Bohemian & Libertine · West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
The Hellfire Caves, West Wycombe
Chalk caverns dug a quarter-mile into the hill for Sir Francis Dashwood's infamous brotherhood, whose motto — 'Fais ce que tu voudras', do what thou wilt — presided over banquets, blasphemy and 'nuns' hired from London. The deepest chamber, the Inner Temple, sits below the parish church: sinners underground, saints above.
More stories at this spot
- The 'nuns' of Medmenham
- John Wilkes's baboon prank on Lord Sandwich
Sources
Nearby on the map
The riverside sham-gothic abbey where Dashwood's order first met, its door inscribed with Rabelais's 'Fais ce que tu voudras'. Contemporaries whispered of mock rites and masked ladies arriving by barge; the truth was scandalous enough that every account since has struggled to separate orgy from embellishment — this entry says so plainly.
Documented historyModern NotorietyCliveden (the Profumo pool)Taplow, Buckinghamshire · EnglandOn the night of 8 July 1961, 19-year-old Christine Keeler was swimming naked in Cliveden's walled-garden pool when War Secretary John Profumo, 46, wandered over — the encounter that detonated the Profumo affair and helped bring down a government. The estate carries further scandal from the Astor set, making it a genuine hot spot.
Documented historyHot spotRoyal LiaisonFort Belvedere (Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson)Sunningdale, Surrey · EnglandThe country retreat where the King's affair with the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson deepened, and where he signed the Instrument of Abdication in December 1936 — love versus the crown.
Documented historySpotted an error, or hold a better source? Write to marquis@marquisdemayfair.com — corrections are made, never defended. Our methodology.