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Cheddar, Somerset

Cheddar, SomersetCivil parishes in SomersetMendip HillsVillages in Sedgemoor
Cheddar 09 06 9
Cheddar 09 06 9

Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Weston-super-Mare and 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Bristol. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The parish had a population of 5,755 in 2011 and an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.Cheddar Gorge, on the northern edge of the village, is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves, including Gough's Cave. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic times including a Saxon palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has been a centre for strawberry growing. The crop was formerly transported on the Cheddar Valley rail line, which closed in the late 1960s but is now a cycle path. The village is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.The village supports a variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of The Kings of Wessex Academy, which is the largest educational establishment.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cheddar, Somerset (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cheddar, Somerset
Gadd's Lane, Sedgemoor

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Wikipedia: Cheddar, SomersetContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.279 ° E -2.778 °
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Address

Gadd's Lane
BS27 3JB Sedgemoor
England, United Kingdom
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Cheddar 09 06 9
Cheddar 09 06 9
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Batts Combe quarry
Batts Combe quarry

Batts Combe quarry, grid reference ST460550 is a limestone quarry on the edge of Cheddar village on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. It has been operating since the early 20th century and is currently owned and operated by Singleton Birch Ltd. The output in 2005 was around 4,000 tonnes of limestone per day, one third of which was supplied to an on-site lime kiln, the remainder being sold as coated or dusted aggregates. The limestone at this site is close to 99% carbonate of calcium and magnesium (dolomite). In former years it was a major supplier of limestone for railway track ballast purposes. A lime-burning kiln at the site was closed for a while in 2006 after testing showed quicklime dust was escaping into the atmosphere. The kiln, which produced 200,000 tonnes of quicklime a year for use in the steel industry, required £300,000 of investment to resolve the problems. The closure followed an earlier warning from the Environment Agency when the company was notified that it should tighten up procedures at the site. Quicklime dust is a health hazard, which in large quantities can cause skin irritation and damage to the eyes and throat. In March 2009 however the lime kiln closed, supposedly indefinitely, following a drop in demand from the site's sole customer, Corus.; the quarry has since been taken over by Melton Ross, Lincolnshire-based Singleton Birch. There is some evidence of a Bronze Age field system at the site. Boxes were placed in Hanson woodland adjoining the company's Batts Combe quarry to encourage dormice to breed, and monitored with the help of pupils from Wells Cathedral School.