A tunnel in Kippax

chris 90 · Post by **chris 90** » Sun 11 Mar, 2007 9:58 pm

according to a friends friend there is a tunnel that leads from a house in well lane Kippax across to the church yard some 300-500m in length. the house was once owned by the undertaker. I am un aware of the state of the tunnel (ie still insitu are blocked up).I will try and find more info on this.

bigpants · Post by **bigpants** » Mon 12 Mar, 2007 8:13 pm

chris 90 wrote: according to a friends friend there is a tunnel that leads from a house in well lane Kippax across to the church yard some 300-500m in length. the house was once owned by the undertaker. I am un aware of the state of the tunnel (ie still insitu are blocked up).I will try and find more info on this. Ill get me torch and hammer and chisel and be round at yours in 10 mins!!

Kippax_Bird · Post by **Kippax_Bird** » Sun 04 May, 2008 12:14 am

thought i would add to this even though its prob a dead thread. I have heard a couple of stories about tunnels in kippax. One that there is a tunnel that runs from the church to temple newsham (highly unlikely) Have also heard that there was one that ran from the church to the Dawat Indian restaurant, this could be the tunnel you refered to as the restaurant is opposite well lane. Its also the oldest building in kippax after the church . I think the tunnel was used by monks or clergy men to escape from the church during the reformation when King Henry VIII sent soldiers out to plunder monastrys, churchs etc

David Raven · Post by **David Raven** » Mon 05 May, 2008 11:52 pm

When I was a kid growing up in Kippax in the 70s/80s, there was a local bit of folklore telling of a tunnel that started underneath 'Cheeney Basin' (Manor Garth hill - a ringwork and bailey castle by St. Mary's Church), and led all the way to Pontefract Castle. Quite a tunnel!

MisterEyes · Post by **MisterEyes** » Thu 01 May, 2014 11:24 pm

Holy thread resurrection batman!!From approx. 1978 to 1990 I lived in the house at 4 Leeds Road, the one referred to above as the second oldest house in Kippax. While I lived there it was renovated and became a restaurant called Manuel's, it then became Dawats and then a series of takeaways. Here are a couple of relevant facts about that house and the tunnel in question:The date on the side of the house (16xx - if I recall correctly) is incorrect, in fact it is made up. When my father was renovating the house he wanted to put a date on the side, we knew the house was built in the 1600's but did not have a specific year, so he made one up. Sorry, really sorry - historians probably hate that kind of thing.During renovations we found a bricked up doorway/arch in the foundations of the exterior wall at the back of the house (North east corner). When knocked out we found a passage way behind it that led in the general direction of the church (i.e. following Church Lane). After approx. 50m it was collapsed and impassable. However it was starting to head uphill. The assumption is that this tunnel led to the church although this was never confirmed. That said, I recall my parents speaking to the vicar who stated that there is a tunnel leading from the crypts below St Mary's down Church Lane and is impassable due to collapse.So there you have it, hopefully you will forgive the thread resurrection

Steve Jones · Post by **Steve Jones** » Fri 02 May, 2014 10:18 am

it is wonderful to actually have some evidence of a possible tunnel instead of just stories as usual!

Post by **Croggy1** » Fri 02 May, 2014 2:02 pm

I'd forgotten about Manuels - I was friends with the owner's sister at school and now you mention it, there was talk of a tunnel there.