Local folklore has it, that there are tunnels under Fleetwood. They’re said to connect the docks with various buildings and were used to transport goods and animals to and fro.
In 1859 the War Department had bought the North Euston Hotel for use as a School of Musketry. It became known as the Euston Barracks. With horses stabled in the basement, that’s presumed to have prompted many of the tunnel tales!
There’s a similar story about tunnels under Blackpool too, but photos and documentary evidence are sparse. Tunnels is a subject which generates lots of discussion and speculation and it’s certainly an intriguing theory!
What do you know about Tunnels Under Fleetwood?
Do you know anything to add to the local body of information about tunnels under Fleetwood?
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Here are some pieces of information you’ve shared –
Karen Stringer was one of the Economic Development Officers at Wyre Council. She told us “I do remember someone here at Wyre (years ago) telling me about an old toilet block . It was underground, opposite the Euston, an original Victorian block that’s been covered over. I don’t know if it’s true. It would be under where the toilet block is now. I think there were some recycling bins too but when the tramway was revamped they may have gone. Maybe the Civic Society would know more.”
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Karen added “It was discussed when we were preparing the Fleetwood Masterplan in the late 1990s. At the time we were on a site visit to what we called the Lighthouse Quarter. Sadly we didn’t have time to investigate further. Perhaps it’s just an old wives’ tale. Or perhaps they just poured concrete into the cavity – it would be great if they were still there though.
Tunnels connecting Fleetwood Schools
Karen Lupton says: “There were tunnels connecting the schools on Beach Road and Poulton Road. Also some at the boating lake, the entrance is still there I think.”
Royal Ordinance Shelter
To which David Hamilton added: “I believe the boating lake tunnel you refer to might be the old Royal Ordinance shelter, filled in with concrete about 20 years back. A vertical shaft was uncovered by myself and a friend at the back of the Mount where an opening collapsed. I know that from personal experience because I was there! The Council came and filled that in too. I was there the whole time from discovery to its closure. I can pretty much remember exactly where it was, some 30 years later.”
Michael Dowsing expanded on the Ordinance Shelter information in his message. “My Grandma alway told me that her house was as good as “on top” of the Ordinance shelter (at Borrowdale Avenue). She said when they were building that part of the estate, they had to give up trying to get deep enough for the foundations. That was because of all the reinforced concrete, so they just built on top of it.
“She also said that one of the tunnels went to the train station, but was only usable at low tide. That could explain why the ‘Bramley/Borrowdale’ back allies back onto each other. There’s a no-man’s-land/vegetable-plot/extra-garage-space thing going on (or it could just have been bad planning. Hehe)”
Michael goes on to add: “As for confirmation. The staff at Norcross war pensions many moons ago, in the “MOD Liaison” section had to have a VERY good relationship, with each of the armed forces. Medical file, central point for the civil servants, etc). If they still have that section at the DWP, they might have details. Given that it’s waaaay past any secrecy issue.
Connecting the Docks
Ann Thomason also emailed to add confirmation to the story. She says: “They (the tunnels under Fleetwood) do exist. My husband, now 72 used to play in them. You can still see an entrance over the side of the North End quay where the Belfast boats moored. It was to land the cattle direct to the abbertoire on Cop Lane. That’s now the Asda supermarket car park.”
We shared this on the Visit Fleetwood Facebook page in 2019. Brenda Bond added weight to this bit of the theory. Here’s what she said. “Tunnels from the market to the railway (station) were used to transport cattle from the market on Adelaide street. My mum and dad told me about them. There are some from the Euston to the railway station too.
Where’s the evidence?
Richard Gillingham is a local treasure and expert on local history. He adds: “Much investigation has been done but no evidence found of tunnels under Fleetwood. Dock Street, the location most frequently mentioned, would surely have collapsed under the huge weight of lorry tonnage in the past 40 years. Historic reports of complaints from residents relate to cattle being driven down Dock Street, and the mess they left on the road surface.”
Richard adds: “I don’t subscribe to the theory, based upon much investigation ! I was playing in the Euston Cellars when I was about six years old. For years we were allowed to use it for theatrical rehearsals. I think that there is a strong possibility that the hotel building was linked underground to the barracks area next door from 1860 to 1900. Security would have been a factor.
Built on soft sand
“Most towns have rumours of tunnels. But they are usually found where solid bedrock is close to the surface, as it is in Liverpool, Nottingham etc, but Fleetwood is built on drift sand. I’ve visited a good few cellars rumoured to be linked to ‘the tunnels’ but none as yet reveal any evidence.
“There was a complex of tunnels in one specific Fleetwood location but the area’s since been remodelled. The tunnels didn’t link populated areas of the town. The Asda end of Dock Street was originally a marshy swamp called Cold Dubbs. A water culvert takes surface water through there from the factory area on Siding Road and into Jubilee Quay.”
There’s one thing for sure, that any mention of tunnels – either in Fleetwood or Blackpool – gets everyone talking and speculating. Some are adamant that they have seen them and they do exist, others that they absolutely don’t. Maybe they will remain one of the long unsolved mysteries of the Fylde Coast!
You might also spot a little bit of hilarity thrown in for good measure! You may come across a group of grown adults in Fleetwood (you know who you are!). They have an endless stream of jokes to throw back and forth. Their specialist subjects include tunnels, parched peas and Vim(p)to!
Tunnels under Fleetwood at the North Euston
The North Euston Hotel is one of the buildings believed to be connected by these famous tunnels. When Visit Fleetwood had an opportunity to look in the cellar, it was an opportunity not to be missed….
In the cellar you can see the shape and structure of the original age-old building. The stone supporting columns have been cleaned up, and the vaulted brick roof painted. But you can still imagine the scene the cellarman saw when the building was open for business back in 1841.
The meat hooks are still in place as a memory of the past. Or maybe they’re to hang people on when they haven’t worked hard enough!
The bit that interested us lies behind a locked faceless door in a corner. It’s what the current owners think might be the last vestiges of a tunnel or secret staircase. The door opens to reveal this slightly eerie sight. It’s a small stone arch and the bottom of a short staircase. The few steps lead to a bricked up passageway – and to who knows where beyond?
A Dead End…
The current owners have looked for evidence of the tunnels. But during their time at the hotel no other evidence has been found. If indeed it’s a true story at all…
During the coronavirus lockdown of 2020, curiosity got the better of the owners. Finally, the bricks came out of the doorway, to reveal….
A bricked up wine cellar!
Stables and Tunnels
However, Andrew Blundell thinks differently. He says “I used to work in the hotel about 46 years ago and remember stables under it. I ventured down the tunnel for quite a distance without a torch. Then I got a bit scared and came back!
“At the time the rumour was that the tunnel led to the camp on Shakespeare Road. If it did, I never found a ramp. That would have enabled the troops to get their horses down into the cellars. The pictures of the cellars you show is quite small. I’d guess that a new, later wall had updated the cellar to today’s hygiene standards for the beer.”
Do you have any stories handed down through your own family, or better still any photos? If you do please get in touch. Email jane@theRabbitPatch.co.uk
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I worked at the North Euston from 1967 to 1977. Near where the lift shaft was there was a room with a wooden floor. I was told it was a chapel when it was a barracks. There were workshops in the cellar. Behind the porters lodge there used to be wooden stairs to the cellar I don’t whether they are still there.
Karen Stringer wonders if the stories of an underground toilet by the N.Euston are old wives tales. Not so, these toilets did exist and I can vouch for the fact that at least the Gents toilets were truly magnificent. I don’t know when they were closed, I left Fleetwood in 1971 and on a return visit some years later I found that,alas,they were no more.
The brickwork at the end of the tunnel in the Euston is circa 1960 with a supporting doorway lintel above,
Check out the HV network drawings from united utilities circa 1974 as cabling was run in tunnels around the town
Also Borrowdale a cellar at the top end left hand side has a metal door in the wall.
I need more information about these please help
Me too!