Hastings - St. Clements Caves RP c.1960s

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  St. Clements Caves, Hastings (discovered 1827 AD)
• Publisher:  Shoesmith & Etheridge, Hastings
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes & Key words: 

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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St. Clements Caves are located on the West Hill in Hastings, East Sussex. The caves were named after a nearby parish church and are now part of a tourist attraction which tells the story of smuggling on the South Coast of England 200 years ago.

The earliest written reference about the caves was about an old man and woman who were discharged from the town workhouse for misbehaviour and who lived in the caves from 1783. The couple lived at the bottom of 'Monks Walk', a 140 feet (44 metres) long tunnel which is now the start of the cave tour.

In the 1820s, the caves were rediscovered by a local grocer named Joseph Golding. He was cutting a garden seat into the side of the cliff when he broke through to the vast cavern. They became a tourist attraction in 1864 and were visited by the Prince and Princess of Wales. In 1873 the caves received another royal visit from Prince Albert and Prince George Frederick.

In 1940 the caves became an air raid shelter and a temporary home for up to 600 people. Even once when the West Hill received a direct hit from a bomb, the caves remained undamaged.

Nowadays the caves are home to the tourist attraction The Smugglers Adventure, which allows visitors to tour around the caves, with interactive activities, life-sized wax models and videos with fictional smuggler 'Hairy Jack'. The Ballroom is now a converted gift shop and main entrance to the attraction.