A hidden tunnel was revealed by archaeologists excavating a site opposite Oxford Castle.
The secret passageway, believed to have been built in the late 18th or early 19th centuries, linked two properties owned by Daniel Harris – who was appointed governor of Oxford prison in 1786 and was a keen archaeologist himself.
A report by city council archaeologist David Radford said the tunnel was previously known to exist from archive documents, ‘but the precise location had proved elusive’.
Running below Bulwarks Lane, it had been sealed-up with brick. Mr Radford said the filled-in tunnel will be preserved as part of the Castle Hill House development.
St Peters College, which bought the site in 2018, plans to build new student accommodation on the New Road plot.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
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