The appeal of old buildings extends beyond their architecture: they contain rich historical narratives. While the phrase “If these walls could talk” may seem hackneyed, it sparks curiosity about the lives and stories embedded within their dilapidated walls. As a child, I was captivated by my grandparents’ 18th-century manor, a house that had changed hands several times over the years.
Looking back at the lives of those who lived there in the 19th century and imagining the area before it was developed has always intrigued me. It is remarkable how many people are unaware of the hidden history of their own home. Simon Marks from Luton, England, had a similar experience when he unexpectedly discovered a historical secret right outside his garden.
Several years ago, Simon made a startling discovery beneath his property: a two-room air raid shelter dating back to the Second World War. The discovery came about when Simon accidentally drove into what appeared to be a flowerbed, only to discover his vehicle had fallen into a hidden structure. “It created a big hole. I thought it was a sinkhole or a badly landscaped garden”, Simon, 37, told The Sun.
Fearing that the entire house would collapse into the hole, Simon decided to investigate further. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a ladder and, using a selfie stick, realized he had discovered a World War II air raid shelter. When his father saw the footage, he immediately identified the shelter and explained its historical value.
When Simon bought the house from an elderly couple who had built it in the 1970s, he suspected that the previous owners knew about the shelter. “The previous owner must have known it was there, and when he built the house and planted a garden, he probably filled it in”, Simon thought. Undeterred by this unexpected discovery, Simon became passionate about preserving and restoring the shelter, recognizing it as a fascinating piece of history.
Determined to unearth the entire structure, Simon and his father began carefully digging, using buckets to remove the earth. Their efforts to uncover the two-room shelter, documented in a video, shed light on the unexpected historical treasures that can be hidden beneath our everyday surroundings.