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Reigate Castle, Surrey, England

The Barons' Cave is part of Reigate Castle, which was probably built by the second earl of Surrey, William de Warrenne, soon after 1088. This castle consisted of a central mound surrounded by a dry moat, with timber buildings and defences on the mound, or motte. In the 12th or 13th century, the timber structures were replaced with stone ones. The castle was extended to the north and east by the creation of the outer ward, or outer bailey, the original mound being the inner bailey. This new addition to the castle was protected by a new wet moat, part of which survives, and by an extension of the existing dry moat.

Some WCMS members took a tour of the Castle Grounds and the Barons' Cave... (c) Jon Hills 15-Sep-2007 Click for larger image...The castle was briefly held by Louis the French Dauphin in 1216, on his march from Kent to Winchester. The castle became the property of Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, in 1347, and from 1397 was owned by a variety of Lords of the Manor of Reigate, including the influential Howard family. It was occupied until the 16th century, but began to fall into disrepair thereafter.
During the time of Oliver Cromwell, the castle was briefly garrisoned by followers of a Royalist uprising in 1648, and then by parliamentary troops after the insurrection had been put down. There was no fighting at the castle, it was just a convenient camp for the troops. None of the original castle buildings have survived, with the exception of the Barons' Cave.

The Barons' Cave is located in the Castle Grounds, in the centre of Reigate, Surrey. The cave is one of Britain's oldest show caves, and is open to the public on certain days each year. It is part of the old Norman castle, which was demolished many years ago. It is one of Reigate's oldest surviving medieval features.

The Barons' Cave

Nobody knows how exactly old The Barons' Cave is. The oldest reference to it dates from 1586 when Camden describes "an extraordinary passage One of Britains oldest show caves... (c) Nick Catford Click for larger image... with a vaulted roof hewn with great labour out of the soft stone." Doors and windows with a similar profile to the cave passages were being built from about 1200 onwards, but we must be careful before drawing any conclusions from this. Nobody is really sure why the cave was dug. It has been made with great care - this can be seen in the way that the roof is so uniform and smooth. Where sand diggers have been at work, the walls are much rougher.

The cave is in three sections. There is a passage which runs straight through from the centre of the castle mound to the bottom of the dry moat. The Barons' cave main passageway. (c) Nick Catford Click for larger image... At the top end this is lined with Reigate stone, and it emerges via a chamber roofed with brick vaulting, into the centre of the castle grounds, under a stone pyramid. Bricks were not widely used in England until the 14th century, so the brickwork at the top of the cave cannot date from a period earlier than this.
Near the bottom entrance, a short flight of steps drops down into a The roof has been carved to a precise Norman arch profile. (c) Nick Catford Click for larger image... long and tall curving passage, which ends suddenly in a solid wall. A curious stone bench has been built around the base of the wall at this point. Further up the cave, below the flight of steps to the upper entrance, is another side passage, which has a totally different appearance from the rest of the cave. This section is believed to have been dug in the 19th century by sand diggers, who were also active elsewhere in Reigate at that time. Throughout the cave, the work of sand diggers can be seen. Many alcoves have been dug into the otherwise well-shaped walls.

Reigate Castle Tunnels by Constable

Carved 'portraits' adorn the walls of this beautiful show cave. (c) Nick Catford Click for larger image... The walls of the cave have attracted graffiti artists. Apart from the many initials, names and dates from 1644 onwards, a number of other carvings have been made. The most notable of these are a series of large heads, each one different, and possibly meant to depict real people. There are also a number of horses' heads and a bull's head to be found in the cave. The cave has a long history as a local curiosity. The earliest account of guided tours found so far dates from 1860, when a lady from a nearby cottage had to be summoned to conduct curious visitors around the cave. Visits continued until the 1970s, the Castle Grounds' gardener acting as guide. In 1991 the Wealden Cave and Mine Society reopened the caves for the public after a period of restoration.

Its Purpose

There have been many ideas put forward to explain why the cave the cave was dug. It is very unlikely that it was the castle dungeon. The quality of workmanship also rules out the idea that it was just the castle cellar, or a sand mine. The through passage could have been dug as a sally port, which is an escape tunnel to allow the besieged inhabitants to surprise their attackers, or to escape unnoticed. This does not explain why the large side passage was dug.
The effort and skill used to dig The Barons’ Cave, and the size of its galleries, suggest that it was a special and important feature of the castle. The story which gave rise to the name "Barons’ Cave" is that the barons met there to draw up the Magna Carta in 1215, before making King John sign it. Unfortunately, this is a romantic story that is certainly not true. Equally unlikely are the rumours of tunnels that go from the castle to Reigate Priory, and to Bletchingley and Betchworth Castles. Barons' Cave guide book cover... On sale now... (c) Nick Catford 2003 Click for larger image...In the 18th century, the Castle Grounds were "tidied up"; the mock gateway was built, and the remains of the curtain wall disappeared from the inner bailey. It may be that it was at this time that the caves were opened up for curious visitors, as there are very few dates to be found in the cave from before 1770. The cave was dug at a time when society and lifestyles were so different from those of today, that it is difficult to understand now why it was needed. As you walk around the cave in the quiet and stillness, it is easy to imagine that you are walking back to a time when there were no cars, no airliners flying over every few minutes, and when the pace of life was altogether more relaxed. As you leave the cave, spend a few minutes walking around the Castle Grounds, and try to imagine what it might have looked like many centuries ago.