Centuries-old cellar found under old stretch of A1

The cellar extended out under the road in Alnwick which until 1970 was part of the A1

A centuries-old cellar has been discovered under a road which was once part of the A1.

The space was discovered when a hole opened up during the construction of a turning circle at the end of Narrowgate in Alnwick, Northumberland, during works to pedestrianise the area.

Conservative councillor for Alnwick Gordon Castle said it "probably goes back to medieval times".

"So when the A1 ran through the town all those wagons and all sorts of vehicles would have been running on top of that large space," he added.

The hole was discovered during work to pedestrianise Narrowgate in Alnwick, once part of the Great North Road

In 2019 a trial began to ban vehicles in Narrowgate in Alnwick following concerns the street was not wide enough for both pedestrians and heavy traffic.

After a consultation, the decision was taken to make that permanent.

When the hole opened up a large space was visible below the road

But the discovery of the cellar had pushed back completion of the work for "several weeks", Castle said.

"We were taking bits off the top of the road surface and refilling it not knowing that there was a cavity below, and suddenly a hole appeared and it was obvious there was a large space below," he added.

A car rally in 1910 through Narrowgate in Alnwick, along what was then the Great North Road

The cellar is below a building which is thought to date back to the early 1800s, now occupied by the clothing brand Fatface.

However, Castle believes the underground space could be "even older".

Work is ongoing on the road above the cellar

A temporary surface will be laid while the engineering works are revised following the discovery.

"The County archaeologist has been in and checked it, as you can get to it from under the shop, it's just we didn't know it was there or that it extended under the road," Castle said.

"Some people in Alnwick say there are lots of these cellars and they all link up with the castle," he added. "But I don't think that's the case."