Inside £425,000 cottage with secret escape tunnel built by Henry VIII

04 July 2023 , 09:39

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Inside £425,000 cottage with secret escape tunnel built by Henry VIII

If you thought that this £425,000 cottage is like any other, look closely as it unveils a secret underground tunnel built by Henry VIII used by Catholics to escape persecution.

Hill View Cottage located in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire looks like an ordinary white frontage and black paint detailing Grade II cottage.

But closer inspection reveals that this four bedroom cottage has a historic underground tunnel leading to an underground meeting room.

The Tunnel goes from Hill View Cottage and joins up with several historic properties in the village, with the small central meeting room shared between them.

It is said to have been built when Henry VIII created the church of England and was most likely used by Catholics as an escape route when persons of authority visited, so as to avoid persecution.

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The underground tunnel built by Henry VIII used by Catholics to escape persecution (mediadrumimages/EnsumBrown)

It is likely banned prayers were conducted by the Catholic priests, who were fugitives after Henry VIII’s dismantled the monastery system.

On November 3, 1534, King Henry VIII became the Head of the newly founded Church of England.

When the Church failed to grant King Henry an annulment from his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he saw leaving the Catholic Church as his only option.

Hill View Cottage located in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, looks ordinary from the outside (mediadrumimages/EnsumBrown)

By 1536, Henry had broken with Rome, seized assets of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and declared the Church of England as the established church with himself as its head.

Hill View Cottage gives its owners a chance to experience the thrill of a historic tunnel as important as this one.

“This period home, believed to date back to the mid 17th century, also enjoys the advantage of being sold with no upward chain and offers future owners the opportunity to update and add further value,” reads the listing.

The cottage is on offer for £425,000 (mediadrumimages/EnsumBrown)

“The front door opens up into a nice sized dining space, with a bay window to a front aspect, exposed beams and upstands, an original exposed brick fireplace with a wood-burning stove, pendant and sconce lighting, carpets, stairs to the first floor, and ample space for a large dining setting.

“There is also a door down to a basement area, with lots of space for storage, as well as a historic underground tunnel.”

Mahima Kaur