MENDIP Cave Registry is appealing for information about the local Browne family, which excavated the cave named after them near Stoke St. Michael.
Browne’s Hole was discovered by the Browne family of Frome who excavated the main passage between 1947 and 1955 and with recent exploration, is now 275m in length. The cave lies in a valley 850m north-east of Stoke St Michael.
Paul Stillman from the Mendip Cave Registry and Archive explained, “The cave was once very well decorated with formations but these have either been removed or damaged in the easily accessible areas since the Brownes’ time.
“Today cave conservation and protection is an important part of any caving experience. Finds at Browne’s Hole included a human skeleton and a hyena tooth.
“The Wessex Cave Club, based in Priddy, extended the arduous and extremely difficult upstream series in 1980 to its present limit.
“The cave is usually dry but water has been known to pour from the entrance in extreme flood conditions.”
Do you have any information on the Browne family of Frome we can add to the archive? For further information visit the Mendip Cave Registry and Archive, www.mcra.org.uk
