144 THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
with the able assistance of Mr. Crouch. The contractor for the work was, as on
previous occasions, Mr. Shipman, of Grays, and the arrangements for the descent
were the same as before. Captain Whitmore, the owner of the wood, again
kindly gave permission to the Club to make the explorations. He was on the
spot during the visit, and took great interest in the proceedings.
Fig. i.—Hangman's Wood, No. 4 Pit. Scale 1 in. = 40 feet. Height of chambers 16 feet
except the S.E. and S.W., which are 14 feet, x Position of "Pipes" in roof. Trans.
E.F.C, vol. iv. p. 87.
In view of the many papers and reports relating to the deneholes already
published in our Journal, more especially the elaborate report of the explorations
carried on by Mr. Holmes and Mr. Cole for the Club in 1884 and 1887 (Essex
Naturalist, i., pp. 225-276), it is not necessary to again detail at any length
the known facts regarding these mysterious excavations. The following summary
may be usefully given for the information of those who have not seen the
report, and two diagrams of deneholes in Hangman's Wood are repeated from
the "Transactions" of the Club. They are not quite typical as regards
symmetry, but will nevertheless give a good idea of the peculiarities of the pit:—
The deneholes in Hangman's Wood are more than fifty in number. They
consist of narrow shafts about 80 feet deep, which give admission to the pits in
the Chalk, which are from 14 to 20 feet high. The shaft is usually in or near