate Hole Mouth |
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| source data:- | Maps, County Series maps of Great Britain, scales 6 and 25
inches to 1 mile, published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton,
Hampshire, from about 1863 to 1948. |
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| evidence:- | old text:- Bulmer 1880s (Wmd) placename:- Pate Hole |
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| source data:- | Series of books, each the History, Topography, and Directory of
a county in the NW, mostly by T F Bulmer, published by T Bulmer
and Co, Manchester, Lancashire, 1880s; 2nd editions 1900s-10s. "At Asby Gill, about one mile from the village of Great Asby, is the entrance to Pate Hole, ... A party of explorers, consisting of the Vicar of Orton and three friends, penetrated its dark recesses some six years ago, and furnished the followiing account of their experiences:- "On the 21st of August, 1876, a party of four began to explore the Pate Hole. They were provided with candles, matches, a piece of rope, and long sticks. Picturing to themselves an easy walk, they entered a fissure in the rock, which some time led to spacious openings; but more than two thirds of the journey had to be made with bended backs, and through water more than knee deep. Frequently they had to crawl on hands and knees over slippery clay, or else to flounder about in water, at the bottom of which were sharp stones. The entrance is S.S.E. but at a distance of about 30 yards this becomes due south, when the wading begins, and continues for 80 yards. After this is a perceptible descent, and the height of the passage renders very low stooping necessary. There were a few stalagmites, but none to be compared to the beautiful formations at Clapham Caves in Yorkshire. After another quarter of a mile through low passage, they came upon a beautiful symmetrical apartment, measuring some 15 feet each way, which they named the "bath room." From this there are two openings. The one to the right hand is very narrow and low, being about choked with mud, and has another entrance to the larger cleft. About 40 yards further on the road to the left is also low, and does not appear tempting. The bath room at first seemed to be the end of the cave; but on further search a steep path was discovered leading up between perpendicular rocks very close together, by which the traveller soon rose 10 feet above the original level. The change here is very striking, for now the eye can pierce the darkness overhead. A few steps onward leads to a descent which opens unfathomable. Into this the boldest of the party was let down, with a rope securely fastened round him. He cautiously descended, and at last called to the others to follow, saying, 'There was a good foothold and standing room at the part he had reached.' When the rest of the party found him, they were on the brink of water dangerously deep. The height of the cave must have been 25 feet." "Hitherto the course had been due south, and though some of the water from the deep pool seemed to flow in this direction, the chief outlet appeared to be east, and the passage in this direction, though very low, is passable. The explorers as they scrambled along distinctly heard the sound of running water for some time, but the stream again disappears in a southerly direction. The passage, now dry, but never more than four feet high, gradually turns towards the north, and then diverges towards the north-west and south-west." "The latter road was taken for half-a-mile, along which the journey was very trying to back and limb, then after another divergence to the left, and much crawling through mud and water, with sometimes only two feet from floor to roof, the party found themselves on the same path where they had been two hours before. Tracks were therefore made homeward, and in little more than half-an-hour the daylight was seen, and the adventurers, covered in mud and dirt, were well pleased to exchange the cold and darkness of the cave for warmth and light." The time occupied in the expedition was three and a quarter hours." |
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 CFW66.jpg (taken 6.3.2017) |
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| also see:- |  Low Pate Hole, Great Asby |
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