Witchy Wednesday, spooky goings on at West Wycombe!
As a child I used to love visiting the Hellfire caves at West Wycombe. As a teenager I used to cycle and spend the whole day there venturing around the caves and picnicking on the grassy slope which has an amazing view along a straight road towards High Wycombe. I was always told this was originally a Roman road but I need to clarify that bit of information.
The historic village is largely National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of tourists – being the site of West Wycombe Park, Caves and the Mausoleum on top of West Wycombe Hill. The Mausoleum and Golden Ball above West Wycombe village are impressive local landmarks, visually dominating the village and local landscape for miles surrounding.
West Wycombe Park, Caves, Mausoleum and St Lawrence's Church were all constructed in the mid-18th century by Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Dilettanti Society and co-founder of the notorious Hellfire Club.
Please visit these fab links for more detailed information and fascinating spooky stories.
https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/23069197.haunted-places-wycombe/
https://www.haunted-britain.com/haunted-buckinghamshire.htm
https://www.hellfirecaves.co.uk
https://burialsandbeyond.com/2022/08/29/the-hellfire-caves-sex-drugs-and-darkness/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Caves
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| Portrait of Francis Dashwood by William Hogarth from the late 1750s, parodying Renaissance images of Francis of Assisi. The Bible has been replaced by a copy of the erotic novel Elegantiae Latini sermonis, and the profile of Dashwood's friend Lord Sandwich peers from the halo. |
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| Inside one of the man made tunnels in West Wycombe Caves. |
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| Inside the spooky tunnels. Because some folklore stories can be quite scary and disturbing with some adult content I would always advise visiting, reading and viewing links before showing or reading to younger children. |
