Chislehurst Caves

As part of our literacy and history, the year 7 classes visited the  Chislehurst Caves, which were carved out over hundreds of years. The caves were dug for chalk used in lime burning and brick making for the Building of London, as well as for flints to fire the tinderboxes and flintlock guns of years ago.

First open to the public in 1900 as a showplace, the guides told the Victorians history of Romans, Druids and Saxons and Smuggling. During WW1, it was used as munitions storage for the Woolwich Arsenal.

With the outbreak of WW2, the caves became an underground town and the largest deep air-raid shelter outside London, protecting over 15000 people every night during the Blitz.