thumb|Descending into a denehole in [[Essex]]

A denehole (alternatively dene hole or dene-hole) is an underground structure consisting of a number of small chalk caves entered by a vertical shaft. The name is given to certain caves or excavations in England, which have been popularly supposed to have been created by the Danes or some other of the early northern invaders of the country. The common spelling Dane hole is adduced as evidence of this, and individual names, such as Vortigern's Caves at Margate, and Canute's Gold Mine near Bexley, naturally follow the same theory. The word, however, is probably derived from the Anglo Saxon den, a hole or valley.

Local tradition in some cases suggests the use of these caves by smugglers. Illicit traffic was common not only on the coast but in the Thames as far up the river as Barking Creek. The theory is at least plausible that these ready-made hiding-places, which were difficult of approach and dangerous to descend, were used in this way.

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Further reading

  • F.C.J. Spurrell's paper "Deneholes and Artificial Caves with Vertical Entrances", published in the Archaeological Journal for 1881 and 1882.
  • "Deneholes" Harry Pearman (1966) Chelsea Spelaeological Society Records Vol. 4 72pp
  • Dorothy L. Sayers, The Nine Tailors, 1934. (Body found in a denehole.)
  • Kent Underground Research Group page on deneholes
  • Rainham Kent Dene Hole Photos from 1980s
  • Collapse of Denehole in Grays