To ask what this massive hole under our garden is?

[Greatbighole]

Husband just lifted up a slate in the garden and uncovered a concrete chamber which goes under our property and next door. It’s 6.5 feet deep. House was built in 1910, we moved in a few months ago. Didn’t come up in the survey or searches.
Any ideas?
Next door must know as they have built an extension over it but we don’t know them and don’t want to go knocking to ask right now, but obviously we will when we see them!
My husband accidentally dropped the slate into the hole which is what you can see in the bottom.

So very interesting. I'd love to have one.

A secret underground lair.

We had exactly the same in our last house built in 1908 it was for rainwater / freshwater - a kind of well and also shared with neighbours.

My Aunt had one exactly the same in her garden. It's a bomb shelter. They used it too, once in a while, sadly!

why do people keep posting "it's a bomb shelter" when the OP has been back and posted that after investigations has posted it was part of an old drainage system. Maybe try using the "see all function" for the OP's posts.

@Flapjacker48

why do people keep posting "it's a bomb shelter" when the OP has been back and posted that after investigations has posted it was part of an old drainage system. Maybe try using the "see all function" for the OP's posts.

Also if the house was built in 1910 that’s huge foresight to build a bomb shelter for a world war that wouldn’t happen for 4 years. If only we had that foresight now

I would just be happy there wasn't a skeleton in there!

Does it have pipework leading to/from it? (Can't see any in the photos). If there's no pipework it won't be a cess pit or a septic tank. If you find out let us know! :-)

An air-raid shelter would need steps. A so-called coal hole inst a hole you put coal in (how would you get it out?) but an outside chute into your cellar (so the coal can end up in your cellar without being hauled through the house). This isn't a chute, it's just a big hole. So I am leaning toward the idea it was a cesspit, maybe for an outside long-demolished loo. Since you say you live in a rural area, there wouldn't have been mains drainage until long after the house was built, and a cesspit would be essential.

@Donotgogentle

We used to have a WW2 concrete bomb shelter in our garden which looked like that inside.

An air raid shelter isn't usually this deep, we had one at our first house. A coal hole or shared cellar seems more likely, though coal holes we've had have been under the pavement side of the house so sacks can be emptied into it from the roadside.

Wine cellar

It's a coal bunker, they're pretty standard in old houses, some have them in a cellar with a hole for the coal to be put through by the coal man, others have a shed like outbuilding specifically for coal and others have these holes in the ground.

Brilliant find and a nice piece of history for your property!

I wonder why your neighbours didn't liaise with the previous owners of your house and arrange to get it filled before they built their extension? Do you have access to your local councils online Planning Portal; you may be able to see the neighbours Planning consent documents. Or just pop round and ask.

Fitzles uk base?

Fritzle*

Get it surveyed and put on the deeds. Could be a coal bunker or an air raid shelter or a root cellar. Then decide if you need the space or not and fix the ingress/egress as fit for purpose.

That s interesting! My money was on coal hole, ours is slightly smaller but has access from the alley and used to have a wooden ladder to collect coal out of it which has now disintegrated!

Turn it into a wine cellar.

@Greatbighole don’t rule out bomb shelter based on location - we had one in my family home in a rural south wales!

The OP updated yesterday - It's for water!

@icelolly99

I wonder why your neighbours didn't liaise with the previous owners of your house and arrange to get it filled before they built their extension? Do you have access to your local councils online Planning Portal; you may be able to see the neighbours Planning consent documents. Or just pop round and ask.

Great idea! I just checked planing portal and I can’t view the planning documents for their extension unfortunately. As updated previously, it’s nothing more exciting than a soak-away/ water storage container. I’d love a bomb shelter!

Hot tub

I thought it was an oubliette. I may have watched Labyrinth too many times.

There was a similar MN thread a while ago and it turned out to be a rainwater cistern - also shared between properties of a similar age. They collected rainwater to be used for washing or watering the garden, so often located near the outhouse / scullery and would have had a hand pump to draw the water.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3928104-Found-hole-in-garden?pg=4

The pipe being at the top (overflow) and the fact it is shared with next door says cesspit to me.

@GuckGuckDoose

Yes I’d say that is almost certainly a coal cellar - there may well have been some kind of chute with doors built over the opening at one stage.

For sure ^