Up inside the low dark void on the second floor, accessed by the little door, I squatted right down inside once more among the filth. This is not a place for claustrophobics and I was very conscious that my ankle was still sore. As I was about to leave, I shone my torch further along and spotted these hanging from a nail on the inner side of a beam
Too low to stand up in, and with its rough bench bracketed to the wall, this secret place feels like a priest hole, used to hide something or someone. I know I have been reading too many war-related books lately!
These are thin metal tags, consecutively indented with numbers 3045 to 3100, and originally bright and shiny metal, now rusted. From a search of Google images, I believe they are cow tags, but someone must have really lost their way to leave them in this top floor ‘void’ of a townhouse. There are no fields here
These would not (have not) been seen by anyone poking their head into the void, as I did several times. There is a full row of these hidden nails where small items could be hung out of sight
The huge attic above it has at some time been locked from the attic side with its iron bar and the door panel has been smashed to reach the bar, then patched up (How Low Can We Go?). The void is not easily detectable from inside there either
Of course, we’ll probably never know any more. It would be amazing if someone knew something, but generations have passed. We should probably keep it exactly as it is. It feels important to keep it intact, until someone can come up with an explanation
Any ideas?
Poshbird with Passion 
Exciting to find unexpected items as this property slowly reveals itself.
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Good luck with your research. We still have people around who remember our house when it was part of a working farm with beasts and all but, unfortunately, nobody seems to have any photographs or even accurate memories. The man of the family who lived here before us was – and still is – the ‘go to’ gynaecologist in this area so it is mostly referred to as the ‘gynaecologist’s house’
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Haha! It would be lovely if you could find out some more of the older history. Perhaps the more recent is best left alone!
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No clue. I just think it’s creepy. Looks like you’re on a mission to clear out the creepy corners. I’m all for that.
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Yes and no. I kind of like creepy and C wants me to keep the whole place as some sort of time capsule, but there has to be compromise
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Maybe I’ll get an idea when I see it “in the flesh” ..?
Contraband perhaps?
People of particular persuasions that the WW2 occupying forces didn’t favour?
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It really does look like a priest hole, doesn’t it
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Yes, someone or something was in there for some reason. Just a thought, there isn’t a spy hole in the wall is there?? French voyeurs maybe???
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Ooh! Never thought of anything like that! But no, it doesn’t. That would have been a bit different, wouldn’t it?
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