Tuesday 12 September 2017

In the Jungle the Lion Sleeps

In a deep wooded valley in Home Wood, half a mile to the south of the hamlet of Nettlebridge, there are several structures which are known locally as "Lion Cages".  They are rectangular in shape and have raised concrete bases, which are surrounded by iron railings.  Each one also has a gate.  According to Penny Stokes, the author of Ashwick: Coal, Ale & Pasture, they were probably built at some point in the past by Bristol Waterworks, possibly to house pumps which extracted water from some of the many springs in the valley. 

There is another Lion Cage at St Dunstan's Well in Stoke Bottom near Stoke St Michael. The water that reappears at the surface at this point has travelled more than a kilometre underground from a sinkhole at Stoke Lane Slocker.

Lion Cage in Home Wood
 
Lion Cage in Home Wood
 
Lion Cage in Home Wood
 
Lion Cage in Home Wood
 
Lion Cage at St Dunstan's Well
 
St Dunstan's Well, Stoke St Michael

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