The University of Bristol Spelæological Society (UBSS) was founded in 1919 by

caver Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...

s in the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. Among its earliest activities was the

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

excavation of

Aveline's Hole Aveline's Hole is a cave at Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain, Britain, 10,200 and 10,400 years old, was found at Aveline's Hole, constituting ...

. The club owns a hut, which was formerly a ladies' cricket pavilion. It was bought in 1919 for £5 and moved from its original plot to

Burrington Combe Burrington Combe is a Carboniferous Limestone Canyon, gorge near the village of Burrington, Somerset, Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England. "Combe" or "coombe" is a wo ...

, where it still stands.

Publications and library

The club maintains one of the largest collections of caving books and journals in the country in its library in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, as well as publishing the long-standing academic journal, ''Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelæological Society''. Following numerous expeditions to

the Burren The Burren ( ; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

over the years, the UBSS has published the definitive guides to the caves of the region: ''Caves of Northwest Clare'' (1969), ''Caves of County Clare'' (1981), ''Caves of County Clare & South Galway'' (2003), ''Caves of Mid-West Ireland'' (2019) and ''Caves of southern Ireland'' (2022).

Notable members

Notable past members of the club include Professor E. K. Tratman, who gave his name to Tratman's Temple in

Swildon's Hole Swildon's Hole is an extensive cave in Priddy, Somerset. At in length, it is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills. It has been found to be connected to Priddy Green Sink and forms part of the Priddy Caves Site of Special Scientific Interest (S ...

and to the 'Tratman Award', respected Irish

spelæologist Speleology () is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their composition, structure, physical properties, history, ecology, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorpholog ...

J. C. Coleman, Edward Fawcett FRS, anatomy professor and first president, and baking star

Kim-Joy Hewlett Kim-Joy (born Kim-Joy Hewlett, ) is a British baker and cookbook writer. She became one of two runners-up in the ninth series (2018) of ''The Great British Bake Off'' and won ''Bake Off'' New Year 2022 special. She has written three cookbooks ...

References

External links

UBSS club website
{{DEFAULTSORT:University of Bristol Spelaeological Society Student societies in the United Kingdom Caving organisations in the United Kingdom 1919 establishments in England Sports organizations established in 1919 University of Bristol

Publications and library

Notable members

See also

References

Further reading

External links