An archaeologist has poured cold water on an often-held belief about Nottingham’s cave and tunnel network after years of research.
Scott Lomax has been researching and mapping Nottingham’s caves since 2008 and adding details to the city council’s Historic Environment Record.
But seven years after the project started he says he’s found no evidence of what many people accept as fact – a route from the city centre to Nottingham Castle.
After checking the truth behind several common stories and supposed routes, Lomax revealed in his regular column about castle archaeology exactly what lies behind the tales – nothing.
“There has been a common belief that there are secret caves in the city which extend long distances and connect to the castle,” he wrote.
“One such story, which has been told since the early 20th century if not earlier, is that there is a passage leading from the Forest [Rec] to the castle. Another involves a supposed cavernous tunnel leading from Bridlesmith Gate to the castle.”
But none of these are true, Lomax said, also telling Notts TV stories of a tunnel from the Lacemarket to the castle are false.
“A lot simply turned out to be tales told to grandchildren which were believed and then just repeated,” he said.
Another common story involves a cave tunnel from Bridlesmith Gate to the castle.
“The origins of this story date to the 19th century. A letter was printed in no less than The Times in September 1862, written by Roger Brooke, Assistant Surveyor to the Corporation of Nottingham, with the address given as 45 Low Pavement, Nottingham.
“The letter was printed with the headline, ‘Interesting Discovery at Nottingham’ and described discoveries made when ‘alterations’ were made in the town, including demolition of old and derelict buildings. Following the demolition of the pub named King John’s Palace on Bridlesmith Gate a ‘large underground cell’ was found and upon further investigation it was found to be one of thirteen such cells.
“In one of the cells, the letter continued, pieces of armour were found, along with weapons including a battleaxe. Furthermore three skeletons were found. The evidence, according to Brooke, suggested the cave was used as a prison and that the skeletons were prisoners. From these cave cells a passage was said to extend all the way to the Castle.
“The discovery of such caves, skeletons and artefacts would have been far more than just interesting. It would have been remarkable, if indeed there was any truth in it.”
But Lomax points out the office of the Corporation Surveyors was not on Low Pavement and there was no Roger Brooke working in the Surveyor’s Office.
He added: “The Corporation Surveyor, Marriott Tarbotton, was able to confirm the letter was a hoax and indeed there were many practical jokes at the time being perpetrated by a man calling himself Rajah Brooke and Roger Brooke.
“Nonetheless, once the claim had been put into print it was believed by many, despite the Nottinghamshire Guardian highlighting the hoax. Perhaps others who realised there was no truth in the story still liked to pass it off as fact because it made an interesting tale.
“It is these jokes and hoaxes that continued to be told into the 20th century and which are sill believed, by some, to be true.”
However, the ongoing work by Lomax has uncovered 152 more caves beneath the city’s streets in the past twelve months alone.
“It is helping to change our understanding of subterranean Nottingham and providing more details about the development and social history of the city,” he added.
In March a new network of caves were discovered and mapped off Convent Street in the city, by builders working on a new media education hub for Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.
And in January a group of students rediscovered a cave underneath a house on Mansfield Road, previously not mapped by research.
