Big thanks to the WCMS for arranging this trip, it was a lot of fun.
History
The Chaldon Firestone mines date back as far as 1086. The mine was used to extract 'Reigate stone'.
Reigate stone was used in lots of high status buildings in London during the medieval period, most notably Hampton Court palace.
It was used in many buildings because of its ease to work and shape, making it suitable for detailed and grand carvings. However this meant that it weathered poorly compared to other types of building stone.
It has been documented that this mine was very well developed by the 16th century. The Mine was closed in the early 18th Century.
The Explore
This trip was arranged by the WCMS. This is pretty local to me and is a very well documented / explored mine. Turns out even my parents have been down this mine many years ago! There was a facebook post about this trip, aimed at urban explorer types that wanted to see the local caves, and only 4 people showed up including myself. I was definitely expected a lot more people.
It was near 0 degrees outside, so I was expecting the mines to be freezing, however its quite warm, you certainly don't need to wrap up with layers.
I've not explored many mines, however this one requires a lot of crawling and ducking around. There aren't too many spots where you can stand up fully.
Once we were underground we walked, ducked and crawled into the mine for about half an hour before we stopped at a good spot where we could wander out and explore ourselves and take pictures as we please.
There are around 15 miles of passages, so as you can imagine the place is a total labyrinth. The biggest danger wasn't bad air or collapse, it was getting lost.
It was a fun trip, but pretty knackering.
Photos
History
The Chaldon Firestone mines date back as far as 1086. The mine was used to extract 'Reigate stone'.
Reigate stone was used in lots of high status buildings in London during the medieval period, most notably Hampton Court palace.
It was used in many buildings because of its ease to work and shape, making it suitable for detailed and grand carvings. However this meant that it weathered poorly compared to other types of building stone.
It has been documented that this mine was very well developed by the 16th century. The Mine was closed in the early 18th Century.
The Explore
This trip was arranged by the WCMS. This is pretty local to me and is a very well documented / explored mine. Turns out even my parents have been down this mine many years ago! There was a facebook post about this trip, aimed at urban explorer types that wanted to see the local caves, and only 4 people showed up including myself. I was definitely expected a lot more people.
It was near 0 degrees outside, so I was expecting the mines to be freezing, however its quite warm, you certainly don't need to wrap up with layers.
I've not explored many mines, however this one requires a lot of crawling and ducking around. There aren't too many spots where you can stand up fully.
Once we were underground we walked, ducked and crawled into the mine for about half an hour before we stopped at a good spot where we could wander out and explore ourselves and take pictures as we please.
There are around 15 miles of passages, so as you can imagine the place is a total labyrinth. The biggest danger wasn't bad air or collapse, it was getting lost.
It was a fun trip, but pretty knackering.
Photos
