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MENDIP HILLS , a range in the See also:north of See also:Somersetshire, See also:England. Using the name in its widest application, the eastern boundary of the range may be taken to be formed by the upper valleys of the See also:rivers See also:Frome and Brue, and the depression between them. The range extends from these north-westward with a See also:major See also:axis of about 23 m., while the outliers of Wavering Down and Bleadon See also:- HILL
- HILL (0. Eng. hyll; cf. Low Ger. hull, Mid. Dutch hul, allied to Lat. celsus, high, collis, hill, &c.)
- HILL, A
- HILL, AARON (1685-175o)
- HILL, AMBROSE POWELL
- HILL, DANIEL HARVEY (1821-1889)
- HILL, DAVID BENNETT (1843–1910)
- HILL, GEORGE BIRKBECK NORMAN (1835-1903)
- HILL, JAMES J
- HILL, JOHN (c. 1716-1775)
- HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792-1872)
- HILL, OCTAVIA (1838– )
- HILL, ROWLAND (1744–1833)
- HILL, SIR ROWLAND (1795-1879)
Hill continue it towards the See also:shore of the See also:Bristol Channel. The range is generally about 6 m. in width, and its See also:total See also:area about 130 sq. m. Its See also:south-western See also:face descends to the See also:low " See also:moors " or marshes drained by the See also:Axe and other streams, the small towns of Axbridge, See also:Cheddar and See also:Wells lying at the See also:foot of the hills. Towards the north-See also:east its limits are less clearly defined, for high ground, intersected by narrow vales, extends as far as the valley of the" See also:Avon. A depression, followed by the road between Radstock and Wells, strikes across the range about its centre; the See also:principal elevations See also:lie See also:west of this, and to the area thus defined the name of the Mendips is sometimes restricted. The See also:summit of the hills is a gently swelling See also:plateau, which reaches its extreme height in the north—io6S ft. The Mendips consist principally of Carboniferous See also:Limestone. See also:Fine cliffs and scars occur on the flanks of the plateau, as in the See also:gorge of Cheddar, and there is a wonderful See also:series of caverns, the result of See also:water See also:action. The See also:surface of the plateau is often broken by deep holes
(" swallets ") into which streams flow. Some of the caves, such as those at Cheddar, are easy of See also:access, and attract many visitors owing to the beauty of the stalactitic formations; others, of greater extent and grandeur, have only been explored, or partly explored, with See also:great difficulty. Some caves have yielded large quantities of See also:animal remains (hyaenas, bears and others) together with traces of prehistoric human occupation. Among such Wookey Hole, where the See also:river Axe issues from the foot of a cliff, may be mentioned. See also:Lead was worked among the Mendips at a very See also:early See also:period. Some of the See also:Roman workings, especially in the neighbourhood of See also:Charterhouse-on-Mendip, have yielded pigs of lead inscribed with the names of emperors of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., together with an abundance of smaller See also:objects.
See E. See also:Baker and H. Balch, The Netherworld of Mendip (See also:Clifton, 1907).
End of Article: MENDIP HILLS
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