Anyone remember Anderson shelters???

As some of you know we're having the front garden excavated and came across an interesting find this morning

There was a broken square manhole cover under which was the square bricked hole with a large pipe coming into it which was also broken and went nowhere. The earth at the bottom of the hole (3ft. deep approx.)was bone dry, the broken pipe had earth and rubble in it. Where the brickword ended near the bottom of the big black hole, it had a wide gap, so the gardener got a torch, put his head (and half his body!) down the hole and peered through! He said it was massive, like a big tunnel, approx. 10 foot long and all brick lined and about 8 ft. high! We thought it might be a tunnel or some sort, but why the pipe? Then I thought it might be some sort of old cesspit but then why sooooo big? Then I thought of a soak away, but again sooooo big? We then decided it was some kind of air raid shelter because my old Mum said they used to build them at the bottom of the garden in 1936 in preparation for the war! I told the gardener to fill the hole in and do away with the manhole cover.

I'm seriously hoping it is an Anderson Shelter or similar? Either that, or I've blocked the whole village soak-away sytem!!!! We are at the bottom of a steep hill, but then this goes to the side, on the flat, not up the hill, and I really don't think it would be that big for a soak-away system? I'm considering E-mailing Southern Water about it, but then again, I don't want them coming round at a later date and digging up my nice new turf!!!

Any ideas anyone who's old enough to know about shelters please????

H, is your house as old as the hole ??? If not go to the council and look back at the records or deeds and it will show you what it is!! Or should do!! or find the original plans for when the house was built.

If nothing shows up on the original plans, you then know the hole was there before the house was actually built and is nothing to do with the drainage.

Our guess - a shelter !!

Hiya Tracy, I nearly rang you to pick Nigel's brains about this one!!!

I've got a copy of the deeds, but it's not on there? The house was built in 1937 but I don't know how old the hole is do I????!!!!! Would the Council hold more plans than I've got copies of then?? What Dept at the Council, the Planning??? I don't want to dig a hole for myself sort of thing and get everyone involved in this, but I'm seriously worried that it might be some sort of soak away system for the whole road!!! Mind you, even Dave said it's probably an air raid shelter! Thanks for the input, I do feel slightly better that you think like me on this one

Don't we have any oldies on here who might know I wonder???

I thought Anderson shelters were built from corrugated iron sheets, the one I saw was anyway, and wasn't that big, but it was covered in soil, maybe it was an air raid shelter, although the man hole cover and pipe is a bit strange, that may have been added later, and no I'm not old enough to remember them

Cool! If its an anderson shelter Helen-convert it into a private retreat for yourself! I know theres a few round here in the older houses,but there normally made from corugated steel for errecting quickly then buried under soil.I bet it dont appear on your deeds cause the family who installed it probably sealed it up after the war and it was forgotten until now.

I doubt if its part of a drainage system cause you said its bone dry and water will always find its way.

Ayyyyyyy you wanna get rid of me Steve!!!!!! Don't put me down a hole, pleeeeeeeease!!!!

I've been doing some searching on them, and although they have domed shaped corrugated roofs they are made of brick, which this one is, and one woman got the local paper out to do a story on hers!!! Dave said to keep my big mouth shut or we'll have them all down here digging up the garden!!!!

I'm going to delete that e-mail to the water board coz I don't want to open a can of worms I'll ring them instead tomorrow and ask for some plans of our water drainage system. Also the Council and see what they come up with and if they ask WHY, I will say because I'm having the garden landscaped and don't want the digger to dig up a gas pipe or suchlike!!!

I'm thinking along those lines too, that water will always find it's way, so hopefully, it will find it's way through all the c**p the gardener has stuffed down there, such as the membrane from the gravel path that he couldn't get rid of!!! And the bricks and rubble and earth!!!! That was my immediate thought that it was so very dry. In hindsight, he could have poked my camera in the gap and taken some pics couldn't he, that would have been interesting. Too late now, it's covered over and we forgot to measure exactly where it was for future reference just in case I end up with a pond at the bottom of the garden along with the rest of the High Street!!!! That would be a definite AWWWWW NAAWWWWW wouldn't it!! Lol!

Noooooo-i meant to make a proper entrance down to the shelter via steps.I think that would be sooo cool even if it was used a storage!