Mystery · Reigate
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A secret meeting under the castle, or so Reigate says.
See it clearly
Castle grounds are a public park; the cave opens on set open days run by the Wealden Cave & Mine Society. Check before you go.
Down here, in the dark under Reigate, the barons were said to have drafted Magna Carta.
Under the mound of Reigate's vanished castle runs a long sandstone passage called the Barons' Cave. Reigate tradition says the rebel barons met here in secret in 1215 to draw up Magna Carta before forcing King John to seal it at Runnymede. The cave society that runs the tours says plainly that this is a romantic story and certainly not true. They are just as doubtful about rumoured tunnels to Reigate Priory and to the castles at Bletchingley and Betchworth. The cave is first mentioned by Camden in 1586. The VCH thought it began as a dry cellar and store.