From Infamy to Attraction: The Hellfire Caves' Transformation into a Tourist Destination
Many people know the infamous history of the Hellfire Caves, but how did these Caves become a well-known tourist destination. The Caves were first excavated in the mid 18th. Century. They were then more or less closed off for almost two hundred years. It wasn’t until the 1950s that Sir Francis Dashwood, a descendant of the original Sir Francis Dashwood who had originally conceived the idea for the Caves, decided to try and open them as a tourist attraction after a visit to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.
There were large boulders throughout the Caves and the floor was wet and slippery. The first survey revealed that £5,000 would be needed to shore up the dangerous areas. That would be the equivalent of approximately a quarter of a million pounds today. With just £50 in the bank himself, Sir Francis asked his father for help. He refused.... “damned silly idea,” but he did agree to lease him the Caves for £1 a year.
In 1951, Sir Francis and his friends then began the work of clearing the passages of the giant boulders. That season the Caves first opened and were immensely popular with visitors. They used candles to provide light to find their way down.
The following winter a local blacksmith, Mr. Stallwood, erected steel scaffolding around one side of the Banqueting Hall. When returning to work one day he found the scaffolding half buried due to the collapse of part of the ceiling.
The whole experience left Sir Francis unable to sleep for weeks. After agonising, he decided to try again. After all, making the Caves a success would help bring tourism to the Golden Ball Church and West Wycombe House.
Sir Francis brought a large surplus of Anderson Steel Shelters previously used as air raid shelters during the Second World War. Due to the dangers of the falling chalk, Sir Francis largely did the work himself to create a suitable passage.
The following season attracted the same number of visitors, but there was less to see as a large part of the Caves was closed off for safety reasons. Sir Francis decided to remove the shelters and gate off the Banqueting Hall. He had a near miss when more boulders fell from the ceiling, which left him traumatised and unsure about the whole venture.
Then a mining engineer gave Sir Francis the idea of bypassing the Banqueting Hall altogether by digging a new tunnel around it. Jim Powney, Les Lawrence, and Sir Francis then spent four months digging the 150ft long bypass tunnel, which still exists today.
"One night, arriving back from London, I went down the Caves through the new tunnel and just past it I saw to my horror a huge boulder with a man’s coat underneath it. I thought ...’God Almighty Jim has caught it’. In fact, he had nailed a spike into the wall to hang his coat on and the whole wall had then fallen down with the coat, but luckily missing him.”
As the years passed, the Caves had further financial investment, leading to the installation of electric lights and a café at the entrance. Following on from this, a commentary and sound effects were set up, perhaps the first underground “sound and vision” experience in the world.
The Banqueting Hall remained closed off to the public until 1973. The solution to make it safe involved drilling 130ft feet down from the top of the hill into the Banqueting Hall. Wire ropes were lowered down the boreholes and a protective steel canopy was hoisted up. Three hundred stainless steel bolts 10 to 15 feet long and large plates were drilled into the chalk ceiling, thus making the whole Banqueting Hall safe.
One of the first visitors to the Hall in 1974 was William Brooks. He discovered in a lump of chalk coins dating back to 1720. Since 1951, the Caves have had several million visitors from all around the world. A new café was installed in the 1990s.
Recent investment has led to further development with modern LED lighting, wi-fi, and CCTV throughout. The Inner Temple has also been reinforced.
The Hellfire Caves have been featured in many television shows and films; these include Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, Great Expectations, Cruella, Count Dracula, and many more. They have also hosted various parties and other events. None of this would have been possible without the energy, vision, and determination of Sir Francis Dashwood. It is his voice that can still be heard on the commentary when you visit the Caves.
