EuroSpeleo 2016

Caverns of the Mind: Science and the Imagination in 18th Century Caves

Oral|Mr Frank Pearson

Abstract

John Hutton's 'A Tour to the Caves of the West Riding of Yorkshire' of 1781 was the first book in Britain solely dedicated to caves and caving. It is an extraordinary book as it is part tour guide, part cave guide; it includes poetry, natural history, theories on cave geomorphology and climate and concludes with a glossary of northern dialect words. Though independently published it was also in the appendix of the best selling 'A Guide to the Lakes' by Thomas West. It inspired travellers to visit the caves of Yorkshire, such as the poet, William Wordsworth, and the painter, William Westall but it also drew on the context of cave exploration from around the country, on the development of cave science and on thousands of years as the cave as the mythic underworld. It is a landmark of caving history in the UK.