Mearns may only be a small hamlet of seven houses/cottages but it does have a significant place in history.
The Mearns pit was sunk in 1783 and closed in 1824. It was one of several local pits that made up part of the Somerset Coalfield. It was here at the Mearns Colliery, that William Smith (March 1769 – August 1839) known as the ‘Father of English Geology” first observed the rock layers (or strata) at the pit.
He went down all the shafts of Mearns Colliery, descending by means of slippery ladders, ropes or the chain of the dredger. He had studied fossils as a hobby and as he went deeper and deeper into the pit he noticed the succession of the layers of rock and their angle of dip and the fossils trapped within the layers.
He realised that they were arranged in a predictable pattern and that the various strata could always be found in the same relative positions. Additionally, each particular stratum could be identified by the fossils it contained, and the same succession of fossil groups from older to younger rocks could be found in many parts of England.
The maximum shaft depth was 279 ft, with the diameter only 4ft 6 in, so ‘deep’ may seem a bit of an overstatement compared with other local pits. Mearns Colliery would have probably passed from memory had it not been for William Smith’s discoveries, giving it a place in history.
I believe evidence of one of the mine shafts can still be seen in the garden of one of the properties.
You are looking for magnetic cache - a natural looking camo. Tweezers & pen needed. Please ensure lid is fully closed & replace as found, covered in stones. Thanks