Man has ventured underground since Neolithic times, be it for refuge and shelter or to extract valuable resources they require. Britain is no exception and is littered with abandoned places underground.
Aldwych Underground Station, London
Aldwych Station, formally known as Strand, was a branch line and terminus of the Piccadilly line of the London Underground network. Throughout the life of the station, it was a little used station in the centre of London that was only served by a shuttle service from Holborn Station. It is not known why the...
Barons’ Cave, Reigate
Barons' Cave, situated underneath the grounds at which Reigate Castle once stood, is the oldest surviving medieval site in Reigate. The exact date the caves were excavated is unknown, but the earliest reference dates from 1586 when it is described by Camden as "an extraordinary passage with a vaulted roof hewn with great labour out...
Bedlams Bank Firestone Quarry, Reigate
Bedlams Bank is a very extensive firestone quarry ranging in age from the Late Medieval to the Stuart era and was worked by hand for much of that time, there are about 10 miles of open passages and several entrances. Firestone is a building stone and before the advent of the railways it was the...
Box Freestone Quarry, Wiltshire
The Box Freestone Mine is known to have been worked since Roman times and has since been progressively enlarged to form some of the largest underground stone workings in the UK. During the construction of the Great Western Railway Box Tunnel between 1836 and 1841 that led to the great expansion in underground quarrying in Box...
Catesby Railway Tunnel
The Great Central Railway was the last of the mainline railways to be built by the Victorians, it connected Marylebone Station with Manchester and ran through the centre of the country. The line was built to a very high standard, avoiding sharp curves and steep gradients, allowing for the trains to have a much smoother...
Charing Cross Jubilee Line and Ventilation Areas
Charing Cross Tube Station has a long and complicated history. The first part of the station was opened in 1906 when the Bakerloo line was constructed and this part of the station was known as Trafalgar Square. A year later the Northern Line, then the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, was opened and this part of the...
Cwt-y-Bugail Slate Quarry, North Wales
Cwt y Bugail Quarry is a remote Welsh Slate Quarry high up in the mountains between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Cwm Penmachno, North Wales. It's origins lay as an enlargement of the older Bugail quarry workings that were opened in the 1820's when Adam Gregory, who leased the Blaen y Cwm quarry above Blaenau Ffestiniog from...
Godstone Main Series Fire and Hearth Stone Quarry
Godstone Main Series is a Hearthstone and Firestone Quarry in Surrey. There is evidence that quarrying was taking place in Godstone in the 17th century. The are a number of quarries below Godstone hill, such as Marden, the largest area of the quarry is known as 'Main Series'. Throughout the quarry evidence can be seen...
Maenofferen Slate Quarry, North Wales
Maenofferen Slate Quarry is a substantial and entirely underground slate quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog perched 1300 feet above sea level in the Welsh Mountains to the west of the Town. Maenofferen holds a significant place in the history of the slate industry in North Wales as the quarry provides considerable information for understanding the development...
Redcliffe Sand Mines, Bristol
More commonly known as the Redcliffe caves, but are more accurately Sand mines where the red sandstone rock was excavated and converted to sand for use by local industry. The two main uses of the sand where for the Glass trade who manufactured cheap dark green bottles and by the pottery trade who made slip...
Rover Longbridge Shadow Factory
The Longbridge Works started life as a tin printing and box manufacturer in 1860, run by a company called White and Pike. Between 1860 and 1901 the White and Pike Company expanded the site several times, but eventually the business failed and the site was sold. It sat disused for 4 years, until it was...
Tunnel Road Sand Mines, Reigate
Along the Tunnel Road cutting in Reigate there are a number of caves dug into the hill; they are sand mines that date back to circa 1820 and were used up to circa 1900. The sand had two purposes; for glass manufacture and for scrubbing. When the mining ceased the caves were used for a...
Walton on the Hill Railway Tunnels
Walton on the Hill Station was situated on the Cheshire Lines Committee's North Liverpool Extension Line which connected its main Liverpool to Manchester line to the north Liverpool docks at Huskisson by skirting through agricultural land to the east of Liverpool. When the line opened Walton-on-the-Hill was the terminus, but seven months later on the13.7.1880...
Ystrad Einon Copper Mine
Ystrad Einon Copper Mine is an unusual mine situated in Mid-Wales, as the lode is outside of the main seam. Development of the mine did not start until the late 19th century, when a 25 metre winze was sunk. An underground water wheel was installed within the confines of the mine, and this allowed for...