The Bells Of Mickleham

[@philiptownsend8651]

Having lived opposite that church, in Yew Tree Cottage, for the first thirty years of my life (1956-1986), this is absolutely fascinating. Used to ask the verger at the time, Don Haynes, if I could go up there and see what went on - but we never got round to it. Thank you very much indeed!

[@coxwalker]

+Philip Townsend Thanks Philip! yes it's one of our lovely village's best kept secrets!! best Martin

[@DebbieThompsonProduction]

Hello, Philip and Coxwalker! I'm searching for more information about Mickleham Priory and I'm hoping someone can help me, please. In 1986-1987, I lived at The Priory (I was 11 yrs. old). When we moved in, the landlord, Mr. Prior, told us a fascinating story that went like this: The Priory dates back to the 10th Century (maybe built on top of an earlier priory or part of the foundation??). There was a secret tunnel that went from inside the house/somewhere in the grounds, was .5 miles long, went under the Mole and came up under the alter in the village church. (Some time before 1986, Mr. Prior had approached the church vicar to ask permission to excavate around the alter, but the vicar didn't like the idea of the alter floor being torn up, so nothing happened.) This tunnel was used when the monks needed to escape (Cromwell's???) soldiers and find safety back at The Priory in a hidden room located in the house. Mr. Prior had a friend in the RAF who agreed to fly over the area with infrared tunnel detection (previously used for locating Vietcong tunnels, so he would have been in the military during the Vietnam War??) and he clearly saw the outline of the tunnel, but couldn't verify the entrance at The Priory - whether the opening was in the grounds or inside the house. Also, a man living near The Priory lost a metal pole while he was digging. The pole disappeared 'into a hole' and he couldn't retrieve it. Another person supposedly recalled that children would play in the tunnel and so the entrance was filled in (maybe in the 30's, 40's or 50's?) to stop it caving in. I spend days searching for the entrance to the tunnel and the hidden room. There was a large hollow space that would have been a perfect secret room next to the drawing room in The Priory. The walls were hollow and there was no door. After my family left in late 1987, some friends who remained living at The Priory said they discovered the tunnel entrance and the secret room. According to them, in the upstairs room (at the top of the back stairs) is a room with a fireplace, but no chimney. They, supposedly, were able to remove the stone floor of the fireplace and go down into the secret room where another another fireplace (with no chimney) revealed the tunnel entrance. Over the years, I have looked online to see if anything appears that would verify that a priory at this location existed in the 10th Century, that monks lived at The Priory during the Civil War and that there was, indeed, a secret tunnel. I now live in California, but my childhood dreams of finding “The Tunnel” were vivid and I still tell the wild stories of my days living at The Priory. If anyone has any information, I would be absolutely thrilled to hear it. Thank you so much!