Tony Taft, our Reviewer/Photographer reports:-
Today we had an attendance of 19 with 2 apologies and 1 potential new member so good to report that.
Our speaker today was Nick Powe and the title of his presentation was Kents Cavern.
Nick is a member of the family who until recently owned Kents Cavern, the caves were sold in 2023 following 120 years of the Powe’s looking after the caves.
Kents Cavern officially became part of the esteemed Tudor Hotels collection, a group known for its unique and historic sites across the United Kingdom.
With the aid of his visual presentation, Nick introduced us to the members of his family and their association with the running of the attraction starting with his grandfather Francis Powe in 1903.
Nick told us about the early explorers such as Father John MacEnery, chaplain to the Cary family who lived in Torre Abbey, MacEnery developed an interest in archaeology and ancient ruins during summer retreats to the 13th century Ilsham Chapel situated across the valley from Kents Cavern. MacEnery began to explore the caves and uncovered bones of extinct prehistoric animals and human-made flint tools lying side-by-side under thick stalagmite floors.
There have been so many well known explorers like William Pengelly 1865-1880 and Arthur Ogilvy 1927-1941.
Nick told us that Kents Cavern was not newly discovered because people like the Neanderthal have lived in the cave’s millions of years ago so people have always known about the caves, which were originally called Kents Hole.
It was Father MacEnery who discovered the earliest human jaw bone. He said he went to a spot which had been disturbed on rumbling it over the lustre of enamel revealed the first fossil teeth he had ever seen. Those teeth can now be seen in Torquay Museum.
(Tony Taft adds:- I have found a report that Arthur Ogilvy discovered the jaw bone in 1927 so which report is true?)
Nick said that visitor numbers to the caves were quite good but nowhere near the numbers that the zoo and steam railway attract, but this was not the reason for selling the caves, it was more the cost of improving the attraction to what visitors expect these days, and it was hoped that the caves could become known as the national ice age centre.
Nick’s presentation was so informative that there was too much information to include it in this review, but I can say that we all found this talk so interesting that at the end of Nick’s presentation many questions were asked and Nick was only too happy to answer all of them.
May I take this opportunity to wish all our members and their families a very happy and healthy new year. Tony Taft.
Paignton Probus Club 