Royston Cave is a Grade I listed building in the North Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 June 1976. A {C13,C14} Cave. 1 related planning application.

Royston Cave

WRENN ID
tenth-moulding-sunrise
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
North Hertfordshire
Constituency
North East Hertfordshire MP: Chris Hinchliff (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
14 June 1976
Type
Cave
Address
Royston Cave, Melbourn Street, SG8 7BX
OS grid reference
TL 356 407
Coordinates
52.04812, -0.02377
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Royston Cave is a man-made cave located beneath Melbourn Street in Royston. It has a bottle shape and is 28 feet deep, with light coming through a round grating in the pavement above. Inside, there are numerous carvings from the 13th or 14th century, depicting scenes such as a crucifixion, Saint Christopher, Saint Catherine, a king and queen, and figures on horseback. The cave was formerly painted, but the paint has now faded. There is a later entrance passage that dates back to 1790.

Local climate

Royston Cave sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 59% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
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  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. 2, High Street Grade II 12 m
  2. 3, Melbourn Street Grade II 16 m
  3. 4, High Street Grade II 16 m
  4. 6 and 8, Melbourn Street Grade II 17 m
  5. 5, Melbourn Street Grade II 20 m
  6. 4, Melbourn Street Grade II 20 m
  7. 6, High Street Grade II 22 m
  8. 8, High Street Grade II 28 m
  9. 10, High Street Grade II 33 m
  10. 7 and 9, High Street Grade II 34 m