Towneley from A to Z
Towneley from A to Z
There were seven hiding places at Towneley early in the 18th century recorded by Ursula Fermor (1662-1748), wife of Charles Towneley (1658-1712). All but the largest of the hiding places disappeared with alterations over the years. This largest one is in the South Tower and she wrote of it
"At the steps going from the stone stairs to the garret a step may be taken out, where there is a large place over the Green Parlour".
The letter was the basis for an investigation by Granville Squires in 1931 [Secret Hiding Places, Granville Squires (1934)] which drew a number of false conclusions about the situation of some of the hides. [Michael Hodgetts - Elizabethan Priest Holes V: The North. Recusant History Vol.l3, No.4, Oct. 1976 pp.268-272.]
The hide was originally reached by lifting the short flight of steps behind the oak door at the head of the cantilever staircase, but these have been fastened down and the entrance is now through a hole in the floor. This is probably the largest hide known, being 18 feet by 15 feet and 5 feet 6 inches high, enough in which to stand upright. It is lined with a layer of clay and rushes about six inches deep and is situated between the floor of the bedroom above and the ceiling of the parlour. The parlour and staircase and the back wall of this part of the Hall were reconstructed in 1725 and this hide must have been retained.
In 1954, a panel of armour plated glass was inserted into the floor of the South Tower Bedroom in order that visitors could see down into this hiding place.