The Dorking Caves are a network of manmade tunnels excavated in the soft sandstone of the

Upper Greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...

deposits beneath

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp ...

in Surrey,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Location and layout

The present entrance to the caves is in South Street in the centre of Dorking. There is evidence of a number of original entrances to the caves, including two shafts, but all with the exception of the South Street entrance have been sealed. The upper level of the caves is laid out as a wine cellar and was last used for this purpose in the 19th century. In the centre of the upper level is a set of steps leading down to a landing, from which leads a further set of steps to a lower passage. At the far end of this passage is a circular room with a bench cut out of the rock.

History

The Dorking 'caves' are

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s, being manmade and as such not

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s in the true sense of the word (a natural underground/cliff-side space large enough for a human to enter). Dorking Caves is a long-used name and the one used in all promotional and official literature. The exact age of the caves is unknown. Historian

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquarian, antiquary, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. ...

mentioned them in the late 17th century, praising their qualities as wine cellars, in which capacity parts of them served until the 19th century. Extensive graffiti adorns the caves, largely from the 18th and 19th centuries. The oldest date found inscribed on the walls is 1672. The caves formed a network connecting the cellars of buildings around the town and were probably used initially for storage, but have had a variety of uses including as hiding places for smugglers'

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

. One cave in High Street provided a venue for

cock fighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

while others according to recent

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

were used as a hiding places by persecuted religious groups (see

European Wars of Religion The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic cou ...

) and secret societies.

Access

The caves are open to the public during the summer with tours organised by Dorking Museum.

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibl ...

, formally re-opened the caves to the public on his visit to the town on 11 March 2015.

External links

Tourist information

References

{{Mole Valley Caves of Surrey

Caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...