Vortigern
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The Cave of Vortigern
Robert
Vermaat |
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Margate Caves
Cave
Kent |
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History has it that
Vortigern gave Kent to the Saxon Hengist, in return for
marrying his daughter. Hengist landed at the isle of
Thanet, which is now dominated by the town of Ramsgate.
But were the caves of Margate really connected to
Vortigern?
NOTE: Due to
structural instability, the council has decided to close
the caves for the time being.
The Caves
The Margate
Caves are a most extraordinary curiosity. There are 20-30
showcaves in Britain, but one would hardly expect to find
one in this sleepy corner of Kent, where nothing much
seems changed since the 1950s. However, this town, where
most visitors to and from the continent normally rush
through, has not one, but two! There is Margate Caves,
and its neighbour, the Shell Grotto. As it remains
unclear which of the two is supposedly conncted with
Vortigern, I will describe them both, as they are close
together in the chalk hill of Cliftonville. Situated at
the lower end of the Northdown Road, near the Margate War
Memorial, they penetrate for a considerable distance
under the sites of the one time vicarage of Holy Trinity
Church, and the Church itself (now Trinity Square car
park) - both having been destroyed by bombs during World
War Two.
History
The origins
of these caves, which are not natural but built by man,
is shrouded in mystery. The caves may take their name from
Vortigern, who supposedly gave the area around Margate to
the Saxons as a reward for helping him fight the Picts
and Scots. Rediscovered by accident in 1798,
the caves are considered by some to be of Saxon origin,
consisting of a series of natural passages, which have
been artificially enlarged. However, few
experts think these 'artificial
cavities' (as they are called) go back that
far. The first time they appear in history is fairly
recent. The guide
book would have the visitor believe that the caves are
over a 1000 years old and possible even of Phoenician
origin! The more likely explanation would perhaps be a
more modest medieval origin, or even a Georgian folly.
Locally they put the Shell Grotto down as a Victorian
folly built at a time when the local shell fish industry
would have produced enough shells for them to be freely
available (being a by-product).
Somewhere
near the close of the 18th Century, a man of eccentric
habits, named Francis Forster, built a large house in
Margate which he named after the county of his birth -
Northumberland House. In or about the year 1798 his
gardener, digging behind the house, made the discovery of
the Caves. A private entrance was cut. It was during this
time that the cave murals were created. In 1914, a new
entrance was made from the cellar of the vicarage and
this is the entrance used today.
Description
Margate Caves is a small
cave, a single tunnel only, consisting of the steep
entrance, leading up to a circular chamber called the 'Rotunda',
a kind of roundabout. Beyond that is the 'Serpentine
Passage' to a rectacular room called the 'Altar Chamber',
which terminates the cave at the far end.
The Shell Grotto, being
much larger, is a series of large rooms, artificially
hewn out of the soft chalk, for reasons unknown. It quite
looks like an old chalk quarry, but that does not mean
that the caves were created for that purpose. Most of the
explanations are interesting but not very plausible. Such
explanations include use as a Dungeon, a Smuggler's
Hideout and a Georgian Folly.
The cavern dubbed as 'Dungeon'
is a curious double chambered excavation below the floor
of the main cave. It certainly was not a mining operation
but the original purpose is not known. Also, for primary
use as a dungeon it is not convincing. The cave is not
very usefull for smugglers either, as there is no
connection to the sea, and the only way to get into the
caves originally was down a shaft, which would not
fascilitate the stealthy use needed for smuggling
operations.
A folly, then? In the 18th
century, a man of eccentric habits, named Francis Forster,
built a large house in Margate. He named it 'Northumberland
House' after the county of his birth. In or about the
year 1798 his gardener, digging behind the house, (re)discovered
the caves. Soon after a personal entrance to the caves
was cut. Were these caves actually present at the time,
or were they dug by Forster himself? Against this last
explanation surely speak that such an operation would
hardly have gone unnoticed in the town at the time.
In 1914, a new entrance
was made from the cellar of the vicarage, which is the
entrance used today. The vicarage (being
integrated as part of Northumberland House) was part of Northumberland House
and was destroyed during World War II. The original
entrance was a simple shaft from the cellars, and a steep
flight of stairs takes the visitor down to the main cave
today.
The conclusion, then, is
that the evidence must be inconclusive. A use before 1798
must be accepted, but then any use must have been so far
back in time, that it does not show up in any record.
That should take us back, at least, into the Middle Ages,
but I would even make a (very) bold suggestion here, and
propose an origin of some of the caves (a mining purpose,
in that case) dating back to Roman times, though I
realise that any evidence for this would  be next to impossible to retrieve.
Paintings
Very interesting
features are definitely several cave paintings in the
Shell Grotto, created after the rediscovery. One is
called the Thanet Giant. According to folklore, they were
painted by a local artist named Brazier, but whoever he
was: in order to obtain a surface on which to paint, the
painter smoothened the great chalk wall. To many modern
archeologists this act is nothing less than vandalism, or
at least a wilful act of destruction of cultural heritage.
However, this modern viewpoint was not a concern for
anyone at the time: he therefore innocently destroyed
many interesting and valuable tool marks by this action. Some of the artworks created by
him, or at another time are unusual paintings, such as
that of two somewhat faded soldiers in the uniform of the
era of George III. They appear to be guarding, one on
each side, the entrance to a narrow and gloomy passage.
Vortigern's secret passage, perhaps?
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