Lamb Leer

Lamb Leer is a limestone cave system in the Mendip Hills between East Harptree and Priddy. The site covers 14.59 hectares and was designated a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1983. It forms part of an ancient cave network now reduced to one large chamber and several passages. Miners searching for lead discovered the cavern around 1676, and geologist John Beaumont explored it in 1681. The cave was reopened in the 1930s after the original entrance was cleared and a cable car once ran across the Great Chamber. The cave’s dry passages lie above the current water table and may date from before the Ice Age. Sediments inside preserve records of changing environmental conditions over long periods. The entrance shaft is called Beaumont Shaft, leading first to The Beehive chamber with its large stalagmite boss. Beyond lies the Great Chamber, thirty metres high and twenty metres across, containing some rock formations. Further passages form the St Valentine Series, several of which are well decorated with cave features. Visitors cannot enter the cave as access is not permitted by the landowner. The site remains important for geological study because of its ancient origins and preserved sediments. Its history includes early exploration by miners and scientists, rediscovery in the 19th century, and later tourist use. The name may come from old local words meaning empty or void. The cave’s chambers and passages offer glimpses of a much larger prehistoric system now mostly lost.