It's strange how often one comes across a small hillside cave that has a locked grille-gate to it.
I have never quite figured out what's going on though. My first guess is that someone found the cave and thought it might be a useful storage area or temporary animal pen - especially as they are often in remoter areas - so they put in a secure gate and a lintel to hold it in place.
One shudders to think that it might have been used as a prison/lock-up for humans.
But I really don't know.
This one is on the road at Dale Bridge near Wetton.
Could well have been an old lockup but I have only ever seen a few of those
ReplyDeleteSometimes if it's on private property, caves get this done as a liability thing for the owner, safeguarding them against any accidents involving trespassers who want to go into the cave.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very plausible - and I had another comment, that it was to stop tramps or even poor families trying to settle there. You'd had to have been very very poor though to try to live in this...
DeleteAs I suppose some people were, years ago.