Hellfire Caves facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hellfire Caves |
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Entrance to the caves, 2008
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| Location | West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Geology | Chalk |
The Hellfire Caves (also known as the West Wycombe Caves) are a network of tunnels and rooms made by people. They are dug into chalk and flint, stretching about 260 meters (850 feet) underground. You can find them above the village of West Wycombe. This is at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, Southeast England.
These caves were dug out between 1748 and 1752. They were created for Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer. He was a rich and important person who started a special club called the Hellfire Club. Members of this club used to meet inside the caves. The Hellfire Caves have been open for visitors as a fun tourist attraction since 1863.
Exploring the Caves
The Hellfire Caves are dug into the hillside above West Wycombe village. They are directly under St Lawrence's Church and Mausoleum. Sir Francis Dashwood also built these buildings around the same time the caves were made.
Across the valley is West Wycombe Park. This is the old home of the Dashwood family. It is now looked after by the National Trust. The entrance to the caves looks like an old church. You can see this entrance clearly from West Wycombe House.
Sir Francis Dashwood got many ideas for the caves from his travels. He visited places like Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria. The caves go about 0.25 miles (400 meters) underground. Different rooms, called "chambers," are connected by long, narrow tunnels.
Your journey through the caves starts in the Entrance Hall. You then go to the Steward's Chamber and Whitehead's Cave. Next is Lord Sandwich's Circle, named after a friend of Dashwood. Then you reach Franklin's Cave, named after Benjamin Franklin, who visited West Wycombe.
The Banqueting Hall is a very large room. It is said to be the biggest man-made chalk cavern in the world. After this, you pass through the Triangle and the Miner's Cave. Finally, you cross an underground river called the Styx. This leads to the last cave, the Inner Temple. The Hellfire Club held their meetings here. This room is about 300 feet (90 meters) directly below the church on top of West Wycombe hill.
In old Greek stories, the River Styx separated the living world from the underworld. The Inner Temple being deep underground, right below the church, was meant to show a link between heaven and the underworld.
History of the Hellfire Caves
How the Caves Were Made
People believe that a chalk mine existed in West Wycombe for many centuries. It was there even before the Hellfire Caves were dug.
In the late 1740s, Sir Francis Dashwood wanted to help local people who were very poor. There had been droughts and bad harvests, so many families had no money. He started a big project to dig chalk for a new road. This road was three miles (5 km) long and went between West Wycombe and High Wycombe.
Local farm workers were hired for this job. They were paid one shilling a day, which was enough to support a family back then. They dug tunnels underground to get chalk and flint. The chalk was used for the new road. It was also used to build houses in the village, as well as the church and Mausoleum. Since all the digging was done by hand, the caves are seen as an amazing engineering achievement.
The Caves Today
During World War II, there were plans to use the caves as a large air-raid shelter. This would protect people if nearby towns were bombed. However, High Wycombe and the surrounding areas were not attacked. So, these plans were not carried out.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the caves were fixed up. Sir Francis Dashwood (the 11th Baronet) turned them into a visitor attraction. He used the money earned from the caves to repair West Wycombe Park, which was in bad condition.
The Hellfire Caves reopened in 1951. Since then, more than 2.5 million people have visited them. Tours take visitors through passages that stretch over 0.25 miles (400 meters) underground. You can see many chambers, from small ones to the large Banqueting Hall. Then you cross the River Styx to reach the Inner Temple. Much of the money earned by the caves has been given to charities, including the National Trust.
