Bristol’s Pen Park Hole cave, tucked beneath an unsuspecting housing estate in Southmead, might just be one of the most historical mystery-laden local locations you’ve rarely heard of…
It may at first appear like an unremarkable patch of woods on the edge of Southmead from above, yet Pen Park Hole’s series of tunnels and vast cavern is one of Britain’s most extraordinary natural wonders, holding secrets that stretch back hundreds of millions of years, back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the world above, and stories of strange deaths – and even a goblin encounter – were documented in more recent history.
Pen Park Hole is a hydrothermal cave (one of the few of its kind in the UK), formed not by the typical erosion of rainwater, but instead by hot water rising from deep beneath the earth. The cave’s subterranean lake, where the water level rises and falls for reasons still unknown and unrelated to weather, is even home to the affectionately-named Pen Park prawn (Niphargus kochianus: a tiny omnivore species usually found in locations like springs that has adapted to live in its isolated, underground pools). The cave’s age is equally remarkable. Pen Park Hole is estimated to be around 200 million years old, maybe even older. It’s an unusual window into a prehistoric world, pre-dating most caves you’ll find in the UK by millions of years.
The cave itself is vast, with the main chamber stretching 60 metres deep and more than 30 metres wide. For years, it was the deepest known cave in Britain, and though some of its tunnels lie just 25 metres below the busy streets of Southmead, the locals and commuters above are often unaware of the underground realm beneath their feet. Thankfully in 2016 Pen Park Hole was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England, protecting the area and confirming it as one of the most significant geological sites in the region.
The first recorded exploration of Pen Park Hole took place in 1669 when Captain Samuel Sturmy, a retired mariner, made a perilous descent into the cave. Rumours swirled about odd occurrences on this mission, including a tale of Sturmy encountering a mysterious goblin in the depths. There’s even been a poem penned about it called The Goblin’s Curse. The journey was treacherous; Sturmy and his companions were lowered into the cave with ropes by candlelight – no modern lighting or safety equipment, simply the flicker of flames guiding them into the dark abyss.
Tragically, just days after his exploration, Sturmy developed a headache that soon spiralled into a fever, ultimately leading to his death. Was this sickness a direct result of his discovery? He was buried in the churchyard of St. George’s in Easton in Gordano, but locals haven’t forgotten him, commemorating his memory each year on 5 November with a ringing of the bells to honour the man who first officially ventured into Pen Park Hole’s cavernous depths.
Sturmy wasn’t the only one to meet an untimely end in the cave, however. In 1775, Reverend Thomas Newnham, a junior canon at Bristol Cathedral, suffered a similar fate. After preaching a sermon that morning warning about sinners being cast down into the ‘deepest pit’, Newnham visited the entrance of Pen Park Hole to measure its depths. Clinging to a tree root, the reverend lost his grip and plummeted to his death.
More than two centuries later, Pen Park Hole is still shrouded in intrigue. For those brave enough to explore, the cave offers a true adventure. Visitors must crawl, squeeze, and scramble through tight, muddy passageways before reaching the stunning main chamber; a glimpse into a world long forgotten by time.
Cave entry is managed through a leader system as part of an access agreement between a consortium of three local caving clubs and Bristol City Council. It is otherwise not possible to enter the cave and should not be attempted. A very useful website has been created by University of Bristol Spelæological Society (penparkhole.org.uk) with details on who to contact to see if you have sufficient caving experience to enter the area under the terms of the access agreement.
The Bristol Magazine would like to thank Steve Sharp for his contribution to this article. All photos were taken by and provided courtesy of Steve Sharp. Dan Beer and Adrian Fawcett also assisted with the photographs. Steve’s work has been published on multiple covers of Descent magazine (descentmagazine.co.uk, incl. Aug ‘13, Oct ‘13 and June ‘15) and Mendip Underground mcra.org.uk/mu). You can see more of his photos at flickr.com/steve-sharp.
Sources for this article include penparkhole.org.uk; an account of the cave written by Graham Mullan and published shortly after the cave was reopened in 1993, titled Pen Park Hole, Bristol: A reassessment; a 2003 TV programme called Secret Underground Bristol produced by RedWeather Productions; and a 2017 episode of BBC’s Inside Out West.
