Is there a secret Sandbach underground tunnel network?
That is the question on Sandbachians lips
Welcome to the tunnels
The imagination was sparked by Linden Burt a local Sandbach man who had heard rumours of underground tunnels and asked the question of a local Sandbach Facebook Group. Interest was peaked by all cross-sections of the community and he was so overwhelmed with the interest that he set up a dedicated group on Facebook called Sandbach Tunnel Network. In under two weeks, the group had grown to more than one thousand four hundred members and is still increasing and in many ways has brought the community together.
Linden soon realised he needed to form a team of specialists behind the scenes to manage the growing interest of Sandbach locals and history enthusiasts from further afield. The team of twelve is currently working on 14-15 leads of potential locations of interest with the Old Hall being the main focus with a rumoured Priest Hole and a tunnel leading to St Mary’s church.
For centuries, could the town of Sandbach hide an almost forgotten collection of secret tunnels? The team have set out to find what hidden secrets are lying right beneath their feet?
Nick Radford, one of the twelve people leading the project, explains the ultimate goal is to rediscover, renovate and restore an important part of the town’s heritage just as they have in other towns across the UK. We hope that the project will preserve anything we find to pass on to future generations the knowledge of the tunnels and the fascinating history surrounding them.
The team are currently looking for anyone with experience applying for grants and the enthusiasm to help fund our project. Linden added, “We are hoping to attract some younger people for this so that the group is engaging for all our community.”
The Sandbach tunnels have been a source of fascination for decades.
Just how deep do the tunnels go? Where do the sewers, bunkers and passageways run and how many tunnels are there under our streets?
Each feature of Sandbach presents a different outlook of the underground. Manor houses of the past and former places of historic glory, with our project we aim to look at Sandbach and our surrounding areas from the bottom up.
The Sandbach Tunnel Network aim to bring you a 3D digital underground map.
This is so you can get a feel for what we have been investigating and for the first time begin to visualise the subterranean network to it’s former glory.
We have used ground penetrating radar to help pin point some areas of interest which have returned positive results.
We are working with local businesses and community members to help with our research and extensive side missions such as looking for the Dublin Hoard and the rumoured three chests.