Alum Pot
Open shaft pothole in North Yorkshire
title: "Alum Pot" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["caves-of-north-yorkshire"] description: "Open shaft pothole in North Yorkshire" topic_path: "general/caves-of-north-yorkshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum_Pot" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Open shaft pothole in North Yorkshire ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox cave"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Alum Pot |
| photo | Alum Pot - geograph.org.uk - 147334.jpg |
| photo_caption | Two cavers are exiting from the pothole, which is about 60m deep at that point. |
| location | Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England |
| depth | 104 m |
| length | 159 m |
| geology | Limestone |
| bcra_grade | 3 |
| grid_ref_UK | SD 774 755 |
| map | United Kingdom Yorkshire Dales |
| map_width | 180 |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Alum Pot | photo = Alum Pot - geograph.org.uk - 147334.jpg | photo_caption = Two cavers are exiting from the pothole, which is about 60m deep at that point. | location = Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England | depth = 104 m | length = 159 m | discovery = | geology = Limestone | bcra_grade = 3 | grid_ref_UK = SD 774 755 | map = United Kingdom Yorkshire Dales | map_width = 180 | coordinates = | location_public = | entrance_count = | access = | survey =
Alum Pot is a pothole with a large open shaft at a surface elevation of 343 m on the eastern flanks of Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England. It connects with nearby Long Churn Cave and Diccan Pot. The pot is accessed via a 1-km private track on payment of a small fee from Selside Farm in the hamlet of Selside in Ribblesdale. Alum Pot has variously been known as Allan, Alan, Allen, Hellen and Hell'n.
History
In 1847 John Birkbeck undertook the first partial descent of Alum Pot from Long Churn Cave which did not reach the floor of the shaft. He returned the following year and made a successful descent, when a group of nine men were lowered to the shaft floor in a large bucket winched down by a group of railway workers. In 1932 a 24-strong group of cavers from the Craven Pothole Club made the first passage from Alum Pot to Diccan Pot.
In July 1936 Mabel Binks became the first caving fatality in the Yorkshire Dales when she was hit by a rock falling down the Main Shaft. Evidence from the inquest indicated that it had been thrown down deliberately.
References
Sources
- Lowe, G.T. (1903) Alum Pot. Yorkshire Ramblers' Club Journal Volume 2 Number 5: pp. 35–47. Leeds: YRC
References
- [http://cavemaps.org/cavesnc2.htm Cavemaps.org]
- "Alum Pot Main Shaft". ukcaving.com.
- Howson, William. (1850). "An illustrated guide to the curiosities of Craven". Whittaker & Co..
- Another successful complete descent of Alum Pot took place in 1870, when a group of people were lowered to the floor using a cage and windlass operated by [[Navvy. navvies]] working on the [[Settle–Carlisle Line]].Lowe (1903) pp.35–47
- "A Short History of the CPC". Craven Pothole Club.
- Lovelock, James. (1963). "Life and Death Underground". G. Bell & Sons, Ltd..
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