# Midland Naturalist/Volume 01/Castleton: Its Extinct Fauna and Physical Surroundings

Castleton: Its Extinct Fauna and Physical Surroundings.
By the Rev. W. H. Painter.
It was upon one of the few fine mornings at the end of August that I stood upon the edge of the high land overlooking the Vale of Hope, and looked down upon Castleton. Before me, in the far-off distance, were the hills in the direction of Sheffield that appeared to form the eastward termination of the vale, while on my left appeared the sharp peak of Win Hill, the more rounded summit of Lose Hill, and, very close to me, the precipitous side of Mam Tor, of which more anon. Then on my right were seen the road gradually winding up the hill-aide to Tideswell, the grey ruins of the ancient stronghold of the Peverils, and the bleak moors which characterise that part of Derbyshire.
The exact spot whore I stood to view the Vale of Hope was a remarkable one. It was just on the edge of the great plateau of mountain limestone. Behind me stretched that formation, before me lay the Yoredale Rocks overlying the same. These rocks, which take their name from the valley of the Yore, or Ure, in Yorkshire, where they are most fully developed, are beautifully exposed in the steep escarpment of Mam Tor, or the Shivering Mountain. Here they will be seen to consist of alternate layers of sandstone and shale—the latter being impregnated with oxide ​of iron. In some of the nodules of impure limestone I found, in examining them upon the occasion of a former visit, cavities filled with dried bitumen, and several specimens of a species of Modiola and Coniatites reticulata.
Upon the opposite site of the road, the western, is the famous Windy Knoll Quarry—the scene of the labours of several farmers, of some students of Owens College, Manchester, and last, but not least, of Mr. Rooke Pennington. This quarry is remarkably situated. It is near to the most northern point of the mountain limestone of Derbyshire, and in the direct line of route from the Cheshire plums to the Vale of Hope. To quote the words of Mr. Pennington in the "Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for May, 1875," "the Yoredale beds dip northwards: a fault runs close to the spot. The line of division between the mountain limestone and the overlying rocks runs, roughly speaking, to S.E. and S.W. of this quarry." But that which has served to render this quarry famous has been the discovery of a fissure filled with the remains of extinct animals. Certainly, it has been a remarkable place. I say it has been, for when I visited it, last August, all trace of it, with the exception of a few splinters of bones, two specimens of the tarsus, and one of the humerus of the Reindeer, had disappeared; the rock having been blown down, and the bones taken away.
It would appear as if this fissure lay in the track of animals making their way from the Cheshire valleys and plains to the Vale of Hope, and that connected with it was a swampy pool, to which they went to drink; that the weak ones stuck fast in the mud, from which they were unable to extricate themselves; that whilst in this predicament they fell an easy prey to bears and wolves, whose bones, in their turn, became mingled with those of their victims. The bones found in this fissure were of all parts of the animals:—The bison (Bison priscus,) the reindeer (Cervus tarrandus,) the grisly bear (Ursus ferox,) the wolf (Canis lupus,) the fox (C. vulpes,) the hare (Lepus timidus,) the rabbit (L. cunniculus,) and the water-vole (Arvicola amphibia.} Before passing on we must notice the remarkable bed of elastic bitumen which is found here, overlying a mass of mountain limestone, on the south side of the quarry. Besides this a great mass of limestone on the north side of the quarry has become so saturated with the bitumen that when placed in a fire it burned with a clear, bright flame. In this last-mentioned limestones I found an internal cast of Euomphalus Dionysii, two species of Productus, two of Athyris, one of Spirifera, and a beautiful specimen of Conocardium minax.
Leaving this interesting quarry we proceed to the Blue John Mine in Traycliff. This mine is the grand depository of the amethystine or topaziue fluor spor, locally called "Blue John," to distinguish it from "Black Jack," or zinc ore. This substance is composed of lime and fluoric acid, the most penetrative and corrosive of any acid known, the blue colouring matter being oxide of manganese. Descending by a flight of steps, a narrow confined passage is reached, that winds between the rocks. From the roof of this passage stalactites are pendant, whilst in the sides crystals of carbonate of lime glisten. After descending for a short time, ​the variegated cavern is reached—a large chamber, said to be upwards of 100 feet in height. But this is not the only large chamber that has been discovered through the labours of the miners. Some distance from this cavern is the one called "Lord Mulgrave's Dining Room"—a large cavity about 150 feet in height, and 60 feet in diameter. But the most beautiful of all the clambers is that called the "Crystallised Cavern," a large dome-shaped cavity, the height of which is estimated at 100 feet, and whose sides are adorned with numerous stalactites, that sparkle like stars when it is lighted up.
Another of the Peak mines is the Speedwell Mine, the gallery of which was originally excavated by a company of proprietors in search of lead ore. Access to the interior of this mine is obtained by descending about 104 steps, then by proceeding in a boat along a level or tunnel, the result of the miners' operations, to the Grand Cavern, a vast vaulted chamber, fashioned by natural forces in the heart of the mountain, the height of which has never been ascertained, but is supposed to exceed 500 feet, since rockets capable of ascending 450 feet have been sent up and have exploded and thrown out their coruscations as fully as if they had ascended beneath the vault of heaven. On one side of this chamber is an abyss which has never been fathomed. On the day that I visited it a vast body of water was pouring into it from some of the old workings, which precipitated itself into the chasm with the noise of thunder. This was owing to the rain having fallen almost incessantly for some days, as in the usual course of things visitors are able to throw stones down and hear them bound from side to side for some minutes.
The greatest of all the Peak caverns is the "Peak Cavern," or "Devil's Hole," the approach to which is through a ravine by the side of the stream which issues from the cavern. At the termination of this ravine there is a magnificent natural arch in the sold rock, 120 feet wide, and 42 feet high. The mode of progress in this cavern was formerly by a boat for short distances, but latterly, for the convenience of visitors, passages have been made by blasting the rock. After proceeding for some distance a large chamber, called the "Grand Saloon," is reached, about 220 feet square, and in some places 120 feet in height. Leaving this apartment by means of a steep and rugged pathway, the "Chancel" is reached, and then descending by another path the visitor arrives at the "Devil's Cellar." The other large chambers in this cavern are "Gloucester Hall" and "Great Tom of Lincoln," the latter being so designated from its having a regular concavity in the roof resembling the form of a bell.
On the eastern side of the Castle Hill runs Cave Dale, a rocky glen, in which the mountain limestone is well exposed. The approach to this narrow defile has rather a forbidding aspect, the entrance being by a cleft in the hillside not more than five feet wide, Passing this the dell widens out and gradually ascends for about a mile. As the visitor ascends towards the summit he passes on his way a singular column of toadstone, not unlike in appearance to the basaltic ​columns of the Giant's Causeway, and obtains lovely views of the old keep of the Castle and of the ills separating Edale from Hope Dale. In this dale the geologist will meet with a rich variety of fossils. Cardiomorpha oblonga, Rhynchonella pugnus and plenrodon, Terebratula hastata, Spirifera glabra, Conocardium minax, and species of Nautilus may be found.
Cave-hunting in this dale has been carried on successfully by Mr. Rooke Pennington. He discovered some time since underneath the keep of Peveril Castle a small eave, which has furnished a few articles, showing that if had been occupied by man at various periods from the (so-called) Neolithic age down to a comparatively recent period. Amongst the relics obtained wore a shilling of Queen Elizabeth's reign; pieces of old-fashioned pots of a later reign, mingled with bits of "rude pre-historic pottery;" bones of the Colfic Short Horn (Bos longifrons,) goat (Capra hircus,) and hog. Of animals not connected with man there were many teeth and bones of the fox (Canis vulpes,) badger (Meles taxus,) and a skull of the water-rat (Arvicola amphibia.) Of implements. &c., there was a tooled piece of stag-horn, an iron spike, two flints, a piece of jet, part of a bone comb, and a magnificent bronze celt. There was thus a distinct proof of this cave having been used, first, at some remote period as a place of sepulchre, by the presence of human teeth and a fibula; and, secondly, at a more recent period by the indications above-mentioned, as well as by the discovery of an antler of a red deer, half-sawn through and then broken off, and the bones of a dog and of a hog.
Another notable place in the neighbourhood of Castleton is the "Winnets" or Windgates, a narrow defile between lofty limestone cliffs, through which the high read to Manchester formerly ran. Exceedingly wild and grand is the appearance presented by this pass; on each side stupendous piles of mountain limestone rise to a great height, with their summits split and rent into a variety of forms, some assuming the shape of ruined castles; in some places huge, buttress-like masses protrude info the road, whilst in others Hie shattered fragments of rock which, having become detached from the hillside above, have been hurled down, and are seen scattered abroad in wild profusion; whilst at the lowest part of the defile a gigantic pile of rock, round which the road winds, appears to close in the ravine,
Opening out from Hope Dale are numerous other dales of great loveliness, as Edale, &c. The origin of these may be traced to denudation, the action of water having, in the course of ages, swept away the Yoredale shale where it occurred, leaving the harder rocks which form the hills in situ. To this cause the origin of most of the undulating scenery of Derbyshire must be attributed, streams that descended from the heights having first undermined the softer strata and then carried them away. Good examples of the action may be seen on the lower flanks of Kinder Scout, and notably at Mam Tor; and where only the lower limestone beds occur it is not to be doubted that water has been the chief agent in excavating the dales—first by cutting out subterranean channels for itself, as in the ease of the before-mentioned caverns, and ​then, the roof of the cavern having fallen in, by gradually widening it, and so converting a cave into a ravine. Similar instances of this kind of action I have also met with at the base of Ingleborough, in Yorkshire.
The district of which Castleton is the centre is one in which the student of the marvels of creation will find much to instruct and interest him. Here he will find a record of some of the changes to which our globe has been subjected at the hands of Him who by His Almighty fiat said "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear;" who has settled the bounds of the different animals inhabiting the name, and who has fitted it for the welfare and happiness of man, the last and greatest of His productions.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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