Man finds secret 120-year-old tunnel under his house after drilling hole in wall
A man has discovered a secret tunnel that is 120 years old under his home after drilling a hole in a wall.
Jake Brown found the cavernous area after noticing one wall had different textures while carrying out some work to his Georgian home in Emma Place, Plymouth.
After further inspection, he drilled some holes in the wall, peered through with a torch, and was stunned to find the large tunnel.
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Inside, there was evidence on old bottles that showed the tunnel dates from the early 1900s, while a piece of newspaper indicates it was blocked up more than 50 years ago.
“While having a lazy coffee standing outside the basement front door of the property, I noticed a patch in the wall of a texture different to the rest,” Brown explained.
“Curiosity and a little boredom got the better of me, after which I grabbed a drill and began working pilot viewing holes into the wall.
“Once I had made two holes, one for viewing, one for a torch, I peered through into the dark dusty expanse and realised that it was another cavern of sorts."
He then opened up the wall so he could climb through and walk inside.
“The cavern had a lot of builders’ waste from another era, so I climbed inside to explore and take a closer look,” he said.
After measuring the space he found it measured five metres deep, three metres in height and three metres in width.
He found rubbish and building waste in the area, so began digging through it for clues.
“Upon inspection it confirmed that the space had been covered up for many years.
“It had been used as an easy space, to hide the waste from renovating the property’s roof, guttering, doors, and windows many years ago before being covered up.
“In the dark I collected bottles, paint cans, and my golden find was the remains of a newspaper.
“The paint cans were extremely degraded but had enough detail to show that the labelling was of a 50s/60s-era style.
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“The bottles, after a quick wipe, were etched with detailing common also of the early 1900s.
After using tweezers and a warm bath to preserve the newspaper, he found it was from 1964.
His friend and historian, Richard Fisher, said the space under the house was built as a cellar.
“The whole area before then was a large hill called Windridge Hill,” he said.
“This was quarried away to almost high tide level, then the houses were built into the hole with cellars.
“However, these early cellars - this one looks to be for coal – were built out not only underneath the pavement but out into the road.
“I have seen these places turned into wine cellars, a place to grow mushrooms, and if big enough, a grotto-type bathing area.”
