Subterranean Shropshire

by Steve Powell

Shropshire is not a place usually associated with natural caves, due to its irregular geological positioning. Nevertheless, unknown to many, there are small numbers of explorable cave passages and underground features to be found. Nearly a decade ago, Steve Powell noticed how quickly Shropshire's hidden heritage, or subterranean places, were decaying or being destroyed by various means, either natural or through vandalism, with the knowledge and history of these places passing only by word of mouth. It was with a sense of urgency, therefore, that he started putting pen to paper in what could only be described as a 'travel diary of underground Shropshire'. As with most other counties, Shropshire has its fair share of 'secret subterranean tunnels', most of these having a basis in the imagination of the storyteller, but some, including such features as the ice houses, cave cottages, rock houses, tunnels, mine ventures, underground temples, grottoes and ornamental caves described within, played a major part in variously providing an underground world of housing, food storage, religious sanctity or entertaining eccentricity in times past.