William Pengelly (1812-1894) |
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Receiving no formal education after the age of twelve, Pengelly taught himself mathematics and natural science. Even while involved in a job as a teacher in a small day school, he continued to study the natural sciences. His endless curiosity turned him in the direction of his home and its fascinating geomorphology, leading to a complete study of the science of geology. He had a wide range of interests, such as astronomy, anthropology, meteorology and even local history. Pengelly was one of the most popular scientific speakers of his day. As with all things, Pengelly was voracious in his thirst for geological information and his study of this field was marked by his exact and precise nature. He lived at Torquay, but his work was largely at Devon. He worked closely with the Torquay Natural History Society, which he helped found in 1844. He served as honorary general secretary from 1851 to 1890. It was devoted to the advancement of science, literature and art in the county. Pengelly’s life, up until his middle years, was already a thing of wonder. He did many things to foster local education and a love for knowledge. He had become a very successful tutor and lecturer, so much so that he turned to private tutoring to earn his living (Davies, W.). However, it was not until his middle years that his wide ranging interests came into play in the area that would become consuming for him, the area of cave exploration. Until Pengelly had gotten involved, controversy had raged concerning the question of the length of man’s existence on earth. His work in the Devonshire caverns and surrounding area gave credence to information from caves, especially information concerning ancient man’s coexistence with extinct fauna. His exacting nature and complete examination of the evidence from the caves, his already overwhelming body of published work on a number of subjects in British scientific journals, along with his ability to make the complexities of science comprehensible to those without a science background, established him as an authority on the subject of caves. Kents Cavern, Torquay, Devonshire, England, is the cavern where Pengelly spent most of the middle years of his life. He ended the argument put forth by the Church and others that insisted that man and prehistoric beast had not coexisted. He did this by a thorough examination of the cavern and a complete documentation of the findings along with extensive measurement of the three dimensional position of any artifact found. He also propounded this concept throughout the country during his numerous and very well attended lectures He created the Devonshire Association in 1862 and contributed many papers to it’s meetings and transactions. Local and national institutes received his fossil collections, such as the Pengelly Collection given to Oxford University. He had made a great effort to make his collection of Devonshire fossils as complete as possible, with special attention to the “fossil fish “ of Cornwall. They were first identified as fish in 1843 by C. W. Peach. There was a dispute over this, with Pengelly taking the side of Peach. They were finally confirmed as fish in 1863 by Huxley. He did not end his cave explorations when he had finished with Kents Cavern. He continued his investigations in the other numerous caverns of the area. Indeed the area was rife with caverns because of the Karst topography of the area. Karst topography, named for the Adriatic coastal area of Slovenia and Croatia (called Krs) where geological investigations involving this type of topography were first held, is formed when carbon dioxide and water mix to form carbonic acid. The carbonic acid in turn attacks the limestone rock formations of the area, causing depressions, sinkholes and caverns by eating away at the stone (Christopherson 386-387). When Pengelly passed away at age 82, he had left his indelible mark on the science of geology and cave exploration. He was most notable not only for the conclusions he had come to based on empirical and irrefutable research, but also because he led the way in establishing a proper method of cataloging his many discoveries. There is a William Pengelly Cave Studies Trust which continues his work. They have several studies going at this time. On the internet see http://www.pengelly.org/caves.htm. References:
This page last revised: February 2005
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Caves, once thought to be the dwelling places of all sorts of
mythological creatures, were the undying passion of William Pengelly,
F.R.S. Until Pengelly’s systematic and thorough exploration of caves, much
controversy had existed concerning the veracity and dependability of any
artifacts or data taken from caves. His boundless energy and sharp
faculties led the way to an exact study of the caves of his native
Devonshire, particularly the excavation and cataloging of Kent’s Cavern,
which was the subject of his life’s work. 
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