THE HUSBAND and wife owners of a country house and wedding venue were stunned to discover a secret chamber hidden under a wooden floor.
Glewstone Court couple Gary and Karen Homewood said they had heard rumours of a hidden ‘air raid shelter’ in the Georgian Grade II-listed building near Ross-on-Wye, but nothing had been found before despite extensive renovation work.
But the chamber finally came to light with the recent removal of a wooden floor in one of the hotel’s rooms.
They revealed: “We’ve had a few guests visit Glewstone Court who talk about their time here as an evacuee during the war and the air raid shelter which exists under the Morning Room.
“But they said they never used it but it was there just in case.
“Today whilst having the floors restored by Exquisite Woods Ltd we discovered it! It was very exciting!“
One poster suggested that it could have been a ‘priest hole’ – built to hide a Catholic priest during times of Protestant persecution.
“It’s probably a priest hole,” said Matt Hanks. “Priest holes were concealed spots created especially for priests, so they could hide away safely during a time when Catholics were persecuted.”
Lucian Quatermass noted that while it may have been used as an air raid shelter in the Second World War “it was obviously built for some other purposes long before that”.
And some posters suggested that the owners now put a glass floor in so that visitors can see into the hidden chamber.
Gary and Karen say they are thinking about a use for it at their wedding and events venue, and will explore it and hopefully unveil more clues about it.
“It’s an unexpected bonus,” said Gary.
Glewstone Country House was built for Charles Ballinger, a wealthy landowner from Chalford in Gloucestershire in the early 1800s.
From 1731 to 1807, part of the current estate and farm were owned by Guys Hospital, which was then bought by Ballinger.
He built his Regency house on the site of a former building by adding two wings, installing a fine curved staircase, delicate sash windows and reeded architraves, all characteristic of this period.
(For our use only ) (For our use only)
The original house can be envisaged in the cellars and north wall of the present house.
His father was a wealthy clothier from Chalford who established a Trust for the benefit of the poor.
After the Second World war, it was home to Lt Gen Sir Francis P. Nosworthy, who had been Commander in Chief of West African Command.
It later became a country club with a residential and liquor licence, then a private residence until 1987 when Christine and Bill Reeve-Tucker moved from Ross-on-Wye and opened Glewstone Court Country House Hotel and Restaurant which they ran for 27 years until their retirement.
In 2014 Gary and Karen Homewood returned from Northamptonshire and acquired the hotel from Bill and Christine and continue to run it as a hotel, restaurant and events venue.