Hole Opens in Shaftesbury Highstreet

Monday, 11 October 2010 00:00

For countless years there have been rumours and folklore of lay tunnels, secret passages and underground rooms so when the local water company lost a drilling mole while installing a new water main on Friday (8th) curiosity go the better me and I went to take a look. Apparently while boring between two points in the High street the mole was lost, just in front of King Alf's, and they took up pavement to retrieve it finding that it has fallen into an underground chamber.

This was the view from the street:



So at the weekend, when no one was around I took the camera to the mouth of this new chasm and tried to get a look at what was inside. Sadly no tunnels or crypt staircases but I assume this room was at the very least some kind of storage (possibly coal or salt) that would likely have connected to the building that now houses King Alfred's Kitchen as there looks to be signs that on one side is has been bricked up or covered directly on the side of the building. Sadly after the weekend, with zero regard or even fleeting historical interest, the water company filled it in with concrete. All the other tales of tunnels under places such Park Walk end with similar lack of regard by workers involved but it's very disheartening to think this practice continues. Worse still, when I came to take the photos the next day people had already started using this new find as a rubbish bin.

So here are, what could be the only, pictures of what the hole contained. If anyone has a better idea as to its use (even if it was just drainage it is still interesting!) then please do write in.