THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday stories about real people.

THE HAUNTED TUNNEL FROM OFFINGTON HALL TO CISSBURY RING — “There’s nowt so queer as folk”

Copyright Valerie Martin 2011

Do not go looking for Offington Hall today.    This is a ghostly story from the nearby Worthing area in the 1860s when the entrance to a two-mile long concealed legendary tunnel was discovered. This passage led from the opulent and historic Offington Hall (demolished in the 1960s) to Cissbury Ring a little over two miles away.
 
The history of Offington Hall goes back a long way and was set in its own park containing splendid specimen trees and dated from medieval days and was in existence at least from 1357.

In the early 1500s there were as many as 32 living-in servants at the property. Apparently in its heyday the estate comprised a complex of buildings and over the years the actual Hall was considerably enlarged and included a gatehouse leading to the property. The Hall then contained a grand courtyard and also a guesthouse. There was a chapel that at one time was Worthing's main place of worship for the local Catholic population.  

During its long history Offington Hall boasted sixty-eight rooms, fifteen stores, two handsome hallways and three galleries. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the place, in the year 1664, there were twenty-five hearths recorded. Imagine how many servants girls were employed early in the morning to prepare those grates during the winter months.  

In the mid-nineteenth century, Offington Manor was owned by Thomas Gaisford and it was during his tenure that the mysterious blocked tunnel was discovered.  It was concealed behind panelling in the library of the house to the ancient cellars.  It was reputed to lead to a vast treasure hidden by the occupants long ago of Cissbury Ring.

Originally I wondered if this legend of wealth could somehow be a link to the men of ancient times working at the Mint at Cissbury Ring?  See my article The Cissbury Moneyers
My idea was then shattered because I remembered that the tunnel is said to date from a much earlier age..... 3,500 BC according to carbon dating.   On the other hand, the ancient mint workers just could have utilised the tunnel which was already in existence?

Thomas Gaisford thought he was on to a good thing with the sudden appearance of the underground passageway and arranged to finance an expeditionary force whereupon he offered to hand over half of any monies unearthed to whoever cleared the tunnel and brought out treasure to him.

Adventurers with their eyes fixed on great rewards arrived with picks and spades and set about the arduous task of digging and clearing the passage.  The long passageway was sealed with debris and they sweated and toiled eager to clear the blockage away.    It is said “There’s nowt so queer as folk”.   They imagined the fortunes awaiting them, and busily worked in their underground cave in anticipation of the wealth that would be theirs. Unfortunately, how long they burrowed away in the hillside is not known, but it must have been for some considerable weeks.    Nor do I know how far along the tunnel they progressed.

The tale ended suddenly and surprisingly abruptly when the treasure seekers heard a sound other than the scrap of their own shovels. They stopped work and looked at one another and listened.  It was hissing.  With their swinging lanterns held above their heads they were faced with the ghostly sight of a spectre serpent (or serpents as some accounts go), eerily slithering towards them with the intent of menacing attack. Although these reptiles must have surely been supernatural creatures confined underground, the men still feared their venomous bite and are said to have quickly retreated and never dared to return to the haunted tunnel recover the treasure in the Cissbury hillside. The haunted tunnel was sealed for ever — or so they thought.

When the manor house was demolished in 1963..... what became of the haunted tunnel?  It must be still in existence somewhere underground and leading from the area of the Warren Road roundabout wending its way through the hewn out chalk to Cissbury Ring.... most likely to somewhere on the southern side!     Does it still contain the serpent(s) and deserve further paranormal investigation?

In March 2011, John Greves, ex-schoolboy Findonian, now of Walton on Thames..... emailed to say...."TUNNELS .... lots of myths about these things .... my feeling yours are simply water adits/conduits/qanats driven slightly uphill into water bearing strata ... no pumping or lifting ... water comes out by gravity .... famous in this country are the 4 mile conduits supplying clean water from Kingston Hill to Wolsey's Hampton Court Palace. Thames Water recently completed an enormous tunnel under London to save the tragic costs of high pressure pumping through old iron pipes. Ancient Qanats/Kanats in Iran stretch up to 45 miles .... clever guys.  Regards John".

I told John that he had not explained the presence of the serpents.     His reply.... "Dear Valerie.... Serpents.....Probably another myth ... wet and slimy tree roots just love underground drains etc .... "hissing" likely to be running water.

Guys exploring those tunnels will be pretty scared .... need a good tale to tell when safely back in the pub...... Regards John"

Oh, jolly, gosh, John    In one foul swoop you have ruined my attempts at a yarn.

Continue to read Findon Artist, Edwin Douglas, and the Lawbrook Ghost

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This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon and beyond.