"There's a tunnel that leads from Drake's Island to The Hoe"
"There's tunnels under The Hoe"
"There's a top secret tunnel network under Mount Wise"
"I have a bunker in my garden"
"My old school had air raid shelters under the playground"
"All the forts in Plymouth are connected by underground passageways"
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| Aaah, there you are - no longer a myth! |
Welcome to the 'Urban Myth'.
Of the quotes above, some are true others have yet to be proven & only yesterday did I have another myth thrown at me about a tunnel leading to Drake's Island from Plympton St Maurice - by far the best tunnel myth heard this year. Thankfully around 95% of the myths actually lead to something & all credit goes to the people who help us with our research, especially the elder generations who have directed us to some great locations.
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| Tunnel myths expelled - top secret WWII HQ |
A portion of the myths though, have yet to see the light of day or proven their worth, & as a never say never person, I for one would to love to uncover that long lost tunnel to Drake's - wouldn't we all!
It has to rank high up as the most renowned myth, alongside the one that tells us of Plymouth's Napoleonic Forts all being connected by underground passageways with none ever found.......until 2007!
If you are an avid follower of Cyberheritage you may read his article about the person who came across this pretty amazing find. Aptly named Plymouth Urban Myth Tunnel, Mr X the discoverer, found something that has experts baffled. What he recorded visually & practically, gives weight to the myth that there may be lost passageways linking the forts.Or could it simply have been for another purpose?
Coming next on the blog - Tunnel X -Our own research
Hi, I like the myth "Tregantle Fort is connected by a tunnel to Scraesdon Fort". We had a good look around in the guts of Scraesdon and there's nothing obvious from inside there. The lie of the land doesn't look too promising between the forts; although they used to be connected via an overland railway. I suspect the stone for Tregantle was delivered by this track, the materials having been brought to site via barge terminating at Whacker Quay. I guess. Would be nice to find a tunnel though!
ReplyDeleteThere is a tunnel big enough for a train underground, live near there , seen other tunnels too. its great. still ww11 stuff in some.though these tunnels are much much older.
DeleteWe have been told of this too by local farmers & whilst it is more of a possibility than a tunnel to Drake's, nothing has ever surfaced. We have documented both Scraesdon & Tregantle & found nothing. The railway wasn't built until the 1880's whereas the forts were constructed 20 years earlier.
ReplyDeletei can tell you the one about mount wise is true as i have been in them myself... Mount Wise Maritime HQ (ex-MOD nuclear bunker)search it and im sure some of my pics will come up
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. The WWII tunnels are best & will feature photos from this vast complex over the coming months.
DeleteThere is an air-raid shelter under Keyham College Road primary school. I remember being there in 95/96 when renovation work was happening, and the builders uncovered it. We were not allowed down there as it may have been unsafe, only one teacher went down. I think it was filled with concrete before being covered over again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting in touch. I have a PDF document from the contractor here & yes, sadly this shelter was demolished on a health & safety issue. I haven't seen any photos yet but will try & obtain some from the team who demolished it.
DeleteThere is absolutely an air raid shelter under the upper playground of Hyde Park primary school. Been in it a few times - they take the children down during their WW2 week.
ReplyDeletewoodland fort connect to crownhill fort
ReplyDeleteI've just been to West Hoe where there is digging/building work going on next to the park and a wide tunnel has been exposed which goes under the road to the sea side and appears to exit between the Wet Wok and the Waterside. Does anyone know what it is/was?
ReplyDeleteI used to live at West Hoe Pier Cafe back in the 1970's. There are two tunnels. One goes from what is now the Wet Wok under the road to the park. The other goes from what used to be the boat shed next to the crane on the pier, and leads back towards the park. Regretfully both tunnels were blocked up with cement after WW2. My understanding was that both led to an air raid shelter which was under the park.
ReplyDelete