Lying beneath Royston town, the cave is near a main road junction. Carved from the chalk and forming a chamber 5.2m in diameter and 7.7m high; it is thought that the structure may date back as early as Roman times.
The cave was discovered in 1742 when a millstone marking the entrance was uncovered. A shaft under the stone led into the cave which was half-filled with earth. The cave was excavated and the petroglyphs on the walls were revealed. Another shaft believed to act as a chimney during rituals was discovered and today the top of the cave has a grille in the town pavement above. A blue plaque denotes this grille on the wall of the adjacent High Street shop.
When the cave was first opened there was little care and attention paid to its historic and important origins. Much graffiti was carved into the chalk over the petroglyphs during the many years of unrestricted visitors. Older graffiti on the upper wall dates from when the cave was in use. It was not until 1964 that English Heritage declared the cave a Grade I Listed feature and it was preserved for future generations. The cave was purchased by Royston Town Council in 1998 and they along with dedicated volunteers from the Royston and District Local History Society care for and guide visitors round the cave today.
The petroglyphs are thought to be from the Knights of the Temple of Solomon. Driven underground by an increasingly Christian Society the Templars were forced to find alternative places to practice. The date of this persecution is from the same era as the carvings are believed to originate from, being the end of the 13th century. Freemasonry today is thought to include elements of Templar rituals.
The cave appears to be based on an Islamic shrine 'The Dome of the Rock'. There was thought to have been a moveable, wooden platform in the shape of a six-pointed star supported on the niches in the wall and a kneeling-step on the floor.
Depicted amongst the many carvings are four saints who were revered by the Templars. These include St Christopher, St Katherine, St Lawrence and St Michael or St George. Jesus Christ and the twelve disciples are shown, images of a sword, cross, an angel, a dove, possible Martyrs, Calvary and Pagan fertility symbols with a sheela-na-gig.
It is thought that the cave was an early Masonic Lodge possibly with the connection of King James I who spent much of his time in the town.
Visitors are welcome from the Easter weekend to the end of September. The cave is closed during the winter as it partially floods becoming increasingly slippery and dangerous for visitors. Parasitic worms are a problem at present which like the taste of chalk and are slowly eroding the cave; it is hoped that a treatment can be found soon. Understandably visitors are asked not to touch the carvings to avoid further erosion and damage.
The Royston Cave has more detail available on the main website here:visit link including current prices for visiting.
Wikipedia elaborates further still:
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'Royston cave is a small artificial cave in Royston in Hertfordshire, England. It has been speculated that it was used by the Knights Templar, who founded nearby Baldock, but this is unlikely, despite its enormous popular appeal. It is more likely that it originated as a cell for anchorites from the nearby Augustinian Priory, although a recent suggestion is that it was the town's earliest prison, perhaps dating from the late fifteenth century. It is open to the public in the summer months on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday afternoons between Easter and October.
Royston Cave is a circular, bell-shaped chamber 8 metres (26 feet) high and 5 metres (17 feet) in diameter with a circumferential octagonal podium. The origin of this chamber is unknown. This cave is unique in Britain - if not the world - for its numerous medieval carvings on the walls. Some of the figures are thought to be those of St. Catherine, St. Lawrence and St. Christopher.
Speculations
Royston Cave has been the source of many speculations, although it is hard to determine much about its origin and function.
* Knights Templar: It has been speculated that the cave may have been used by the Knights Templar before their dissolution by Pope Clement V in 1312. Although claims have been made that this religious-military institution of the Catholic Church held a weekly market at Royston between 1199 and 1254, the market charter was in fact granted to the Augustinian Canons of the town. It has been speculated that the cave was divided into two floors by a wooden floor, the evidence consisting of a single posthole and what may be beamslots to secure the platform to the walls. Two figures close together near the damaged section may be all that remains of a known Templar symbol, two knights riding the same horse. However, as the image has been repaired in modern times, this cannot be confirmed. In 1953 the famous architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, wrote that the date of the carvings "is hard to guess. They have been called Anglo-Saxon, but are more probably of various dates between the C14 and C17 (the work of unskilled men)." This would place the carvings after the time of the Templars; certainly the figures in armour are wearing full plate, which would date them to a century after the Templars' demise.
* Augustinian store house: It has been claimed it was used by Augustinian monks from the local priory, who would have required a cool store for their produce and a chapel for their devotions. The idea that it might have been a meeting place for recusant Catholics during the Reformation of the 16th century has little to recommend it.
* Neolithic flint mine: this has also been put forward as an explanation of the cave.
Rediscovery
Although the origin of the cave is unknown, the story of the rediscovery is very well known. In August 1742 a workman dug a hole in the Butter Market in order to get decent footings for a new bench for the patrons and traders. He discovered a buried millstone and dug around the curious stone to get the object out of the way. He found a shaft leading downwards into the chalk.
When discovered, the cavity was more than half-filled with earth. The rumour was that there must be a treasure buried beneath the soil inside the cave. Several cartloads of soil were removed until bedrock was reached. The soil was discarded as worthless as it did not contain anything more than a few old bones and fragments of pottery. This is rather unfortunate, as today's archaeology would have been able to analyse the soil in depth. The Reverend G North's description of the discovery of a brown earthenware cup with yellow spots in the soil filling the cave sounds like a well-known early post-medieval type, no earlier than the late sixteenth century.
The location of the cave is also very interesting, at the junction of an ancient east-west track, the Icknield Way, and the north-south Roman road, Ermine Street. Icknield Way was used during the Iron Age and traces of its side ditches have been excavated at Baldock. It has been claimed to run from the Thames Valley towards East Anglia, although this has recently been called into question. The modern day A505 between Royston and Baldock more-or-less follows its route.
Today the entrance is not by the original opening, but by a passage dug in 1790 and it is still possible to appreciate the sculptures which are almost as good today as when they were completed, possibly 800 years ago. However, due to damp conditions within the cave, insect larvae have recently been found to be infesting and causing damage to the carvings (2010).
It is thought that the sculptures were originally coloured, but little trace of this is visible now; in the middle of the nineteenth century, Joseph Beldam could still see the yellow dress of St Catherine and the red of the Holy Family. For the most part they represent scenes of religious significance, amongst them the Crucifixion and various saints. St Lawrence is depicted holding the grid iron on which he was martyred. A crowned figure holding a wheel appears to be St Catherine and large figure with a staff and a child on his shoulder represents St Christopher. A figure with a drawn sword could be St Michael or possibly St George. Another possibly religious symbol is the depiction of a naked woman known as a Sheela na Gig. This figure is sometimes found on 11th-13th century churches so its inclusion with religious symbolism is not out of place.
The fact that these sculptures are of uncertain antiquity adds to their interest and offers visitors a chance to speculate on their origins. There are a number of holes, sometimes directly beneath the sculptures, which are thought to have held candles or lamps which would have illuminated the carvings.'