This folder is a work in progress for survey data on Tankard Shaft and Tankard Hole.
The content is being collated by Duncan Simey
Please get in touch - your 2p will be appreciated!
duncan.simey@btinternet.com

Tankard Hole
This was a dig located in one of the largest shakeholes in Mendip. It was pushed in the 50's by multiple clubs and was surveyed to 160ft with the deepest point reached estimated at 200ft. The dig was abandoned due to fairly scarly levels of instability and access was closed when the land changed hands c1960. c1970 the field was landscaped with a bulldozer and there is currently no evidence of the shakehole. The final trip report noted a large ongoing passage that was not entered.

Tankard Shaft
A ginged mine shaft was recently revealed when its capping collapsed. This mine appears to be completely undocumented.It is located about 60m from Tankard Hole, hence the name given to the shaft. The landowner capped the shaft with a metal lid and invited some local cavers to have a look.
Initial investigation showed the shaft dropped 30ft to a debris cone and that the ginging was in a hideously unstable condition. A trial dig opened up a mysterious hole in the side of the shaft with what looked like cave wall just visible, so work started on stabilising the shaft. Eventually the mine was opened and appears to be a complex series of small chambers in a boulder ruckle straddling the Stockhill Fault. Lower levels of the mine are formed from a natural rift which at the time writing is drafting well and heading towards Tankard Hole.
If you want to see how the dig is progressing, have a look at the Dig Log on UKCaving
http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=19501.0

Access Restrictions
At the landowners request, access to Tankard Shaft is by permission only.
Please contact Sarah Payne for details.
lubbielu8@hotmail.com