[6] They consist of two levels of rock-cut cellars with stone-slab shelves used to keep food cool in the days before domestic refrigeration[2] and a well shaft sunk 24 metres (79 ft) into the rock.

[1] During this time the caves provided a hiding place for Jews escaping persecution, a home for a colony of lepers, and servants' accommodation and brewing space for the alehouse and hostel.

[1] Local legend claims that leading Parliamentarians, including Oliver Cromwell, signed King Charles I's death warrant in the inn.

[9] The inn had acquired a sinister reputation by the late 17th century[3] and was a hangout for highwaymen, including Dick Turpin, who local legend claims was almost apprehended in the caves below, and John Nevison, who made the famous ride from Kent to York.

[8][9] The inn was the site of a tragedy in 1820 when domestic oatmeal was contaminated with arsenic procured to exterminate rats, killing landlord John Green and poisoning the rest of his household.