Originally Posted by
Quentin_Sharples
I'm surprised nobody got this.
The vaults must be what was left of St George's Church.
The church was demolished in 1899, but apparently not the basement.
As Robbo says there were (still are?) toilets under the Victoria Memorial, so further excavation was required.
Thanks QS, this was my first thought also. But I'm less sure now?
Firstly, St. George's church had a crypt, but it was more of less level with current pavement. The first church was raised, and sat on an arched podium [containing the crypt], the church floor was actually built one storey higher than generally assumed. This was accessed front and back by a series of stairs. The 2nd rebuild scrapped the arches, but the levels would be the same.
div>
My guess is that the original architect didn't want to excavate down into the castle bedrock which the church nave was over, and just built the crypt off the bedrock, creating an artificial base/ podium for the church to sit on. The tower has we all know was foolishly sited over the original castle ditch, and experienced settlement problems later on, and had to be replaced.
The toilets. The 1906 OS map of Derby Square shows the gents loos outside of Queen Vic. memorial [below].
So, where does that leave us? Photo 2) in the OP shows a neighbouring building with sash window? St George's church was only demolished 4 years before this photo.? And I doubt they built on the site in those few years? Perhaps the vaults belong to a property in Preesons Row?
Any ideas?
Bookmarks