A few weeks ago I
went to stay with a friend up in the lovely village of Kinver and on the Sunday
the four of us set off on an afternoon walk. I thought it would be a nice
stroll up Kinver Edge – all very scenic and lovely, outdoors and close to
nature, you know the sort of thing. So the last thing I expected was to come
across a National Trust Property, yet here was Kinver Edge and the Rock Houses
at the foot of the hill we were about to climb. It just goes to show, history
really is everywhere and that you’ll find it when you least expect it!
I had no idea what rock houses were to that point, I hadn’t
even considered they existed and then here I was confronted with them and all I
could think was “what a great blog topic”. I feared it would almost be like a
repeat of the Ostrich vs. Flamingo wars as it was the same group of friends,
but thankfully there was no conflict to be had – just curiosity.
Unfortunately the houses were closed for the winter meaning
we were unable to go in and the only information we had to go on was that which
was provided by a small plaque. It didn’t say a lot however, so I came away and
did a little more research, but I am also heading back up in a few weeks and am
wondering if there might be time to pop in, so watch this space. That said, the
research I’ve done so far has only intrigued me more.
The Holy Austin Rock houses are as they sound, cave
dwellings, which were hand carved in the sandstone and inhabited until the
1950s. They appear to have a long history but a somewhat mysterious one. No one
is entirely sure of the date of their original construction but it precedes the
16th century, for until the Reformation, Holy Austin was a hermitage,
a space dedicated to religious devotion. The site was then added too
considerably, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth century and at
its height, the houses were home to 11 families, inhabiting rooms across three
levels. None had electricity, running water or toilets and as such had to share
an outside privy.
Most houses consisted of only a single room, each having
been carved into the rock using hand picks. The decision to refrain from
burrowing too deep was practical one as well as structural, for deep rooms
would have been poorly lit and ill-ventilated. That said, if the house was
constructed further up the cliff, it could be cut deeper than one room and some
have interconnected rooms on each face. Almost all the caves occupied in the
nineteenth century also had their interiors plastered or whitewashed, as well
as having tiled floors and chimney flues.
Census records from the
nineteenth century show that many inhabitants were labourers working for local
farms or within the local area. Others however, made their living off the woods
and heaths that surrounded the Rock houses; for example the last occupant of
the Edge, made a living as a maker of brooms crafted from local birch twigs
(1).
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the
wider area was popular with tourists – a particular draw being the “troglodyte”
dwellers of Holy Austin Rock. As evidence of this, there exist a lot postcards that
illustrate the fascination people had with the rock dwellings and their
inhabitants and many of these can be seen in areas around the village of Kinver;
as well as a painting of two occupants. There are also much earlier accounts
and records of inhabitants dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, showing the long history this site has.
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| Granted it's not round - but remind you of anything? |
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