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Hertfordshire HER
.
| HHER Number: | 4043 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | CHALK PIT AND SITE OF SHAFT, CAVE GATE, WYDDIAL |
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Summary
Horizontal shaft associated with 19th century chalk pit
Monument Types
- SHAFT (Unknown date)
- QUARRY (Post Medieval - 1501 AD to 1900 AD)
Full description
The house NW of the crossroads known as Cave Gate fronts an old chalk pit, shown (in use) on the 1878 OS map <4>. In 1904 the tenant accidentally came across what appears to have been a denehole, a long narrow horizontal shaft extending from the pit ENE beneath the Buckland road (Biggin Hill). The shaft was investigated in case it shed light on various local folk tales connected with Cave Gate <1>. The shaft was 65ft long and 7 to 8ft wide, dug into the chalk; at the entrance by the chalk pit it was just over 7ft below ground level, and sloped gently downwards to 9ft below the road; 'persons and vehicles passing overhead could be clearly heard'. Pick marks were visible on the walls and roof, but no graffiti. A local man apparently knew of the shaft in his youth, in the 1820s; it is not known when the chalkpit was first opened <1>, but by 1898 was 'Old Chalk Pit' on OS mapping. The shaft was filled in c.1968, leaving no trace <2>. Not visible at ground level <3>.
The place name is recorded in 1641 <5>; it may incorporate the discovery of a similar cavity hereabouts in the chalk. See also [13733], Cavehall Barn; and [27], Anstey Castle.
RCHM (England), 1911, Inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire, - p245 (Bibliographic reference). SHT9222.
Page, W (ed.), 1914, VCH Hertfordshire vol.4, - p114 (Bibliographic reference). SHT3026.
<1> Andrews, R T, 1906, Cave Gate, Anstey; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 3/2, 217-19, Includes plans, section (Article in serial). SHT3346.
<2> OS Records (Index). SHT8223.
<3> Wild, Sarah (HCC), 1994, Survey, 9.12.93 (Unpublished document). SHT9650.
<4> OS 25 inch map, 1st edition, 1877-8 (Cartographic material). SHT8116.
<5> Gover, J E B, Mawer, Allen, & Stenton, F M, 1938, The place-names of Hertfordshire, - p188 (Bibliographic reference). SHT3417.
<6> Beamon, Sylvia P, 1976, Anstey - the Castle and Cave Gate (part II) - a folklore tale; Subterranea Britannica Bulletin 4 (August 1976), 4-6, Plans, sections (Article in serial). SHT6119.
Sources and further reading
| --- | Bibliographic reference: Page, W (ed.). 1914. VCH Hertfordshire vol.4. - p114. |
| --- | Bibliographic reference: RCHM (England). 1911. Inventory of the historical monuments in Hertfordshire. - p245. |
| <1> | Article in serial: Andrews, R T. 1906. Cave Gate, Anstey; Trans East Herts Archaeol Soc 3/2, 217-19. Includes plans, section. |
| <2> | Index: OS Records. |
| <3> | Unpublished document: Wild, Sarah (HCC). 1994. Survey. 9.12.93. |
| <4> | Cartographic material: OS 25 inch map, 1st edition. 1877-8. |
| <5> | Bibliographic reference: Gover, J E B, Mawer, Allen, & Stenton, F M. 1938. The place-names of Hertfordshire. - p188. |
| <6> | Article in serial: Beamon, Sylvia P. 1976. Anstey - the Castle and Cave Gate (part II) - a folklore tale; Subterranea Britannica Bulletin 4 (August 1976), 4-6. Plans, sections. |
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