Medieval hidey-hole
Masked by the hillside, the secret caves of the Knights Templar
LYING just a few feet underground, this mysterious cavern provides a candle-lit glimpse into a medieval world of secret prayer and ritual.
For these spectacular caves are said to date back 700 years, to the time of the Knights Templar.
Hidden in dense Shropshire woodland, the remarkable network is accessed through a burrow-like opening that may have once been a rabbit hole.
Once inside, strange scratched symbols can be seen among the beautifully-hewn arches, while in one corner a font has been carved into the cave wall.
The pictures are by photographer Michael Scott, 33, from Birmingham, who searched for the caves after seeing a video online.
Called Caynton Caves, they are reputed to date back to the 14th century when members of the Knights Templar order were driven underground – sometimes literally – after being banned across Europe.
Some believe that members of the religious sect, in fear of persecution, gathered in caverns such as Caynton Caves to continue their rituals.
Mr Scott said: ‘I traipsed over a field to find it, but if you didn’t know it was there you would just walk right past it.
‘It’s probably less than a metre underground, so it’s more into the field than under it.
‘ Considering how long it’s been there it’s in amazing condition, it’s like an underground temple.’
Mr Scott said the caves, which are near Shifnal, were quite cramped and those nearing six feet tall would have to bend down to fit in.
He said: ‘I had to crouch down and once I was in it was completely silent.
‘There were a few spiders in there but that was it. It was raining so the slope down was quite sludgy but inside the cave was bone dry.’
While the connection between the Knights Templar and Caynton Caves is a longheld one, others believe they are a Victorian grotto dug out of the ground on the orders of a local landowner.
They were sealed off in 2012 after the current landowner grew fed up with people leaving litter and trespassers – including two warlocks who turned up to ask for the return of robes left behind following a black magic ceremony.
Solstice and Halloween posed particular problems, with a bonfire party for local children reputedly once interrupted by pagan worshippers spilling out from the cave.
However, locals say efforts to barricade the entrance with iron bars have failed to prevent those of a curious disposition getting inside.