Posted on 05/07/2020 8:17:33 PM PDT by nickcarraway
He believes it had been closed up for more than 50 years
A man who drilled a hole in his wall was stunned to find a secret 120-year-old tunnel underneath his house.
Jake Brown was doing some work at his newly bought home when he realised that one wall had different textures.
He inspected further and made an opening big enough to get his head through to take another look.
To his shock, Jake discovered there was a huge area underneath his home in Plymouth, Devon, so he opened it up to investigate.
Inside the tunnel he discovered items including paint cans and an old newspaper that proved the tunnel had been blocked up for more than 50 years.
And he found evidence on bottles that the tunnel itself was from the early 1900s.
Jake said: "I recently moved into a Georgian property in Emma Place.
“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.
“I also noted that the patch was the same distance from the coal cellar already exposed, currently used for storage.
“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."
After realising what was beneath his house, Jake opened the wall up so that he could climb down and walk inside.
He added: "I proceeded to hammer out a larger opening through which I could get a better idea of the space, and if I should carry on making mess.
“Upon creating a large enough hole to fit through, I shone a torch into the dark, revealing the larger than expected space before me.
“The cavern had a lot of builders waste from another era, so I climbed inside to explore and take a closer look."
He soon realised the area was bigger than he had expected.
Jake added: "I measured the rough area of the space and observed its structural integrity.
“I was pleased to note that the stone arched ceiling was in great condition and the expanse measured a healthy 5m deep, 3m high, and 3m wide."
In the area, Jake found piles of building waste and other rubbish, so started digging through it all 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.
“As I moved deeper into the cavern I began to search for evidence that would tie it to a grouping of years so as I could more accurately determine how long it had been covered up.
“In the dark I collected bottles, paint cans, and my golden find was the remains of a newspaper, though was more comparable to mushy silt."
After an arduous process of preparing the newspaper in a bath filled with water, Jake was finally able to open a few pages in search of a date.
He added: “I laid the items I had collected out in the clear light to identify their age.
“The paint cans were extremely degraded but had enough detail to show that the labelling was of a 50s/60s era style.
“The bottles, after a quick wipe, were etched with detailing common also of the early 1900s.
“The biggest reveal was the newspaper, it almost disintegrated upon human touch, so a CSI style method was used to carefully peel back the congealed layers.
“I proceeded to run a warm bath and soaked the congealed brown mess in the solution for a period of time, after which tweezers and vibration were used to slowly work shards of the paper free while submerged.
“After as many fragments of the paper had been recovered as possible, I photographed while still submerged and removed what was salvageable for drying.
“I scanned through the jumbled pieces looking for dates or usable information to determine the era.
“There were little hints; the style of writing, no colour, picture style, currency and then finally a date!
“What was barely readable was the year 1964, this along with the other pieces of evidence fitted, meaning the cellar had been blocked up for over 50 years."
Armed with evidence, Jake contacted a historian friend, Richard Fisher, to ask for his input.
Jake added: "That evening I excitedly reached out to a local historian, Mr. Richard Fisher. I described the findings and asked his guidance.”
Richard said: “The whole area before then was a large hill called 'Windridge Hill' for obvious reasons.
“This was quarried away to almost high tide level, then the houses when built into the hole with cellars, undercrofts etc.
“However these early cellars, this one looks to be for coal, were built out not only underneath the pavement but out into the road.
“The load on the roads would have been much lighter than now.
“I have seen these places turned into wine cellars, a place to grow mushrooms, and if big enough, a 'grotto' type bathing area..."
He should have kept quiet about it. That could come in handy.
Geraldo is envious.
Someone painted over the sign that read, “Whatever you do, don’t open the tunnel and let the ghost out.”
Ping
My thoughts exactly.
That was my first thought. If you’re si handy, turn it into a lair and shhhhabout it.
>> He should have kept quiet about it. That could come in handy.
At the very least his man cave just became a she-shed.
Now if revenuers can squeeze their piece out...
Did he find Jimmy Hoffa’s body?
So he found a bunch of very old worthless garbage
“Local man can’t keep his mouth shut, sees property taxes increase.”
I have a recurring dream where I will be walking in my house and discover a room or basement that I have never seen before.
“It’s worthless…but I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless.”
Raiders of the Lost Ark
“What was barely readable was the year 1964, this along with the other pieces of evidence fitted, meaning the cellar had been blocked up for over 50 years.”
Conversation back in 1964:
“Okay, we’ll buy the house but you have to clean up the basement.”
“Well - how about I knock off $1,000 and you clean it?”
“Deal!”
Conversation in 2019:
“Edward - before we put the house up for sale you really should take care of that mess in the basement. You’ve been talking about it for 50 years now!”
“Yah, okay. Nag, nag, nag, - I’ll take care of it!”
I have the same recurring dream! Sometimes down in the basement, or up in the attic. Once discovered we had a huge screened in porch on the back. (”Hmm, I could put up some walls...”)
Early man-cave.
If there was a cask of amontillado in there or a coat-of-arms with "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" don't look any more, and just brick it back up.
I’ve had dreams like that, too.. Not just a room.. Sometimes an entire wing with many Huge rooms. Fun dreams!
Thanks nick.
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