Banqueting Hall & Gash finally Empty

Amazing progress has been made in the Banqueting Hall as you will have read. We first started digging out this subterranean chamber under Joseph Williamson’s house in June 2017.

We were delighted, but once again strangely saddened just as we were when we finished Paddington, to finally finish digging out the Banqueting Hall and Gash. Digging under Williamson’s house has been a priority and something we have worked hard to be able to do for many years.

Now when you visit the Banqueting Hall, you step around the corner from the Sandstone Arch and into the Gash. The newly uncovered bedrock floor in the Gash slopes quite steeply downward. Descending down through the tight squeeze you will remember if you have visited before, widening at the bottom.

This slope in the Gash brings you right down, into the Trench that we found recently. Therfore you are now much lower, looking up into the Banqueting Hall, below the bedrock floor of the chamber. It is quite a view…

In the next few weeks or so, we will be concentrating on putting, safe steps down the steep sloped floor of the Gash replacing the temporary duck boards that the diggers have in place now. This will make accessing the Banqueting Hall much safer for visitors.

The last three artefacts to be found whilst digging out the Gash and the Banqueting Hall were these two nice complete bottles and the very last Artefact being a the Clay Pipe below.

Nice but simple bottle

This very old bottle, looks handmade and is complete

The very Last Artefact found in the Gash, a Nice Clay Pipe

The New Rock Cut Tunnel Progress update.

We have also started the slow process of breaking through the brick wall that blocks the the newly discovered Rock Cut Tunnel through the Chamber wall. Whilst we have a long way to go removing this wall, due to its thickness, we have managed to make a hole on the right hand side.

This small hole has so far enabled us to confirm a few things. The tunnel does as expected seem to lead into another passage or chamber. Though just like Paddington and the Banqueting Hall it does seem to have a lot of infill of the same type as we have already seen elsewhere dumped inside.

Amazingly we discovered our first artefact from just inside this chamber within the infill. The find is a nice small and simple but complete bottle. We will add a Photo of the bottle when available.

So it seems that this chamber has been used for dumping, with the usual artefacts (Victorian rubbish) that we have grown accustomed to finding within.

As we continue to progress through this tunnel and into the next section of subterranean chambers, our journey of discovery looks set to continue.

Stay tuned…