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Hellfire Caves

Accuracy disputes from August 2017All accuracy disputesBuildings and structures in BuckinghamshireCaves of BuckinghamshireChalk mines in England
Chiltern HillsHellfire ClubReportedly haunted locations in South East EnglandShow caves in the United KingdomTourist attractions in Buckinghamshire
Hellfire Caves entrance geograph.org.uk 707328
Hellfire Caves entrance geograph.org.uk 707328

The Hellfire Caves (also known as the West Wycombe Caves) are a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend 260m underground. They are situated above the village of West Wycombe, at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Southeast England. They were excavated between 1748 and 1752 for Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer (2nd Baronet), founder of the Society of Dilettanti and co-founder of the Hellfire Club, whose meetings were held in the caves. The caves have been operating as a tourist attraction since reopening in 1951.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hellfire Caves (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Hellfire Caves
West Wycombe Hill Road,

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Wikipedia: Hellfire CavesContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.646 ° E -0.8026 °
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Address

Hell-Fire Tea Rooms

West Wycombe Hill Road
HP14 3AH , West Wycombe
England, United Kingdom
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Hellfire Caves entrance geograph.org.uk 707328
Hellfire Caves entrance geograph.org.uk 707328
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Nearby Places

St Paul's Church, West Wycombe
St Paul's Church, West Wycombe

St. Paul's Church, in High Street, West Wycombe, England, is one of two Anglican churches in the village. St. Paul's was built by Lady Elizabeth Dashwood, widow of Sir George Henry Dashwood to serve the village of West Wycombe. The architect was J. W. Hugall of Oxford and it was built in 1875.Nicholas Pevsner says: The CHURCH OF ST PAUL in the garden of the Vicarage is of 1845 architect unknown, red brick with an apse and lancet windows. However, the date given on the stained glass windows gives the date, 1875 (also the date given in the Victoria County History,) and the architect as J.W. Hugall. The roof features pitch pine roof trusses. Near the church door is a large, traditional, font in which babies are baptised. It symbolises the start of the journey of faith. There are two stained glass windows, one is a gift from the architect and the other was given by Sir Theodore H L Brinckman Bart. Opposite the door is a large crucifix of Christ the King. It came from a church in Italy. The organ is a small, single manual, chamber one and is used regularly. St. Paul's is shared by the Serbian Orthodox Church, being named St. Nicholas by them. They hold a service each month. The most prominent feature of the church interior is an iconostasis covered with icons. There is also a statue of the Virgin Mary in the church and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved here. St. Paul's was consecrated by the Bishop of Buckingham on Sunday 13 June 1937. St. Paul's is known as the 'Winter Church' and St. Lawrence, on West Wycombe Hill as the 'Summer Church.' This was because there was no road up to St. Lawrence until 1928 and no power until the 1970s. The West Wycombe Revels, a large village fete, used to be held in the grounds around the church each summer.

Downley
Downley

Downley is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, which was included in Wycombe district before its abolition. It is high in the Chiltern Hills, overlooking the town of High Wycombe, although today it is almost indistinguishable from the urban spread of the latter town. The central part of the parish is the common, this extends over about 56 acres (23 ha). It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Downley was originally within the 1890s civil parish of West Wycombe, however, in the 1930s West Wycombe village was incorporated into the Borough of High Wycombe and the remainder of the original civil West Wycombe Parish, which included Downley, became known as West Wycombe Rural Detached Parish. Due to Local Government reorganisation in the 1980s West Wycombe Rural Detached Parish was split into two civil Parishes, one of which was Downley Parish, the other being Piddington & Wheeler End. Downley was once three hamlets, Downley was the largest, with Littleworth and Plummer's Green on its south side. Both of these have now been incorporated into Downley as a whole, but there are still names such as Littleworth Road and Plomer Hill. Plomer is a derivative from Plummer. Downley was extensively built up in the 1950s-1960s and is still changing now, with the parish boundary being extended. The Memorial Hall, also known as the Village Hall, in the High Street was built in 1923 and is still in use. The old School, built in the 1870s is also still in use. There were also furniture making factories in the village as well as home workshops; a practice which was common in the Chilterns as High Wycombe and surrounding towns were large producers of furniture, in particular chairs from the Industrial Revolution onwards. Downley was once home to several farms, the largest of these stopped working in the 1990s but can be plainly seen from commonside with its huge barns and unusual listed farm house.