From smuggling tobacco, tea, and alcohol, to hosting some of the biggest bands in the world and now an incredible tourist attraction. St Clements Caves has an illustrious, colourful history that you can now take part in at Smugglers Adventure.
For all the information on St Clements Caves and how Smugglers Adventure is keeping the history alive, read on and learn a thing or two about the region’s illegal and dangerous past!
What is a Cave?
Broadly speaking, a cave is a natural, hollow underground space which is large enough for a person to enter.
These spaces can be formed by water dissolving soluble rocks like limestone or being eroded by water, wind, or volcanic activity.
These seriously cool spaces can be absolutely enormous, with the largest being Hang Sơn Đoòng in Vietnam, which is 150m deep at its deepest and spans across approximately 9 kilometres.
What is the History behind St Clements Caves?
St Clements Cave, where Smugglers Adventure is located, has a long, winding history; from smuggling contraband to WW2 Air Raid Shelters and now an incredible tourist attraction, there’s plenty to learn about!
Fun Fact: Because of the extensive space and sturdiness of the caves, they were used as air raid shelters during WW2 for up to 900 local people to shelter in.
When were the St Clements Caves discovered?
While the history of the caves likely spans thousands, if not millions of years, as a natural formation, the St Clements Caves were re-discovered in the 1820s when a grocer was cutting out an arbour from the sandstone. There’s also some evidence to suggest that a couple made it their home when they were evicted from a workhouse for “poor behaviour”.
History of Smuggling in St Clements Caves
The history of St Clements Caves is steeped in stories about smuggling.
Smuggling, for the law-abiding amongst us, is when someone moves something (including people) to a new location, secretly and illicitly. The items might be being moved illicitly because they’re banned outright, or the smugglers might be attempting to avoid tariffs for items such as tobacco or alcohol.
The South East of England was notorious for being a smuggler’s paradise during the 17th century, when high taxes on things like tea, tobacco, and alcohol made smuggling a lucrative, if not dangerous, practice. Gangs like the Hawkhurst Smuggling Gang were notorious for smuggling in the region.
There are strong rumours that smuggling took place in St Clements Cave, but since smuggling was illegal and punishable by death, criminals were unlikely to leave evidence behind.
Post-War Entertainment in St Clements Cave
After the war, the cave was turned into an entertainment venue, with huge acts such as The Rolling Stones playing one of their earliest gigs back in 1963.
The Caves soon came to be nicknamed The Ballroom for performances with concerts and other functions happening, like dinner evenings.
St Clements Caves Reopened as The Smuggler’s Adventure
After decades of dereliction, it was decided during the 1980s that the caves would be a great attraction to teach tourists about the long history of smuggling on the South East coast of England.
In 2012, renovations took place to incorporate additional lighting to highlight the cave’s unique architecture and natural geological formations.
What are St Clements Caves Like Today?
Today, St Clements Caves are an immersive tourist attraction demonstrating the vast history of smuggling in England called Smugglers Adventure.
An subterranean system of ancient caverns and caves can be found here, along with covert passages that were previously used by the Hastings smugglers to organise and store illegally trafficked items from other countries.
We also have a gift shop where you may purchase smuggling souvenirs to show your friends and family!
There’s also a time capsule buried within the caves, which was buried in 1966 and will be opened on the 1,000-year anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.
What an incredible history that St Clements Caves has, and all from natural cave formations that have been expanded on! If you’d like to become part of the history of these wonderous caves, book your tickets today and embed yourself into the story of the caves.