This tunnel leads from the main road into our town park and was built by the Hurst family in 1840 who were the then landowners. Originally it was there to allow the carts to transport the vegetables from the gardens to the main house, but now it's used by the public.
Frankly I haven't used it very much over the years as it always used to be very dark and gloomy down there. If it rained you got cold water dripping down your neck! Only recently has it had the lighting put in. Recently I learned that it had been used as an air raid shelter during WWII. At that time it had additional staggered partitions built out from the walls to create a zigzag path and prevent any potential bomb blast from harming those taking refuge there. If only walls could talk...very sobering really.
Arilx
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We've got a 'lunatic asylum' here, built in the late 1800s. They have tunnels like this. In those days, if a husband grew tired of his wife, he could merely have her declared insane and put away. FOR LIFE. This allowed him to divorce her and not be disgraced for his life. The tunnels were used so that the unfortunate women could be unloaded from their carriages unseen. The building is now used for a number of governmental offices. I worked there myself for a time. I never entered that building and not thought of a time when women had very limited options.
ReplyDeleteHow appalling. I am sure that similar happened here too. Women have suffered greatly at times. Arilx
DeleteInteresting to learn why things were originally built and what they have been used for in the years of history.
ReplyDeleteI think so. Everything has a story to tell if you can find it. Arilx
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