MAP OF CHEDDAR
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance
Survey and Ordnance Survey
of Northern Ireland.
A
brief history of Cheddar
Cheddar is unique. Its distinguishing
feature is the natural phenomenon of Britain's largest Gorge. The
Cheddar Yeo in Gough's Cave is Britain's biggest underground
river, and the Gorge Cliffs are Britain's highest inland
limestone cliffs.
The Gorge is a Site
of Special Scientific Interest because
of the calcareous
grassland, Karst limestone
buttresses and Horseshoe
Bats. Peregrine
Falcons nest on the cliff face and Soay
sheep keep the scrub in check.
Gough's Cave is an internationally famous archeological site because of its
Late Upper Paleolithic finds
(12-13,000 years old) and contained Britian's
oldest complete skeleton (9,000 years old). It lies within an Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a candidate for Special Area for Conservation
status.
The Village of Cheddar has a long and ancient history, having been important Roman
and Saxon Centres. As early as 1130 AD, the beauty of the Gorge was
recognised as one of the "Four wonders of England". Historically,
Cheddar's source of wealth was farming and cheese
making
for which it was famous as early as 1170 AD.
In the 17th and 18th Centuries, the many watermills ground
corn and made paper, and, from the Victorian period largescale production of
clothing.
Popular tourism began with the opening of Cheddar
Valley Railway in 1869/1870, which provided workers from towns with the
opportunity to enjoy a day's outing for the first-time as a Bank Holiday. The
railway was also popularly known as the Strawberry Line, because it passed
close by the many strawberry-growing fields in the largely south-west facing
slopes on the Cheddar side of the valley. "Strawberry Special" trains ferried
the fruits by rail to all parts of the country, until the line was axed
in 1965. Cheddar strawberries are still grown on these slopes today and in
season are available to buy from stalls on the roadside between Cheddar,
Draycott, Rodney Stoke and Westbury-sub-Mendip.
Cheddar,
both the Village and Gorge today provides both shopping and leisure opportunites
for all ages.
Local historians - please feel free to
send over any additional words and pictures, relating to any
aspect of Cheddar's history, that you would like to have published
on this site (with a credit of course).
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