The Hellfire Club became known to me as an impressionable boy. When driving out of London on the A40. We would pass West Wycombe Park, the place built for Sir Francis Dashwood, the club’s ...

They were excavated between 1748 and 1752 for Francis Dashwood, founder of the Society of Dilettanti and co-founder of the Hellfire Club, whose meetings were held in the caves. Wikimedia Farewell ...

They were excavated between 1748 and 1752 for Francis Dashwood, founder of the Society of Dilettanti and co-founder of the Hellfire Club, whose meetings were held in the caves. ( Supplied: Wikimedia ) ...

I suppose there is a touching symmetry to the Dashwood family’s ongoing promotion of the Hellfire Club. Two generations ago, the estate was in dire financial straits.

The most notorious club was formed by Sir Francis Dashwood with the motto "Fais ce que tu voudrais" - Do as you will. Dashwood's club included some of Britain's most senior statesmen and aristocrats.

The spirit of Sir Francis Dashwood, the notorious rake who founded the Hellfire Club in 1755, lives on at the end of this month with the spooky-sounding Soirée Subterranea.

This season, along with the nightmarish arch-villain Vecna, we have been introduced to “the Hellfire Club” – the Dungeons and Dragons club of Hawkins high school.

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