A man who tried to pass the time during lockdown with a spot of DIY got more than he bargained for when he found a secret room under his house
A man who decided to do a spot of DIY during lockdown stumbled over a 120-year-old tunnel underneath his house.
Jake Brown, from Plymouth, Devon, was doing some work at his newly bought home when he realised that one wall had different textures.
e 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 cavern underneath his home, so he opened it up to investigate.
Inside the tunnel he discovered a hidden time capsule of 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: “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.”
Despite Jake already claiming to have one, local historian Richard Fisher described it as an old coal cellar.
He said: “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.”
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