A tour down the Caves takes you through long deep winding passages which extend over a quarter of a mile underground and lead past various small chambers to the Banqueting Hall, and then further down over the River Styx.
According to mythology, this River separated the living world from the Underworld. You finally reach the Inner Temple and are now some three hundred feet beneath St Lawrence’s Church with its Golden Ball on the top of the hill. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for our resident ghosts, Sukie and Paul Whitehead.
Steward’s Cave
After entering the Caves you will come to the small Steward’s cave on the right. Here you will find tools similar to those used by the 18th Century workers; picks with both long and short heads, crowbars, hammers, shovels. The light was entirely provided by candles.
Paul Whitehead’s Chamber
Paul Whitehead was the steward of the Hellfire Club as well as a poet. One of his roles was to maintain the Cellar Book accounts of the Hellfire Club which involved keeping a list of the wine consumed by its various members when they met at Medmenham Abbey (before the Club moved to the Caves). He died in 1774 leaving £50 in his will with a special request to Sir Francis. He left his heart to the founder ‘as a token of his warm attachment to the noble founder’ and asked to be placed in an urn in the Mausoleum.
Franklin’s Cave
Named after Benjamin Franklin, a great friend of Sir Francis. They worked together when Sir Francis was Postmaster General of Great Britain from 1766 until his death in 1781 and was Franklin’s superior officer who was Deputy Postmaster for North America during some of this time. Franklin stayed at West Wycombe on numerous occasions and described the place as ‘a paradise’ and also referred to the Caves which he clearly enjoyed.
GUIDED TOURS
If you want a spooky candlelit ghost tour or a tour bursting with history, we offer guided tours to suit everybody’s requirements. It can be a swift 15 minutes or an hour of historical facts about The Hellfire Caves. We can also include the splendid Dashwood Mausoleum on the hillside above the Caves and take you for a walk around the unnerving graveyard of St Lawrence’s Church.