: There is an old folk tale that the two chapels, St Martha’s and St Catherine’s, were built by two giant sisters to expiate some sin. But having only one hammer between them, they tossed it from one to the other across the river valley’s two-mile gap until the chapels were built. A strange similarity to the belief of some new-agers that these lines are paths of some power.
The present chapel ruin date from the early 14th century and is possibly on the site of an earlier building but has never been excavated. The chapel is now roofless and all decoration has long since gone. The existing walls are substantial and suggest tall pinnacles, perhaps to create a landmark for pilgrims. Thankfully it is well protected by an iron paling fence. The hill upon which Saint Catherine’s Chapel stands was recorded in 1318 as being called Drakehull, which the English Place Name Society translates from the old English as Dragon Hill. Ley hunters often claim that references to dragons indicate an alignment with the dragon representing the hidden power associated with ley lines that are supposedly detectable by dowsing. Although I don’t give any credence to this supposition, it may be interesting to note that St Catherine’s is to the centre of the wheel-like pattern.
The Pilgrim’s Way, although the name is largely a romantic Victorian invention, is certainly a collection of ancient trackways that may have been used since prehistory and by pilgrims travelling between the great cathedrals of south-east England and it has been suggested that it is the old route from the Straits of Dover to Stonehenge. The chalk downs provide a high and dry trackway and It is thought that after the inauguration of the shrine to Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral pilgrims used the existing terrace way along the south edge of the downs. In the east the trackway passes over the hill at St Martha’s Chapel, passes over a ridge known as The Chantries and descends into the valley of the River Wey. At the river there was a ferry which operated in living memory at the foot of St Catherine’s Hill but has been replaced by a modern footbridge. At this point there is a Mesolithic site where a rare assemblage of nearly 3400 worked flints of generally excellent quality has been collected, now in possession of the British Museum.
At my visit in August I spotted an excellent little flint blade. The edge of this was evidently recently exposed in undisturbed sand only a few yards from the chapel suggesting that the Mesolithic site extended from the river bank up the hill to the chapel site.
At the foot of the hill and a short distance from the river bank is a spring issuing and flowing into the river; this is known as Chaucer’s Spring, surely a romantic 19th-century name given to promote legends of the Pilgrim’s Way.
- Cave believed to be dated from the 14thcentury
- Considered to be a later medieval shrine or hermitage.
- Thought to have associations with the nearby chapel of St Catherine
Although this discovery has no relevance to the alignments, apart from it being in the centre of the whole complex, I have included St Catherine’s Chapel as it is this blog’s most visited site and there is clearly much interest. It reinforces the importance of this hill from the Mesolithic era through to Medieval times.
The text in italics below is copied and credited to the newsletter of Network Rail. It is virtually the same text as found on other sources and is the only information available at the time of writing. The pictures are credited to Archaeology South East.
A team of rail workers delivering landslip repair works near Guildford have uncovered a small cave believed to be from the 14th century.
The sandstone cave was discovered during work to stabilise and protect the railway embankment. The cave may once have been much larger, but only this small piece survived the digging of the railway cutting through the hill in the early 1840s.
Initial findings by a specialist archaeological contractor suggest that it was a later medieval shrine or hermitage associated with the early 14th century chapel of St Catherine, the ruins of which are situated on the hill nearby. It may even have earlier origins as a site of cult activity due to its pre-14th century name of Drakehull – “Hill of the Dragon’.
Images taken from the site show the presence of a Gothic niche decorated in dots with a Calvery cross nearby.
Upon first inspection I thought that the carving below was in raised relief but looking at the way the light is coming in from the left, it can be seen that the strange shapes are carved into the sandstone and what looks like little knobs around it are in fact pits. This is quite difficult to see and is a classic optical illusion.
If the reference rod is one metre long then the carving is about 1.1m high (3.6 feet).
There are a total of around seven or eight further niches and experts found considerable evidence of writing and other markings across the cave ceiling. The cave is partially covered in deposits of black dust, which is believed to be soot from lamps. The remains of two suspected fire-pits were also uncovered in the cave floor. The hope is that radiocarbon dating can be used to establish the period when the cave was in use.
Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: ‘This is an unexpected and fascinating discovery that helps to visualise and understand the rich history of the area.’
‘A full and detailed record of the cave has been made and every effort will be made to preserve elements where possible during the regrading of the delicate and vulnerable sandstone cutting.’
Tony Howe, historic environment planning manager and county archaeologist at Surrey County Council, said: ‘The discovery of this cavern is tremendously exciting. It is very early in the process of understanding its full significance, but the potential for knowledge acquisition is huge.’
‘We’re looking forward to learning an awful lot more about the site as studies progress.’
A spokesperson from Archaeology South East said: ‘The cave contained what appear to be shrines or decorative niches, together with carved initials and other markings. The old name for St Catherine’s Hill is Drakehull ‘The Hill of the Dragon’, so this has obviously been a site of ritual significance long before the construction of the church on the top of the hill in the late 13th century.’
‘Work is underway to analyse soot and charcoal found inside the cave, which will hopefully tell us more about how and when it was used.’
The only access to the cave is by abseiling, and no attempt should be made to reach it on foot.
I have written before as to the limited knowledge I have of the area, that up until possibly the early 1970’s there uses to be a metal green and white sign at the end of Ferry Lane and opposite the spring which stated it was where the Pilgrims crossed the Wey. Also that they built the high-backed bench and the small bridge over the spring (which possibly left a deeper pool of water before filtering into the Wey).
I remember the old wooden bridge that was replaced by the current metal one, but do not remember the ferry, which must have been before my time.
I clearly recall a deep ironised sand niche near the top of the sandhill toward the remains of the Chapel, which I used to sit in as a child during the 1960’s. I have wondered how deep it was in ancient history and if it was in fact part of a building or dug out long before even the pilgrims. With the sand and iron perhaps being more firm over 2,000 years ago it may have lent itself to being used for building, and perhaps the iron was a form of rebar or at least used in a similar way. After all, where else are chunks of iron found in the area? (there was quite a lot with sand attached when I was young and it was quite solid when the sand was brushed or washed off. Last time I went which is at least a decade ago, I only came across only one hand size piece (a ladies hand at that) so either it has been picked up as keepsake or has also deteriorated).
From a safety point of view it may have made sense to build or dig out a deep shelter or number of deep shelters there, by the river, since it would be an excellent place to stop and rest with fresh water and fish to hand. So it makes sense to me that sometime during the iron age people would have utilised what was to hand and even forged iron for supports, and they would not have had permance of building or dug outs in mind if it were used only occasionally for short term stays, so knowing it would erode would not have been a deterent. After all, such shelters would not have been very costly in any respect.
I have never seen evidence of lime that would often be added to harden structures, but if any was used it could well have washed away into the river. Having said that there is what seems to be a large patch of a mix of sand and clay to the side which isn’t greensand, so maybe it has lime of some other substance that might have been used to help as a hardener? Has any of that patch been analysed?
It would be interesting if the newly found cave had signs of being fortified of partly built inside, maybe strengthened with wood planks, or bricks made primarily of sand or a mix of sand and iron and some hardener or firmer? I would think there would be lines from imprints, and possibly holes where wood supports were put in (the wood either rotted away or later used for firewood when the shelters became disused. Bearing in mind that any wooden supports were probably not worked (as in planks that would have been used for longer lasting structures) but would probably have been branches from trees with the ends forced into the holes in the sides and roof).
Is there any record or a way to know if the sand goes as far back to beneath the Chapel? Or further back still perhaps up to or beyond the now main road? It would make sense that it may well do and it would account for the purity and sweetness of the spring water.
If we lived during the iron and travelled through there, would we use mostly what was there to build or dig out shelters (that would have no religious significance), simply because of the wealth of fresh water and fish while stopping to rest for days, weeks or even over winter? I am sure we would have. It would have been sensible.
BTW, the arch seems to have the imprint of a fire surround with holes to attach whatever it was made from. Smaller niches may have been used to keep cooking items and foods. Bearing in mind they also are worn away a lot. Looking closely at enlarged images there are holes that are somewhat deep for just pitting and could have been made to fit in branches for support, to dry clothes, hang fish and meat etc. Just some thoughts.