Unearth the truth

Less than one hour drive from London, The Hellfire Caves are totally unique and quite spectacular! Built in the 18th century you travel underground deep into the Chiltern hills.

Benjamin Franklin

Two hundred years later the Dashwoods, still in possession of their family home at West Wycombe Park, cherish the memory of their ancestors' association with Franklin. The current head of the family is Sir Edward Dashwood, Bt. Sir Edward's father, also named Sir Francis identified letters, papers, and books of Franklinian interest in the course of his historical research in the family archives. Many of these are now reproduced in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin.
In addition to letters from Franklin to his friend, the Dashwood archive contained a draft of the preface to an abridgement of the Book of Cammon Prayer, which the two men made.

There is also the very scrapbook into which Franklin's "Edict of the King of Prussia" was passed down that morning in September 1773. This was a hoax perpetrated by Franklin and which was published in the then national press and which Paul Whitehead, at first all unsuspecting, read out to the Franklin, Dashwood and their friends at breakfast. These and other documents and books the Dashwood family have now loaned to the Library of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia so they may be seen by Americans and consulted easily by scholars in that country.

With other materials of Franklin-Dashwood interest belonging to the Society, they are on exhibit for the annual meeting of the Friends of the Library as a record of several little-known episodes of Franklin's life in England and another evidence of his talent for friendship. "l am in this House as much at my Ease as
if it was my own, and the Gardens are a Paradise," Benjamin Franklin wrote his son William from the home of Lord Le Despencer at West Wycombe on August 3, 1773. "But a pleasanter Thing," he continued, "is the kind Countenance, the facetious and very intelligent conversation of mine Host, who having been for many Years engaged in public Affairs, seen all Parts of Europe, and kept the best Company in the World is himself the best existing:"

The Hellfire Club

The Knights of St Francis of Wycombe or the Hellfire Club as it was later called was a natural progression from earlier clubs founded by Sir Francis Dashwood in the mid 18th. Century, such as the Dilettanti Society, which was started in 1733 to encourage interest in classical art and still flourishes, and the Divan Club in 1744 for those who had visited the Ottoman Empire. During his visits to Italy on his Grand Tours, Sir Francis had developed an acute antipathy towards the Roman Catholic Church, and on his return had gone so far as to have himself painted by Nathaniel Dance as a Franciscan monk, by Carpentiers as Pope Pontius VII toasting the statue of Venus, by Hogarth as a Franciscan friar leering at a recumbent statue of Venus and with a halo around his head enclosing the face of Lord Sandwich, and by Knapton in 1742 as San Francisco di Wycombo, again toasting a statue of Venus which can still be seen at West Wycombe.

As the club flourished, Sir Francis cast around for a meeting place which would provide luxury and seclusion. What better, he concluded, than the ruins of the old Cistercian abbey at Medmenham, only six miles away from West Wycombe, where he lived, on the river Thames near Henley? At the time all that was left of the abbey and surrounding buildings were some columns and walls and a few broken statues, to which, in 1595, the owners, the Duffields, had added a large E-shaped house of red brick and stone taken from the ruins. Sir Francis immediately set about improving this dilapidated Elizabethan house and the ruins, possibly with the help of Nicholas Revett, the architect who was destined to play such an important role in recording the major architectural remains of Greece and Asia Minor. Sir Francis also later commissioned Revett to design for him the Music Temple at West Wycombe Park.

A cloister with five or six arches and a ruined tower were added. Behind the cloister was the chapter or common room, 'fitted up with the same good taste and the glare of light is judiciously excluded by the pleasing gloom of stained glass, chiefly coronets, roses and portcullises.' The ceilings were decorated with fresco paintings by Giuseppe Borgnis, who had been brought over from Italy in 1751 to work at West Wycombe and who lived in a small house with a large studio a few miles from Medmenham just outside Marlow. In a small inlet off the river Thames close to the abbey, a boat was moored for river outings. It was probably similar to the one on the lake at West Wycombe, which had a small cabin of scarlet canvas with rectangular window openings. On fine days the sides were rolled up. The boat was propelled like a gondola by four men dressed in white with scarlet oars and was steered by a cox dressed in dark blue with gold braid and a tricorn hat. At the stern flew a large red ensign.

John Wilkes referred to the river outings in a letter to the Abbot, or Prior as he was variously called, 'When may I see you again steering along the Thames and fishing for the good Johnnies with a small hook or setting nets for really large fish? One may hope for anything - I shall say no more.' Round Tar island was leased by Sir Francis from Sir Thomas Stapleton. It lay about four miles from the abbey and was one of four little eyots or islands just below Cookham bridge. It has now vanished from sight, having become submerged beneath the water. The front covers of the Club's Cellar Book show an island with two little wooden huts, one thatched, against a hilly background. There is still an island about one mile upstream which has small huts on it and seems to fit this description. It is likely that these two islands were frequented by the brothers for picnics and outings.

The original letters found at the back of the Medmenham Abbey Bible, together with several contemporary accounts, do however give a glimpse of what went on. Twice a year, in March, June, August, September or early October, a chapter meeting was held, invitations being sent out by the Prior or Paul Whitehead, the steward of the club. For these meetings, some sort of costume was worn. Portraits of the three Vansittart, Arthur, Henry and Robert, which are attributed to Hogarth and are now at Shottesbrooke Park, show them in dark blue berets with floppy red cones like a clown's and the words ' Love and Friendship' on the front. They are however wearing ordinary three-quarter length coats, which was perhaps the dress for informal occasions; Walpole was quite explicit about the 'white jacket and trousers' which he claimed to have seen. Incidentally, the words 'Libertati Amicatiae que S' (Sacred to liberty and friendship) also appear in a panel over the Arch of Apollo at West Wycombe and must have been as much the motto of the club as 'Fay ce que voudras' found at Medmenham Abbey. The chapter meetings were described in a book of 1779 entitled Nocturnal Revels: 'They however always meet in one general sett at meals, when, for the improvement of mirth, pleasantry, and gaiety, every member is allowed to introduce a Lady of a cheerful lively disposition, to improve the general hilarity. Male visitors are also permitted, under certain restrictions, their greatest recommendation being their merit wit and humour. There is no constraint with regard to the circulation of the glass, after some particular toasts have been given: The Ladies, in the intervals of their repasts, may make select parties among themselves, or entertain one another, or alone with reading, music, tambour-work, etc. The salt of these festivities is generally purely attic, but no indelicacy or indecency is allowed to be intruded without a severe penalty, and a jeu de mots must not border too much upon a loose double entendre to be received with applause.' The account goes on to describe the clothes worn and the admission ceremony. No vows of celibacy were required either by the ladies or the 'Monks', 'the former considering themselves as the lawful wives of the brethren during their stay within the monastic walls; every Monk being religiously scrupulous not to infringe upon the nuptial alliance of any other brother.'
As in other fashionable clubs, the Sublime Society of Beefsteaks and the Dilettanti Society, for example, meetings of the Hellfire Club were punctuated by frequent toasts as well as ribald poems and songs. In a letter to Sir Francis of 27 July, 1761 Wilkes says: 'I already see your sides shaking with laughter and see you filling your nostrils with snuff: I already hear you solving riddles in your accustomed way; everyone shows their approval with applause.' After dinner, the twelve members and the Abbot, who was elected annually and took office from the beginning of October, repaired upstairs to the chapel where a mock religious ceremony took place. There is a hint of some such service in a letter from Sir William Stanhope: ' ... my compliments to all your Brethren and assure them that they may have my prayers, particularly in that part of the Litany when I pray the Lord to strengthen them that do stand’.
The following list gives the members during the Club's heyday until 1762; it has been compiled from the two remaining Cellar Books and from letters and other sources. Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord le Despencer Paul Whitehead, Poet and Steward The Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Melcombe Regis, Politician Sir Thomas Stapleton of Greys, near Henley Sir William Stanhope, MP for Buckinghamshire Thomas Potter, son of the Archbishop of Canterbury Sir John Dashwood-King, MP and Landowner Dr Thomas Thompson, Physician to the Prince of Wales Francis Duffield, owner of Medmenham Abbey John Tucker, MP for Weymouth John orris, MP & don at Magdalen College, Oxford Arthur Vansittart, of Shottesbrooke Park, MP Sir Henry Vansittart, Governor of Bengal and MP for Reading Robert Vansittart, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford Charles Churchill, Poet Robert Lloyd, Poet George Selwyn, MP John Wilkes, MP Sir John Aubrey, MP Dr Benjamin Bates of Aylesbury William Hogarth, Painter John Hall Stevenson Edward Lovibond Mr Clarke of Henley Dr John Morton, MP Richard Hopkins, MP Sir John Russell.
There is a famous account of a practical joke which Wilkes played on Lord Sandwich at the Hellfire Club. '[Wilkes] had contrived the night before to bring into his cell a great Baboon which he had provided for the occasion. When the brotherhood retired to their cells after dinner, to prepare for the ceremony, he availed himself of the office of keeper of the Chapel, which he then filled to convey this creature, dressed up in the fantastic garb, in which childish imagination cloths devils, into the chapel, where he shut him up in a large chest, that stood there to hold the ornaments and utensils of the table, when the society was away. To the spring of the lock of this chest he fastened a cord, which he drew under the carpet that was on the floor to his own seat, and there brought the end of it through a hole, made for the purpose, in such a manner that he could readily find it; and by giving it a pull, open the chest, and let the Baboon loose, whenever he pleased, without being perceived by the rest of the company. At the chosen moment, Wilkes pulled the cord and out popped the wretched animal which leapt on to the shoulders of Lord Sandwich, who, feeling the shock and seeing the animal grinning horribly at him concluded that the Devil had obeyed his summons in good earnest and had come to carry him bodily away. The harder he tried to shake off the poor creature the tighter it clung, whilst Sandwich cried out: 'Spare me gracious Devil: spare a wretch who never was sincerely your servant. I sinned only from the vanity of being in the fashion; thou knowest I never have been half so wicked as I pretended: never have been able to commit the thousandth part of the vices which I have boasted of … leave me therefore and go to those who are more truly devoted to your service. I am but half a sinner …''
Chapter meetings and 'private devotions' still continued during 1762, 1763 and 1764. John Tucker, MP for Weymouth, wrote to Sir Francis on 11 August 1764: 'My heart and inclinations will be with your Lordship and your friends at Medmenham at the next Chapter, but I am cruelly detained here by the sickness of my Brother - I pray you will present my filial Duty to our Holy Father and fraternal love and respect to the pious Brotherhood to whom I wish all possible Joy Spirits and Vigour.' The Club was in its dying days by the 1760s. On 22 March 1766, Tucker wrote: 'I was last Sunday at Medmenham and to my amazement found the Chapter Room stripped naked.' Evidently, Sir Francis had decided that the time had come to remove all traces of incriminating evidence of the Club's existence, including even the prints of the heads of kings and nuns and the pegs for the clothes with the brothers' names above.
According to tradition, the Club took to the meeting, after the 'break-up' at Medmenham Abbey, in the Caves at West Wycombe which Sir Francis had excavated in 1748-54. Lybbe Powys wrote in her diary following her visit to West Wycombe and the Caves in 1796: 'Near the middle of the excavation there is a small pool which is now crossed by stepping stones, but formerly it is said it would only be passed in a boat. The excavation terminates in a large lofty circular cavern with a vaulted roof in which is a hook for suspending a lamp or chandelier. Here according to local tradition, the Hellfire Club occasionally held its meetings.' But the days of the Order were nearly over, and when Paul Whitehead, the steward, died, an inventory was taken. This, dated 15 October 1774, listed the wine then in the cellar - 'Lisbon (sherry), rum, port, hock, claret and Dorchester beer, as well as 29 pewter plates, 27 knives and 29 forks, 24 wine glasses and some teacups and saucers'. In its heyday, the Hellfire Club had certainly indulged in mock religious ceremonies at the annual election of the Abbot for the ensuing year and also at the initiation of new members. But the main purpose of the Club was, as Wilkes aptly put it, that 'a set of worthy, jolly fellows, happy disciples of Venus and Bacchus, got occasionally together to celebrate woman in wine and to give more zest to the festive meeting, they plucked every luxurious idea from the ancients and enriched their own modern pleasures with the tradition of classic luxury.'

Since early times there had been an open-cast quarry on the side of the hill for mining chalk for the foundations of houses in the village and for roads; it is shown in one of Hannan's paintings of the 1740s. Sir Francis, the 2nd Baronet, set about extending this quarry in order to relieve serious local unemployment caused by three successive harvest failures in 1748, 1749 and 1750, and to provide material for a new main road between West Wycombe and High Wycombe. The men were paid one shilling a day, enough in those times to keep body and soul together. The old road ran along the valley bottom and had become so deeply rutted that carriages frequently overturned, especially during wet weather. The new road, which was on a straight line to Wycombe, was also intended to provide a three-mile vista of the church tower capped with its glittering golden ball on top of the hill.

The Caves

The Dashwood Mausoleum was added a few years later, and the intended view he created is still very much evident today. The project was very much in keeping with the proposals which Sir Francis had already introduced into Parliament during his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer for stimulating the creation of work to relieve rural unemployment. He could easily, however, have just enlarged the existing quarry for this work to achieve the same ends, which would have been the obvious thing to do. We are not entirely sure of the reasoning behind his decision to dig a long winding tunnel a quarter of a mile into the hill with all sorts of chambers and divided passages leading off it and a huge room half way down. One can only presume it was an element of mischief and a fun project to undertake. The design is clearly symbolic and is thought to have something to do with the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece. He was no doubt inspired by his travels on his Grand Tour when he would have visited other similar caverns and tunnels.

Many of the new landowners at the time were creating large estates and building impressive houses, and adorning them with all the latest fashion and artwork. There was intense rivalry between them, and Dashwood was probably keen to outdo his neighbour, Lord Temple, at Stowe. Whereas many of them were creating all sorts of amazing wonders above ground, he would be the first to do so on such a scale underground. Another much smaller cave was also dug out close to the small studio house outside Marlow on the road to Medmenham which was occupied by Giuseppe Borgnis, the painter whom Sir Francis had brought over from Italy to decorate West Wycombe. But it is unlikely that either of these caves had any pseudo-religious significance. It is true that there were anti-religious cults in northern Italy at that time as well as Masonic societies in Rome and Florence, but there is no evidence that Borgnis, who was a prolific painter of church interiors in his local area of Craveggia near Milan, was involved in any of these.

Follies and artificial caves were fashionable - Horace Walpole had built a cave at his London house, Strawberry Hill, and had purloined some stalactites from the natural caves at Wookey Hole in Somerset, and there were many other examples such as those at Stourhead and Stowe - but Sir Francis's artificial cave is the largest and most curious of all. Over the arched entrance to the cave, he created a tall flint facade with a vaulted window which was divided by two slender stone columns. On either side of this facade are high walls of flint, with arches and recesses for statues, which encompass a large open courtyard. From the house across the valley, this was clearly intended as another feature in the landscape - this time a Gothic church.
When the late Sir Francis Dashwood was a child, the family used to make occasional expeditions to the Caves. The key to the heavy oak door, which was at the end of the brick tunnel at the entrance, was kept by Mr Fryer who lived in the house opposite. Mr Fryer charged a few pennies and in return handed over the key and some candle stubs. Sir Francis's father, Sir John Dashwood, had stipulated that part of the proceeds was to go towards the upkeep of the church. Although the Caves seem to have been open to visitors ever since they were built, it was really only locals who knew about them and they attracted few and were in a terrible state. The entrance was protected by the remains of the original iron railings, with barbed wire filling the gaps. The flint-faced arch and columns over the entrance tunnel had been knocked down at the beginning of the war on the orders of the Estate's land agent, Captain Hill, to form a barricade to protect the villagers from a bomb blast, as the Caves were intended to be used as an air-raid shelter. No maintenance work had been carried out in the Caves themselves since the eighteenth century; the main passage was littered with small lumps of chalk and in one place was half-blocked by huge boulders which had fallen out of the wall. In the Great Hall chalk lumps were scattered all over the floor amongst puddles of water, and the River Styx was full of enormous boulders which had fallen from the ceiling. Sir Francis formally re-opened the Caves in 1951 at a charge of one shilling and with candles provided free. A wave of publicity ensued and visitors started to roll in, especially when the local vicar, Father Allen, told the Daily Mirror that 'my tummy wobbles like a jelly every time I pass the entrance.' He followed this with a sermon denouncing the evil influence which emanated from the Caves. Sir Francis took exactly the opposite view. If there was any evil in the Caves, he felt it would soon evaporate when the place was subjected to the eyes of crowds of sceptical visitors; the worst solution was to bottle it all up by keeping the Caves shut and lending credibility to such stories. There have however always been tales of ghosts inhabiting the Caves ever since they were dug..
At weekends, debutantes who had come to stay often helped by selling soft drinks at the entrance, and by the end of that first summer nearly 10,000 visitors had paid their shilling and the Caves had made a tiny profit. It was better than nothing and seemed to offer scope for the future. The following year much work was done to improve the Caves and various surveys carried out, particularly in the Banqueting Hall which was considered unsafe at the time due to the danger of falling of chalk. Each came up with conflicting advice until an engineer from Yorkshire advised digging a new tunnel by hand, bypassing the Great Hall. An advertisement in the local newspaper produced an ex-Sapper, Jim Powney, who had been with the Guards Armoured Division. Jim agreed to come and work at nights and at weekends with another friend, Les Lawrence, and to dig out a tunnel 150 feet long by hand for £350, in order to bypass the Great Hall which was clearly the main danger. Jim and Les took about four months to dig out the tunnel, depositing all the chalk in the Great Hall and raising the floor level by four or five feet. Sir Francis used to help too at weekends, although using a pick was hard work. After the tunnel was finished, Jim and Les erected pit props all the way down the Caves wherever they were needed. Electric lighting was installed, the wooden pit props were replaced over the years with steel ones or brick tunnelling an elegant cafe was erected at the entrance, designed by Guy Shepherd who had previously designed Schweppes Grotto for the Festival of Britain Fun Fair at Battersea. Waxwork scenes were erected and a commentary installed with sound effects. Although rudimentary by today's standards it was, in fact, the very first underground 'sound and vision' programme in the world. Work was then undertaken to make the Banquetting Hall completely safe. The solution was to drill holes 130 feet down from the top of the hill into the Great Hall. Wire ropes were to be lowered down these boreholes and attached to a protective steel canopy which was to be hoisted up to the ceiling. Then 300 stainless steel bolts 10 to 15 feet long and with large plates at the end were drilled into the chalk ceiling and walls to make the chamber absolutely safe. One of the first visitors to file through the Great Hall after it was reopened in 1974 was a Mr William Brooks of High Wycombe. He discovered a lump of chalk in a crack in the wall and embedded in it were various coins dating from 1720 to 1754 as follows:- A George I silver shilling 1720 Two George II farthings 1730 A George II halfpenny 1733 A George II halfpenny 1751 Two George II farthings 1754 Since 1951 the Caves have attracted around two and a half million visitors, and many of the profits have been handed to various charities, including the National Trust to help pay for restoration and maintenance work in West Wycombe. Description text goes here

The Mausoleum

The Dashwood Mausoleum stands on top of West Wycombe Hill next to the Church of St Lawrence. The tower of the Church, which is capped with a golden ball, rises behind the Mausoleum and together they form one of the most famous landmarks in Britain. The original 14th Century tower was raised and capped with a golden ball in 1752/3 by Sir Francis Dashwood. It is thought that he was inspired by the Customs Building in Venice which has a similar golden ball on the roof. Sir Francis visited Venice and spent six months there on his early travels during his Grand Tour. The aim was to make the Tower part of the landscape when viewed from the House, as an eyecatcher on the opposite hill-side, as well as from High Wycombe, about three miles further to the east. At the same time, Sir Francis was building a new road between West Wycombe and High Wycombe to replace the ancient one which ran along the valley. The latter was badly rutted so that carriages frequently overturned. This new road was built with chalk quarried from the Caves beneath the hill at West Wycombe. The project served a dual purpose providing a new road and relieving unemployment caused by a succession of harvest failures.

Sir Francis was a keen proponent of public works and had previously introduced a bill in Parliament to encourage the adoption of this policy in order to relieve unemployment. The building of the roads and the excavation of the chalk was his private contribution to such a policy. The road was completed in 1752 and a stone column capped with a ball was erected in October that year by Banister Watts at a cost of £27 7s 8d at the junction of the Oxford and Aylesbury Road, where it still stands. The inscription reads "F Dashwood Erae Christianae MDCCLll, from the University Miles XXII, from the County Town, Miles XV, from the City Miles XXX".

At Camberley, about thirty miles away, a similar tower with a golden ball was erected by John Norris, who lived at nearby Hughenden Manor. He was a member of the Hellfire Club as well as being a Member of Parliament and friend of Sir Francis. It is believed that Norris and Dashwood used to signal to each other by heliograph (reflecting the rays of the sun with a mirror) from their respective golden balls.

Sir Francis also rebuilt the church in 1763 at a cost of £6,000. The nave was copied from the ruins of the Sun Temple at Palmyra built in the 3rd Century AD. At the time the church was considered one of the most beautiful in the country. In 1762 George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe Regis, a close friend of Sir Francis died. In his will, he left £500 "to build an arch, temple, column or additional room to such of his seats where it is likely to remain the longest". The actual cost of building the Mausoleum in 1765 was £495 5s 3d. The builder was John Bastard and the architect is believed to be Nicholas Revett, who was employed by Sir Francis from about 1765 until his death in 1781. An early drawing proposed a building based on San Micheles' fortified gateway in Verona. It was to have a raised central feature with a panel for a Latin inscription. However, this proposal was scrapped and replaced with this enormous hexagonal open building which has massive walls faced with flint inside and out. Each side has a vast arch flanked by Tuscan columns, as well as smaller arches, and rectangular openings. Inside there are numerous arched and rectangular recesses or niches designed to hold memorial slabs, busts or urns. On the roof are huge vases of Coade stone. The latter was produced by the inimitable Mrs Coade from her factory at Lambeth, which she had started in 1769. Coade stone is a form of kiln-fired pottery, which is immensely durable and impervious to weathering.

The Mausoleum is unique and does not appear to be derived from an antique structure. The name 'Mausoleum ' is not really appropriate for a large enclosed private burial ground. The word signifies a magnificent tomb and originated from that of King Mausolus of Carina in Asia Minor which was erected by his wife, Artemesia, in the 4th. Century BC. Mausolus and Artemesia were not only husband and wife but also brother and sister. Marriages of this sort, although abhorrent to the Greeks, were not uncommon in antiquity among the ruling families of the East and may have been motivated by a desire to keep the royal blood pure. Mausolus died in 353/2 BC after a successful rule of 24 years. Artemesia two years later. According to the Roman architect, Vitruvius, the Mausoleum was built by two Greek architects named Satyros and Pytheus, whilst four Greek sculptures of the first rank, Scopas, Bryaxis, Timotheos and Leochares were each given one side of the structure to decorate. Vitruvius and Pliny agreed that it was their work which especially gave the Mausoleum its place amongst the seven wonders of the world. Between 1494 and 1522 large quantities of stone were removed by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem to fortify their castle at Bodrum, while much of the marble was burned for lime. One of the knights described how in the course of the work of demolition they came upon a small opening leading down to a square room decorated with marble columns and sculptured reliefs. 'Having first admired these and entertained their fancy with the singularity of the sculpture, they proceeded to pull it to pieces and break it up like the rest.' In another compartment, they found a sarcophagus with a marble lid, but they were obliged to withdraw for the night before having time to examine it. When they returned the following day it had been despoiled and the earth all around was strewn with fragments of cloth of gold and roundels of the same metal. By the 19th. Century all that remained were the foundations and a quantity of broken sculpture.
The Dashwood Mausoleum is dedicated to George Dodington, Baron of Melcombe Regis, John, Earl of Westmorland, Baron le Despencer & Burghersh, who was the uncle and guardian of Sir Francis, and to Francis, Baron le Despence. In the centre is a cenotaph consisting of four columns supporting a roof and covering a marble urn on a pedestal. This urn was copied from two Porphyry urns which were in the house. Porphyry was greatly prized in Roman times. It could only be obtained from Egypt and was especially sort after by Popes in the 12th. Century for their burial as a way of claiming parity with Emperors. This monument was erected in memory of Sarah, Baroness le Despencer, who died in 1769. She was Sir Francis's wife and the widow of Sir Richard Ellys of Nocton, a great antiquarian and book collector. The finest monument, which is in variegated marbles with mourning cherubs, was the work of Francis Bird. It stands at the back of the Mausoleum but was originally in the chancel of the old church. It is dedicated to Mary King and Lady Mary Fane, the daughter and co-heiress of Vere, Earl of Westmorland. These were two of the four wives of the first Sir Francis who had bought West Wycombe in 1698.
Another curious monument is the urn to the poet Paul Whitehead who was also steward of the Hellfire Club. Whitehead died in 1774, leaving the following bequest "I give to the Right Hon. Lord le Despencer my heart aforesaid together with £50 to be laid out in the purchase of a marble urn in which I desire may be deposited and placed, if His Lordship pleases, in some corner of the Mausoleum as a memorial of his warm attachment to the noble founder." Paul Whitehead's wish was duly carried out and with much pomp and flamboyance. It is described in a contemporary account as follows:- "At half past eleven, a Company of the Buckinghamshire Militia (Subsequently, the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, now the 4th (Volunteer Batta!ion) Royal Green Jackets) and their Officers (Lord le Despencer at their head) in regimentals, with crapes round their arms, seven vocal performers habited as a choir, in surplices, attended (at West Wycombe House), with fifes, flutes, horns, and a drum covered with crape. The procession began with the Soldiers, etc., who marched round a spot chosen for that purpose, three several times, the Choir singing select pieces of music conducted by Mr Atterbury and Mr Mulso, suitable to the occasion, accompanied with the other instruments. This finished, six Grenadiers went into the grand hall (of West Wycombe House), and brought the very elegant urn of curious and variegated marble, which contained the Heart. The Epitaph upon the urn was as follows:- PAUL WHITEHEAD, ESQ OF TWICKENHAM, OBIT, DEC.30, 1774 UNHALLOWED HANDS, THIS URN FOREBEAR! NO GEMS OR ORIENT SPOIL LIE HERE CONCEALED- BUT, WHAT'S MORE RARE, A HEART THAT KNEW NO GUILE!
On one side of the urn was a medallion of white marble, of elegant workmanship, with the following curious device: three several figures, highly finished, appeared in the medallion. I could not learn the history of the first of them; the second was the image of Aesculapius, the God of Physic; attending the deceased in his last illness but in vain. The urn was carried on a bier supported by six Grenadiers, who were attended by six more as a corps de reserve. The rest of the soldiers and musicians were preceded by Mr Powel, Curate of High Wycombe; and the urn was followed by Lord le Despencer alone, the Officers and Militia-men following, two by two, which closed the procession. The funeral march thus regulated, the procession passed in the most solemn manner through the gardens to the hill whereon the Mausoleum was erected; the time was upwards of two hours. When the procession obtained the Mausoleum, they marched three times around, to instrumental music, and, before the urn was deposited in its niche, this incantation was sung as a set and written by Dr Arnold: "From Earth to Heaven WHITEHEAD'S soul is fled; Refulgent glories beam around his head! His Muse, concording with resounding strings, Gives Angel's words to praise the King of Kings." The urn was then placed on a very elegant pedestal of white marble; after which, minute guns were fired, and a triple salute by the Soldiery. To give more dignity to this solemn celebration, the Oratoria of Goliah was performed in West Wycombe church, having been composed for the occasion by Dr Arnold. All persons were admitted, who gave a mite to the poor-box, and a great concourse attended to pay their last respects to the guileless heart of honest PAUL WHITEHEAD.' The minute guns were fired from a sixty-ton frigate which was anchored on the lake. They had been captured from a French privateer and were frequently used on ceremonial occasions. Whitehead's heart was frequently taken out and shown to visitors until it was stolen by an Australian in 1829. There is also a carved, marble slab commemorating Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord le Despencer, who died in 1781. It was recorded that he was ''beloved, respected and revered by all who knew him". His natural daughter, Rachel Antonina Lee, left her bust to be placed in the Mausoleum. It stood together with busts of his sister, Lady Austin and Lord Melcombe Regis and others which have unfortunately all since been lost. During the 19th-century major repairs to the Mausoleum were carried out by Lady Elizabeth Dashwood, the widow of the 5th Baronet.
By 1956 the Mausoleum was in a serious state of disrepair so Francis Dashwood, the 11th Baronet, had the building and monuments restored with the help of a grant of £2,000 from the Council for the Propitiation of Historic Monuments and Buildings. The sculptors responsible for this work were Mr Angelo Delcouchverto MGLCM and Mrs Beryl Hardman ARCA.
Most of the original busts and commemorative urns have been removed or stolen and are listed as follows:- JOSEPH BORGNIS 1704-61 Borgnis, a painter from Craveggia in Italy, came to England with other members of his family, in about 1751 at the invitation of Sir Francis Dashwood. He painted many of the fine ceilings and frescoes in West Wycombe House, and in the Church of St. Lawrence. His terracotta bust is now in the main house at West Wycombe Park. RACHEL FRANCES ANTONINA LEE Natural daughter of Sir Francis Dashwood, Lord le Despencer, and the actress, Frances Barry. (Bust missing) RACHEL, LADY AUSTIN D. 1788 Sister of Francis, Baron le Despencer. (Bust missing) PAUL WHITEHEAD 1710-74 Poet and Steward of the Hellfire Club Original in the main house at West Wycombe. CLARA ADELAIDE IDA CONYERS D. 1944 Widow of Sir Robert Dashwood, 9th. Baronet, and wife of Captain Alexander Robert Fraser. LADY MARY FANE 1675- 1710 2nd wife of Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st. Baronet, and mother of Francis, Baron Le Despencer MARY KING 1684- 1719 3rd wife of Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st. Baronet, and mother of Sir John Dashwood King, who succeeded Francis, Baron de Despencer, and from whom the present Baronet is descended. CAPTAIN ROBERT HENRY LINDSAY DASHWOOD 1897- 1918 Youngest son of Sir Robert, 9th Baronet. Royal Yorkshire Regiment. Killed in action. THOMAS THOMPSON, M.D. Doctor to Frederick, Prince of Wales. (Bust missing) GEORGE BUBB DODINGTON Baron of Melcombe Regis 1691 - 1762 An influential member of Parliament. (Bust missing) SIR ROBERT JOHN DASHWOOD 1859 - 1908 9th Baronet. Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire. SIR JOHN LINDSAY DASHWOOD 1896 - 1966 10th. Baronet. C.V.O. 1952, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and Tank Corps 1914 - 1918, Assistant Marshall of Diplomatic Corps 1933- 1958, High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire 1934. VICTORIA ANN ELIZABETH GWYNNE DE RUTZEN 1928 - 1976 Widow of Sir Francis Dashwood, 11th Baronet and mother of present Premier Baronet of Great Britain, Sir Edward Dashwood, 12th. Baronet. HELEN MOYRA EATON 1899 - 1989 Widow of Sir John Dashwood, 10th. Baronet and daughter of Lt. Col. Vernon Eaton of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, killed at Vimy Ridge 1916.

Film and TV

The Hellfire Caves are available for hire as a location and have been used for various TV, film and music video productions. If you are looking for underground caves, grottoes, dungeons, tunnels, ice-houses or cellars then this may be the perfect location. Previous film sets include:

Little Dorrit used the Caves for a prison scene
One of the episodes of Most Haunted was filmed in the Caves, which involved a night-long vigil
Horrible Histories re-enacted a scene in the Caves for one of their series
The Mausoleum can also be made available and has served as a location for such films as The Importance of Being Earnest, Burke and Hare, Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, Great Expectations, Cruella, Count Dracula, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and many more!