The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-11
ENGLISH CAVE JEWELLERS.
a Visit 10 the TToE;oydte= Of Wer-
cestersIFire.

ceNtershtre.
From The New Penny Magazine.
How little one knows of ones own
country! For some years have been en-
gagged in exploring the rock castles and
cave dwellings of the South and West Of
France, where to this day whole colonies
Of people live contentedly in habitations
seooped out of the chalk and limestone
and sandstone ciffs-just as thousands of
years ago the first settlers on the Gallo
soil sought themselves caverns, which
they contested with the bear and the
hyena, and in which they lived, ate and
drank, wept, laughed and died. But that
we had similar Identical dwellings in
England and people living in them as
happily as do those in France-that never
entered my head till the other day, when
on visiting a friend In Staffordshire, on
the confines of Worcestershire. he said
to me after breakfast:
What shall we do to-day?" wmther
shall we go? The weather is fine. viii
you come to see our Troglodytes?"
"Troglodytesr' | echoed.
well, yes-cave jewellers. There are
good number of families hereabouts live
In the rocks"
Live in the rocks" I repeated
them. scooped out in the new red sand
stone cliffs. You see, this long ridge OF
hill, Kinver Edge, It Is called was sea
cliff to the great Severn Strait at that
time when. somewhere between the secnd
and third glacial epochs, the prlncipality
was an island. and the waves rolled from
the Mersey to the Bristol Channel one
long strip of twinkling blue sea, beyond
which tho Welsh mountains stood up and
III
cliffs, old sea cliffs; here are sandstone
rocks, once reefs and islets in the Severn
Strait. Sandstone. mind you. is compare
lively soft and workable what wonder
IT, from time mmemorlal, the rocks have
been utilized as habitations for men2
First, doubtless, there were the sea worn
and sea scooped caverns in which the first
men of the rude stone weapon age lived;
but these have long ago disappeared or
been widened, and now we have very
worthy. respectable people living In these
burrows in the rock
LET us go at once" said J.
IfinVer Edge. ridge Of new red sand
stone. terminates abruptly above the
River StOur, above Sturdon Castle once
a royal dwelling much affected by King
John. The extreme headand. $40 feet
above the sea, steep on all sides but one.
was fortified by King Wulfhere, who
reigned IN Mercia from G57 to 675. aud the
church OF Kinver was dedicated to two
Of his sons, who were accounted saints.
The mighty embankment thrown up by
Wulfhere remains. and the place was. no
doubt, q stronghold against the incursions
OF the Welsh. This point Of rock has be
tween and tho old sea bed a remarkable
mass OF Isolated crag that goes by the
name OF Holy Austin Rock, and this Is
literally honeycombed with inhabitations
In three stories or stages, with families
sill occupying the rock at each level
though all the dwellings are not now
tenanted. The topmost has a bench and
table before the door and the inhabitants
Of the cave keep by them a store Of
ginger beer and lemonade. wherewith TO
refresh visitors from Stourbridge or
Kidderminster.
The cave dwellings are either entirely
scooped out in the heart Of the rock. win
dows and doors being cut IN the stone,
and the front being mere screen Of liv-
ing rock. or else. as In the case OF the
topmost story OF dwellings a brick front
has been erected before the caves. and
this has been done on account Of the ORR
gnal face or rock having been ~ cut