April 2026

The April meeting was our last at the Richard Herrod Centre. The subject for discussion was “underground structures”.

In Europe we heard about the underground city of Derinkuyu, built thousands of years ago as a refuge for up to 20,000 people in times of war. We then moved to Poland were we learned of the history and uses of salt leading to the importance of the salt mine at Weiliczka in Poland.

We moved to Britain for a further three talks. In Scotland the East Weymss Caves were created by the sea but had been inhabited by the Picts who left their carvings on the walls. This was followed by a talk on a slate mine in Wales that was used for the storage of major works of arts during the Second World War. The speaker had discovered the mine on her honeymoon in 1961! We then looked under our feet at the Gedling Colliery which stretched up to five miles over three levels between 1000 and 1400 feet below us.

In addition we learned the history of the Groom of the Stool – an appointment started by Henry VII which continued until abolished by Edward VII.