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THii following account of an extraordinary cave discovered at Stonehou9«, 

 is extracted from tlie " Weekly Entertainer," for July I6th, 1796. 



AN ACCOUNT OF A SUBTERRANEAN CAVERN, 

 AT STONEHOUSE, NEAR PLYMOUTH. 



Bi/ the late ingenious Dr. Geach, 



To THE Right Hon. Lord Edgecumbe. 



Plymouth-Dock, March 1st., 1776. 



My Lord, 



I HAVE the honour of communicating to your lord- 

 ship, an account, which I took on the spot, of a 

 subterranean cavern, lately discovered in your Lord- 

 ship's demesnes at Stonehouse. The place, at a con- 

 siderable extent round, as your Lordship well knows, 

 belonged formerly to the monks : part of the wall 

 that inclosed their garden is still to be seen. The 

 cavern was accidentally discovered by some miners 

 in blowing up a contiguous rock of marble. The 

 aperture, disclosed by the explosion, was about four 

 feet in diameter, and looked not unlike a hole bored 

 with an auger. It was covered with a broad flat 

 stone cemented with lime and sand ; and twelve feet 

 above it .the ground seemed to have been made with 

 rubbish brought thither, for what purpose I know 

 not, unless it were for that of concealment. Here 

 indeed, but here only, we saw some appearance of 

 art, and vestige of masonry. The hill itself, at the 

 northern side of which this vault was found, consists, 

 for the most part, of lime-stone, or rather marble. 



From the mouth of this cave (through which we 

 descended by a ladder) to the first base, or landing 

 place, is twenty-six feet. At this base is an opening, 

 bearing N. W. by W. to which we have given the 

 name of Tent Cave. It resembles a tent at its base, 

 and in its circumference, and stretches upwards, 

 somewhat pyramidically, to an invisible point. It 

 is, as far as we can measure, about ten feet high, se- 

 ven broad, twenty-two long : though there is an 

 VOL. vii.— 1836. V 



