TCDE-Team at 11:42, 20 March 2026

2026-03-20T11:42:47Z

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	== Article ==		== Article ==
	[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p46-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 46)]]		[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p46-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 8, 1998, p. 46)]]
	[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p47-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 47)]]		[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p47-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 8, 1998, p. 47)]]
	[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p48-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 48)]]		[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p48-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 8, 1998, p. 48)]]

	It is necessary that there should be some prefatory remarks to the following article. '[[The Terror of Blue John Gap — A Geological and Literary Study\|"The Terror of Blue John Gap" — A Geological and Literary Study]]' by Dana Martin Batory & William A. S. Sarjeant, was published in ACD 5 (1994). Subsequently, The New Baker Street Pillar Box, published by The Franco-Midland Hardware Company, carried a two-part article by Philip Weller:'' 'The Bear Necessities: A Question of Literary Fidelity and "The Terror of Blue John Gap" ''(The New Baker Street Pillar Box, 26, pp. 31-34, and 27, pp. 28-33). The second part of Mr Weller's article was accompanied by Sub-Editor's Comments from one Alan Udle MHS (this being a designation awarded to people who undertake a correspondence course in Sherlockian studies operated by Mr Weller). I will deal with the Sub Editor's comments first: apart from praising Mr Weller's ideal qualifications to expound on the subject under discussion, Mr Udle commented:		It is necessary that there should be some prefatory remarks to the following article. '[[The Terror of Blue John Gap — A Geological and Literary Study\|"The Terror of Blue John Gap" — A Geological and Literary Study]]' by Dana Martin Batory & William A. S. Sarjeant, was published in ACD 5 (1994). Subsequently, The New Baker Street Pillar Box, published by The Franco-Midland Hardware Company, carried a two-part article by Philip Weller:'' 'The Bear Necessities: A Question of Literary Fidelity and "The Terror of Blue John Gap" ''(The New Baker Street Pillar Box, 26, pp. 31-34, and 27, pp. 28-33). The second part of Mr Weller's article was accompanied by Sub-Editor's Comments from one Alan Udle MHS (this being a designation awarded to people who undertake a correspondence course in Sherlockian studies operated by Mr Weller). I will deal with the Sub Editor's comments first: apart from praising Mr Weller's ideal qualifications to expound on the subject under discussion, Mr Udle commented:

TCDE-Team: Created page with " '' 'The Terror of Blue John Gap' '' is an article published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 8, 1998). This article introduces and frames a scholarly dispute over "The Terror of Blue John Gap," summarizing Philip Weller's criticisms of an earlier geological-literary study and explaining why the journal is publishing a response. == Article == File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p46-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg|thumb|250px..."

2026-03-17T22:56:24Z

Created page with " '' 'The Terror of Blue John Gap' '' is an article published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 8, 1998). This article introduces and frames a scholarly dispute over "The Terror of Blue John Gap," summarizing Philip Weller's criticisms of an earlier geological-literary study and explaining why the journal is publishing a response. == Article == File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p46-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg|thumb|250px..."

New page

'' 'The Terror of Blue John Gap' '' is an article published in the [[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 8, 1998).

This article introduces and frames a scholarly dispute over "[[The Terror of Blue John Gap]]," summarizing Philip Weller's criticisms of an earlier geological-literary study and explaining why the journal is publishing a response.

== Article ==
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p46-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 46)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p47-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 47)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1998-vol8-p48-the-terror-of-blue-john-gap.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol.80, 1998, p. 48)]]

It is necessary that there should be some prefatory remarks to the following article. '[[The Terror of Blue John Gap — A Geological and Literary Study|"The Terror of Blue John Gap" — A Geological and Literary Study]]' by Dana Martin Batory & William A. S. Sarjeant, was published in ACD 5 (1994). Subsequently, The New Baker Street Pillar Box, published by The Franco-Midland Hardware Company, carried a two-part article by Philip Weller:'' 'The Bear Necessities: A Question of Literary Fidelity and "The Terror of Blue John Gap" ''(The New Baker Street Pillar Box, 26, pp. 31-34, and 27, pp. 28-33). The second part of Mr Weller's article was accompanied by Sub-Editor's Comments from one Alan Udle MHS (this being a designation awarded to people who undertake a correspondence course in Sherlockian studies operated by Mr Weller). I will deal with the Sub Editor's comments first: apart from praising Mr Weller's ideal qualifications to expound on the subject under discussion, Mr Udle commented:

: 'Readers may be unfamiliar with the names of the authors of the article on The Terror which is discussed so thoroughly by the MD [that's Managing Director, Mr Weller's self-styled appointment as Managing Director of The Franco-Midland Hardware Company]. Some readers may, to their misfortune, be aware that Mr Sarjeant was one of the collaborators in that deplorable monograph Ms Holmes of Baker Street, which set out, in a highly self-contradictory and ridiculous manner, to prove that Holmes was a woman. The best that might be said about that piece of ineffable twaddle is that it may, just, have been meant as a joke. It can be seen that there are similar lapses in logical argument in the B&S article on The Terror, and the use of some similarly poor scholarship, but it's[sic!] presentation in a respected literary journal surely denies it the protection of comedy, unless it be a comedy of errors. Perhaps the most appalling practice in the whole B&S article is the way in which the authors attempt to change what [[Arthur Conan Doyle|ACD]] actually wrote, suggesting that he did not know what he was talking about in a most insulting manner. ...'

In brief, the Weller article made the following criticisms:

1. That the main referenced work, written by Dr Trevor Ford, is 40 years old, and minor improvements have since been made in our knowledge of the world distribution of purple fluorspars similar to that known as Blue John.

2. That the map accompanying the article was unacceptable.

3. That an older Ordnance Survey map does not support the authors' 'excessive concentration on Winnats Pass. It is of vital importance to note that at the time of the story the main route to Castleton from the west was not Winnats Pass, as it now is, but the road which runs through the gap between Mam Tor and the Treak Cliff Hill. It is also important to note that both of the major Blue John mines were located alongside this road, and that only the smallest, and most inappropriate, of the Blue John mines existed beside the Winnats Pass road.'

4. That the original article ignored Cave Dale, and therefore did not offer a fully reasoned argument for the location of Allerton farm.

5. That a number of mines have to be considered as a likely location of the one in ACD's story. Mr Weller rejects, however, the reluctance of the authors to make a positive identification of Blue John Gap, and also the way in which they 'inconclusively suggest that the Odin Mine is a good candidate'.

6. That the authors entirely change the nature of the quest for a bear cave by suggesting that what Hardcastle actually saw was a scimitar cat.

And so on, and so forth.

Following receipt of the article in question, a copy of which was sent to the Editors of this Journal by Mr Weller, we contacted Mr Weller and pointed out that, if he was prepared to remove a number of personal slights and unnecessary comment from his article, we should like to publish it in ACD, so that those really interested in the topic would have a chance of considering the points he raised. Mr Weller insisted that the article had originally been offered to ACD. It may have been, but certainly not by any means which reached us [see notes at the end of this article for further clarification of this point]. In refusing to allow the article to be published in amended form, Mr Weller wrote:

: 'I am not interested in having the material re-published, as I have too much new work to concentrate on to return to something which has already been dealt with.'

Dr Sarjeant subsequently requested that we might consider publishing the following response in this Journal. Since the doors of The New Baker Street Pillar Box would almost certainly be closed to any response he might wish to make to Mr Weller's article, this seemed to be a reasonable request.

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The Terror of Blue John Gap (article 1998) - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 11:42, 20 March 2026