Holcombe, Somerset

The Church of St. Andrew close to Downside Abbey in Holcombe, Somerset, England has late Saxon-early Norman origins and was rebuilt in the 16th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was vested in the Trust on 1 August 1987.The old church on the site was consecrated by Archbishop Wrotard of York in 928.The church has a two-stage tower and two-bay nave.The interior includes late Georgian box pews and a Jacobean pulpit. In the graveyard is a memorial to the family of Robert Falcon Scott whose father managed the brewery in the village. There is also a yew tree that is thought to be about 1500 years old.The original medieval village was buried at the time of the plague and St Andrews is surrounded by the mounds that bear testimony to this burial. It is suggested that the rhyme 'Ring a Ring o' Roses' began there as a result. An alternative explanation relates to the drowning of five children from the village in an icy pond in 1899.The parish is part of the benefice of Coleford with Holcombe within the Midsomer Norton deanery.

Coleford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Mells River in the Mendip Hills five miles west of Frome. The parish has a population of 2,313 in 2011.

Cook's Wood Quarry also known as Holcombe Quarry (grid reference ST669479) is a 0.8-hectare (2.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Stoke St Michael on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, notified in 1988. This is a Geological Conservation Review Site. This site partially overlaps with St. Dunstan's Well Catchment SSSI. The main exposures are cut in very steeply-dipping Carboniferous Limestone. This was the original locality for the type section of the proposed ‘Cookswoodian Stage’. 9 species of Bat, Dormice and four species of Newts including the rare Great Crested Newt reside in Cooks Wood Quarry.Planning permission for the disused quarry has been granted to turn it into a holiday retreat.

Edford Woods and Meadows (grid reference ST665485) is a 54.3 hectare (134.1 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, between Nettlebridge, Holcombe and Stoke St Michael, Somerset, notified in 1957. This site is important for the occurrence of a wide range of types of semi-natural ancient woodland and for unimproved meadows and pastures of a type which is now uncommon in Britain.The forests in Edford Wood are dominated by Ash and Alder trees, with Pedunculate Oak and Sessile Oak growing there as well. Hazel and other plants form a lush and varied undergrowth, with different species living in the moist soil of the valley floor rather than in the drier soil further up the hill sides. The rare herb monk's hood grows in abundance in the region.

Stoke Lane Slocker (grid reference ST66874745) is a cave near Stoke St Michael, in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Mendip Hills, in the English county of Somerset. It is 2.18 km in length and reaches a depth of 30m.It was previously known as Stoke Lane Swallet, but now the local name is preferred. The origin of the word "Slocker" is obscure, possibly from "slock" meaning to entice or lure away although the Gaelic word for swallow hole is "sluighaire".

St. Dunstan's Well Catchment (grid reference ST668475) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, covering 39.8 hectares (98.3 acres) near Stoke St Michael in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The site was notified in 1967. It is of both geological and biological significance. Formerly known as Stoke St Michael Slocker, it contains nine SSSI units consisting of rock and calcareous grassland.

Stoke St Michael is a village and civil parish on the Mendip Hills 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Shepton Mallet, and 8 miles (12.9 km) west of Frome, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England.

The Anglican Church of St Michael in Stoke St Michael, Somerset, England was built around 1400. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, 2 miles (3 km) south-west of Westfield, 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Shepton Mallet, and 9 miles (14 km) from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultural landscape, although it was part of the once-thriving Somerset coalfield. Within the boundaries of the parish are the hamlets of Benter and Nettlebridge. Stratton-on-the-Fosse straddles the Fosse Way, an ancient Roman road which linked the cities of Lincoln and Exeter. It lies between the parish of Westfield, Somerset and the village of Oakhill. St Vigor and St John Church of England Primary School is situated in nearby Chilcompton.

Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originally a school for English Catholic boys, it was established in 1617 by English and Welsh monks living in exile at Douai, France. The monastic community returned to England in 1795, with both the community and its school initially housed in the Shropshire home of Sir Edward Smythe, a former pupil. By 1814, the abbey and school had been re-established at their present site, in Somerset. Downside School became fully co-educational in all year groups in 2005.

W/L Cave is part of the Fairy Cave Quarry group of caves between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. It is named after the initials of its discoverers, Bob Whitaker and Jerry Lavis, was first entered in the summer of 1967. It was the first significant cave to be discovered after the destruction of Balch Cave in the same (Fairy Cave) quarry. Although short it was extremely well decorated with calcite formations and ended in a large chamber with a magnificent side grotto dubbed Pink Pool Chamber. It is almost certainly part of the Balch Cave system and is the link between Balch Cave and the other systems in Fairy Cave Quarry namely Shatter Cave and Withyhill Cave. The link was proved by a digging project conducted by Pete Rose and Nick Chipchase of the Cerberus Spelaeological Society, the HQ of which club used to lie adjacent to the quarry in cottages owned by the quarry company. Pink Pool Chamber is linked to the first chamber in Shatter Cave by a narrow passage opened by blasting by the above named cavers.

Fairy Cave Quarry (grid reference ST65734753) is between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s. In 1963 the quarry was acquired by Hobbs (Quarries) Ltd., and production on a much larger scale began. Excavations cut back into the hillside above St Dunstan's Well Rising, a Bristol Water abstraction point (long since abandoned); various caves were intercepted. The quarry ceased production in 1977.The caves in Fairy Cave Quarry include: Balch Cave Conning Tower Cave Fairy Cave Fernhill Cave Hillier's Cave Hillwithy Cave Shatter Cave W/L Cave Withyhill CaveThe caves in the quarry were formed by water from an unknown source. Withybrook Slocker is an active swallet to the south of the quarry and although the water sinking here presently flows through the quarry caves the stream is misfit. Withybrook Slocker, however, gives access to the upstream continuation of the quarry caves and digging activities by the Cerberus Spelaeological Society will hopefully lead to the discovery of the original source of the system. The quarry has also been used extensively for climbing, with 172 named routes. Although this was previously without permission of the landowners, in July 2010 access for climbers was agreed.