Peter Burgess, SB, 9" x 6", 121 pp

East Surrey is about 30 miles south of London and I was surprised to find
that it was once a heavily mined area. In the towns of Dorking, Reigate,
and Godstone, there are numerous caverns, dug in order to extract the sand.
These have been excavated over the centuries and the sand was used both in
the glass industries and as a cleaning agent. It can be spread on the floor
and then swept up without leaving a stain. Many a Victorian skivvy was
probably very familiar with this sand!

Undoubtedly, the most famous cave in the area is the Barons' Cave at
Reigate. This cave has been a local attraction since the late 18th century.
Stories have grown around the cave and legend has it that the English
barons in AD 1215 met in the cave to draw up the terms of the Magna Carta.
A more likely explanation is that the cave was an impressive wine cellar for
the Earl of Surrey, Earl de Warenne. The wine was transported in large
barrels called `tuns' each containing up to 1000 litres of wine.

Both Barons' Cave and the Dorking Caves are open to the public. The latter
were also used as a wine cellar.

Other mines include those in the Firestone and Hearthstone Quarries.
Firestone has been used extensively from the Norman period to the present
day as a building stone. Its excavation in this locality has left a vast
network of mined passages with a surveyed length of 17 km.

There has been much confusion between hearthstone and firestone. This is not
surprising since both materials were dug from the Upper Greensand beds. The
hearthstone was used for whitening stone door steps, hearths and window
sills. When rubbed on it dries to a chalky white colour.

At the end of the 19th century the firestone mines at Godstone were given a
new lease of life. The disused galleries were used as mushroom farms.
However, this practice eventually died out in the 1930s as there were
difficulties in maintaining the right conditions of temperature, humidity
and air flow, plus the risk of infestation from pests.

Other man-made sub-surface voids in the area include Fullers Earth mines and
Dene Holes. Fullers earth was originally used to degrease woollen fleeces.
Today it is used extensively in the chemical and petrochemical industries.
Dene Holes are simply chalk mines, the chalk being used for agricultural
purposes.

Cave explorers will no doubt be interested in the River Mole. A fitting
name for a river that flows underground for a comparatively short distance
between Dorking and Leatherhead. Although there are numerous sink holes in
the river bed no cave passages have yet been entered. This is unusual
considering the extensive chalk caves both in Beachy Head and Normandy.

To sum up, this is an excellent account of the great variety of underground
feature in a small area of south east England. Wartime tunnels, cellars and
underground follies add to the variety. It provides a very readable account
of these fascinating sites. Peter Burgess is obviously an expert on this
area and I found this book a pleasure to read. Informative, amusing and
difficult to put down. Highly recommended,