4 May 2025 - A new MCRA publication Accidents In Bath Stone Quarries From Newspaper Reports (1384 To 2006) has been added to the mining and quarrying section. Compiled by Alan Gray, this book presents a compendium of reports of accidents in the Bath stone quarries obtained from newspaper archives, with selected photos and illustrations, 253 pages.

2 Feb 2025 - Added a new page for articles and information related to mining and quarrying in the region, including the Bath and Corsham stone mines.

5 Jan 2025 - Pat Cronin’s 2024 caving and digging log added to the collection.

2 Jan 2025 - ATLAS digging team log for 2024 added to the archive.

24 Oct 2024 - The MCRA has taken over the Caving slot in the Mendip Times. A section with appropriate links has been added to the website.

7 Sep 2024 - Somerset Underground 4 (East Mendip, Bath & South Somerset) is available for purchase direct from the MCRA.

11 Aug 2024 - The MCRA is pleased to announce that the eagerly awaited fourth volume of Somerset Underground will be officially launched at the Hunters' Lodge on September 7th, starting around at 7.30 p.m. Comprising 283 pages, it contains details of more than 500 natural caves, mines, sinks, risings, springs, holy wells and artificial underground sites in East Mendip, Bath and South Somerset including the Bath hot springs, Glastonbury and the major catchment area of St Andrew’s Well. Priced at a mere £10 (plus p&p), this is a stitched, flexibound, full-colour production especially designed for use in the field. Postal sales will be available shortly after.

20 Jul 2024 - Is That So? - Rob ‘Tav’ Taviner’s collection of entertaining caving tales, originally published by the MCRA in 2010, is now available as a PDF download in the books section of the archive.

20 Jul 2024 - Chris Richards’ caving and digging logbooks covering 1967-1985 added to the logbooks archive.

13 Jun 2024 - A second photo book created by Andy Watson, this time covering the exploration of Bradshaw’s Cave.

27 May 2024 - Added Andy Watson’s Carrion Slocker photo book.

18 Feb 2024 - A new batch of Alan Gray’s log books added to the archive, covering the years 2015-2022, and also Nick Chipchase’s Log Book 2 (1970-73).

17 Feb 2024 - Pat Cronin’s caving and digging logbooks for 2000-2009 and 2023 added to the archive, plus the 1996-98 BEC digging log for Five Buddles Sink.

1 Jan 2024 - Collated ATLAS digging logs for 2023 added to the archive.

24 Dec 2023 - The MCRA recently acquired a collection of magic lantern slides depicting images of the Bath and Portland stone quarrying industry. These have been scanned and made available for viewing as a gallery in our photo collection.

16 Dec 2023 - New surveys uploaded for two Portland caves, Showerbath Cave and Sharbutts Rift.

21 Apr 2023 - The electronic version of Andrew Edwards’ report on the exploration and archaeology of Brownes’ Hole Cave, Stoke St Michael is now available to view and download.

29 Mar 2023 - Vince Simmonds’ digging logs for Hallowe’en Rift, Home Close Hole/Wigmore Swallet and the Wookey Hole 20 extensions added to the logbooks archive.

10 Jan 2023 - For those living in the stone quarries patch around Bath and Corsham, copies of all three volumes of Somerset Underground are now available direct from Chris Smart. This is in addition to the outlets mentioned below.

8 Jan 2023 - Two log books from Nick Chipchase uploaded to the archive.

3 Jan 2023 - ATLAS digging logs for 2022 added to the archive.

30 Dec 2022 - Caving and digging log books for Pat Cronin and Maurice Hewins added to the archive.

11 Dec 2022 - The MCRA would like to thank everyone who braved the arctic conditions to attend last nights book launch of Volume Three of Somerset Underground at the Hunters. Happily, it was a great success, which once again far exceeded expectations. For those of you who were unable to attend, copies of all three volumes are now available locally from the usual suspects (myself, James Begley, Estelle Sandford, Dave King, Mike Moxon, Alison Moody, Alan Gray, Rich Witcombe and also Graham Mullan soon. Postal copies are now available direct from the For Sale section but please note that due to a combination of the wintry conditions and the extensive Christmas post and Royal Mail strikes, it is not guaranteed that your book will be delivered before Christmas.

14 Nov 2022 - The MCRA is pleased to announce that the eagerly awaited third volume of Somerset Underground will be officially launched at the Hunters' Lodge on December 10th, starting around at 7.30 p.m. Comprising 266 pages, it contains details of almost 500 natural caves, mines, sinks, risings, springs, holy wells and artificial underground sites in Central and South Mendip, encompassing the major catchment areas of Cheddar Risings and Wookey Hole. Priced at a mere £10 (plus p&p), this is a stitched, flexibound, full-colour production especially designed for use in the field. Postal sales will be available shortly after.

6 Oct 2022 - The MCRA is delighted to announce that the prestigious Tratman Award for 2020 has been awarded to Rob Taviner for volumes 1 and 2 of Somerset Underground. For 2020 the judges were Joe Duxbury, Chris Howes, Alan L. Jeffreys, Martin Mills and Linda Wilson. The following comes from Chris Howes on behalf of the judges:

The Tratman Award is granted annually to the best publication of the year, including books, journals and even individual articles. This report considers those that appeared in print in 2020. The five judges took into account not only the quality of writing, but also the presentation: the binding, paper quality, printing and not least, accessibility and importance of the content. A phenomenal amount of work went into the compilation of these two volumes, producing a clear and visually attractive format using a clean, simple layout. These are, after all, guidebooks intended to be used in the field, and the degree of thought and planning is evident. That extends to personal visits made to each location together with carefully written descriptions, demonstrating the background research that should be undertaken by any good author. Suffice it to say that the content covers everything relevant to the caves and associated sites of the area. These are outstanding works that deserve all the plaudits they have received.

Tav and the MCRA would like to thank everyone involved in the making of these guides, along with the judges and the other nominees, all of whom produced outstanding work.

• Read all previous news items

The Mendip Cave Registry and Archive (MCRA) is a constantly expanding resource of data for cavers and those interested in the subterranean world.

The information collated by the MCRA relates primarily to caves and mines in the area of Bristol, Somerset, Bath, Wiltshire and Dorset.

This website provides access to electronic versions of the Cave Registry, the Bibliography and a growing collection of material in the Archive including photographs, films and logbooks.

The Registry aims to systematically collect, record and publish useful information relating to the caves and stone mines of Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset. It currently contains well over 2,000 entries comprising individual sites and alternative names for known sites.

Search the full registry online using the MCRA Registry Search.

The Mendip Cave Bibliography provides a list of references relating to each cave or cave related topic that have been printed in caving publications or newspapers. This on-line edition includes over 30,000 entries from 883 AD to present.

New: Search the full bibliography online with the Mendip Cave Bibliography Search

Scans of cave surveys collected through the old Mendip Survey Scheme are now available online.

The archive provides a free digital information resource for cavers covering cave photos, photograph collections, postcards and catalogues, music and audio, log books and publications.

The articles section carries publications of spelaeological interest and electronic copies of some of the books published and authored by the MCRA.

The archaeology section contains links and downloads pertaining to caves of archaeological interest.

Links and downloads pertaining to the geology of the Mendip Hills and the surrounding region.

Items regarding the historic stone mines and quarries of the Mendips and surrounding areas of Bath, Corsham.

Mendip Underground 4th edition (5th has sold out), Somerset Underground (Vol.1 and Vol. 2), Mines and Minerals of the Mendip Hills, Earth Colours & Mendip - Its Swallet Caves and Rock Shelters: all the books that the MCRA has For Sale

More info! Has sold out.

The history of the Mendip Cave Registry and Archive.

See here for recent changes or use the RSS feed.