Mysterious tunnel
I’ve just unearthed a curious tunnel beneath the English basement of my 1860s wood-frame house, and I can’t figure out why it was built. I’ve contacted three architectural historians so far, all of whom are mystified. It’s 12 feet long, 4.5 feet deep, 2.5 feet wide, and runs in an elegant S-curve that starts in…
I’ve just unearthed a curious tunnel beneath the English basement of my 1860s wood-frame house, and I can’t figure out why it was built. I’ve contacted three architectural historians so far, all of whom are mystified.
It’s 12 feet long, 4.5 feet deep, 2.5 feet wide, and runs in an elegant S-curve that starts in the sub-basement, runs under the original kitchen, and ends at a vertical shaft that’s flush with the building line and leads to the back yard. It has finely finished brick walls (better by far than the walls of the house itself), a concrete floor, and as far as I can tell, it’s not pitched.
It’s not a coal chute—too long and curvy, and anyway, there’s another coal chute, entirely vertical, that leads from the sub-basement to the front of the house. It’s not a sewage outlet—too wide. Not a water inlet—too far from the cistern. And it’s probably not a root cellar, as it’s not wide enough for storage (and would have been too hot anyway, since it’s connected to the sub-basement, where the furnace likely was.)
Any insights? Guesses?
Check out this video about tunnels found under 225 and 227 Duffield Street used in the underground railroad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8VXZO0-mEY
I’ve heard that there is a string of houses along Henry St in Cobble Hill that have/had underground tunnels connecting them. In the good ol’ days, they were used for escape in the event one of the houses were raided.
woah. that sounds cool.
whats throwing me off is how narrow it is. Otherwise, given the elegant shape and fine finish work, I would have guessed it was an old-school indoor pool? Maybe someone had a carp or koi collection?
pictures would be great to see!
they had secret rooms in which to hide in house used along the underground railroad. National Register of Hysteric Places inclusion next.
Maybe bootleggers. Any Kennedys ever own the place?
j
Also hush! If the city finds out they will raise your square footage and taxes.
My guess is it was used during prohibition for storage. Look at the construction and determine the age. That will help narrow it down.
Dude,
didn’t you see Being John Malkovich? That’s the tunnel to enter somebody elses consciousness. Is there a little door there somewhere?
But seriously, if your house dates to 1860 and this was already beneath the structure and of finer masonry it may be part of an earlier waterworks. The main clue seems to be it’s shape. You have to wonder why a masonry structure would be curved, it was either built to conform to another structure or perhaps to support something curved. Could it be the remains of a factory/foundry where the iron structures required masonry structures to hold water?
Or, if needed:
OGTHROD AI’F GEB’L-EE’H YOG-SOTHOTH ‘NGAH’NG AI’Y ZHRO
RE: Underground Railroad: The escape network was solely “underground” in the sense of being an underground resistance. The network was known as a “railroad” by way of the use of rail terminology in the code. The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses.
It was not physically under ground.