Civil engineer hand-dug 15m of tunnels beneath his house — now it's for sale at £300k
House with 15m underground tunnels for sale for 300k
Civil engineer Tony Deane spent two decades digging a 1,300 sq ft network of tunnels and rooms up to 15m below his Tilehurst home, using only buckets and wheelbarrows with help from his six children. The complex includes a hand-built railway, a one-tonne goods lift, and a secret entrance hidden inside a rocket by the pool. It goes to auction with a guide price of £300,000–£325,000.
In all my years as an auctioneer, I've never seen anything like this before - it's utterly amazing and, I think, unique.
- samstress
One room even features a secret entrance — hidden inside a rocket by the pool. — Ey — pshhh! :-)
I used to live in the inner city of Leipzig during my university days, and we had a door in the basement that led to wartime tunnels connecting it to other houses. It wasn't like a massive maze, just a hub with three other paths, each leading to another house nearby. From there, however, if they'd unlocked their doors, you could travel farther.
I was on a mission back then to befriend and convince random neighbours across the street to open their access doors and get some kind of network going, but I didn't meet with much enthusiasm.
- _jholland
The listing of the property on the auction site:
https://www.btgeddisonspropertyauctions.com/properties/20260...
It includes many more photos than the article, as well as floor plans for the subterranean areas
- looperhacks
lowercase m. 15 meters, not 15 million tunnels :D
If you're interested in secret tunnels, check out Colin Furze on Youtube!
- fusslo
I, too, one day dream of using my children as labor for my underground tunnel system. To fight the ant, you must become the ant
I'm joking, but it's heartening to see quirky hobbies by qualified people (he was a civil engineer).
- lftl
Anyone interested in this might also be interested in Kala on TikTok. She's been building a tunnel system under her house and documenting it for a couple of years.
- runako
Researching what the article meant by "rocket" (I assumed it was a Britishism), I found this article that includes more pictures.
https://www.aol.com/articles/unassuming-bungalow-hides-netwo...
- artisinal
Freestanding house with a pool for 300k? That is incredibly cheap. Perhaps I should move there.
- TYPE_FASTER
Cool! Here's another example of a tunnel house: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forestiere_Underground_Gardens