Star Chamber Cave is a

limestone cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in the soluble rock limestone. It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, including chalk, dolomite, marble, salt beds, and gypsum. ...

in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. In the 1780s the cave became the centre of tunnels known as the '' Lower Galleries'' of the ''

Northern Defences Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

''. In 1941 this cave was still in military use as the King's Regiment Battalion Headquarters

Description

Star Chamber Cave is a natural limestone cave in Gibraltar which was incorporated into the Northern Defences complex/ The cave is within the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

at the centre of a tunnel system known as the ''Lower Galleries''. King's Regiment battalion HQ, Star Chamber (1)

Unlike the '' Upper Galleries'' these are not a tourist attraction but can be visited by prior arrangement. The main entrance is by

Hanover Battery Hanover Battery was an artillery battery on the north west part of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The battery is casemated. Beneath the battery was a tunnel known as Hanover Gallery. Description The battery was in use in the war wi ...

and Star Chamber Cave is only found after travelling through the Hanover and King's Galleries which were created from 1787 to 1789. Star Chamber Cave could also be accessed via the King's Lines fortification. This cave was literally and organisationally at the centre of the tunnelling operations of the 18th century by the

Soldier Artificer Company The Soldier Artificer Company was a unit of the British Army raised in Gibraltar in 1772 to work on improving the fortifications there. It was the Army's first unit of military artificers and labourers – the existing Corps of Engineers was entir ...

(later the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

). During World War II the tunnels were still being used and brick buildings were constructed within the cave and galleries. A sign on the wall of the cave records that in 1941 this cave was the King's Regiment Battalion Headquarters.

References

Caves of Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-geo-stub

Description

See also

References