Question - East Goscote / Leicestershire / Tunnel System?

[Baron Risible]

Just as general information if you look at the BGS borehole scans the water table is as high as 1.9m below ground level in some places, 2-4m BGL in other ones. So, dig down a few feet and you hit water.

The superficial geology is fairly consistent over the area; sand, silt and gravel under 3ft of topsoil. None of this precludes large scale underground structures being built, it just makes it a lot more difficult. In WW2 in general the government looked to utilise existing underground spaces rather than build from scratch.

 

[SteT6]

Hi guys, I’m new to the group but have been living in the area for 3 years now and have been looking into the tunnels. I have had a good look round but cannot see any sign of entrances but I did find some information regarding the “mad cow disease “ which seemed to of started in Queniborough several years ago now. Several documents indicated that the chemical weapons which were stored in ditches in the surrounding areas may of contaminated the land (see document I found online attached). Maybe this is the reason there is secrecy surrounding the tunnels and lack of access?
I have noticed a small piece of overgrown land next to the railway crossing which may be worth looking at as I can’t see why it’s there and not part of the farmers field and there is no railway equipment on the land either.

 

[Seanbaker666]

You bit of land used to be a railway hut.

 

[SteT6]

That will explain it then, cheers

 

[Mattimoo]

i stumbled across this forum today and love the idea of tunnels and the history behind them , but... rationally, surely somebody , wether Jelson’s builders or ex MOD staff would know about these tunnels and would confirm them, as it is, it’s all hear say as nobody has actually been down there?
If nobody can talk about it due to official secrets act etc. then that would get the eye brows of any conspiracy theorists twitching at the thought of what’s being hidden?

 

[Seanbaker666]

Theres is people from jelsons who speak about it.there is a conspiracy theory on mad cow disease look it up quite intresting .

 

[kevbleicester]

I did hear that on the playing fields sometimes the ground compresses in and they have to be filled in. The same thing on the mounds, they get inspected every now and then. I think there is more to this. Some locals know about the tunnels etc, but maybe the chemical thing is greater. Maybe that's why nobody really wants to open the tunnels. The gate keepers are the parish Councillors, and they don't say much. I have asked. It all gets a bit sinister if you start snooping around. I did.

 

[nasher]

I would like to add something to the conversation.
i moved to EG in 1968 (Cassandra C's mate mentioned previously), and left in 1993. My mum lived in the same house from 1968-2017.
Firstly, i wrote the modern EG wiki page (the original was 4 lines and nothing else), EXCEPT for the tunnels nonsense that somebody kept adding back in every time i removed it. In the end i gave up. That was the first time i had ever heard of anything regarding tunnels, not in the 60's 70's 80's or 90's. I think some on here are making things up for effect.

The village was acquired in 1959 by Jelson's from the Army. On it, as everybody knows was the former Queniborough ROF. How do we know this? Well the records are public now, not secret. I got them by applying for a Freedom of Information Act request.
A nice man from the MoD sent me everything he could find on the queniborough station. I specifically asked about maps, but he couldn't find any. None, nil, nada. I then incorporated this info into the wiki page which gives its history from 1940 all the way through to 1959 and said sale to Jelson. The only info there is on the layout is the aerial photo that is common knowledge, and that just shows surface structures.

Jelson built the village in 3 phases. phases one and two were everything inside long furrow, and between broom lane and the mounds going up to but not including broome avenue. phase 3 was the area between long furrow and the a607, broome avenue and surrounding area, watergate and surrounding area.
All green areas were freshly planted around 1969 except for the village playing fields which were left rough until 1977 when they were opened as part of the silver jubilee.
The school opened in 1968, i started ther ein april 1970. the shops were built in 2 phases, the newsagent side first, the chippy side second. The village hall wasn't built until 1970, and the church was built in 1976. how do i know all of this, because i was there from may 68 onwards and saw it all with my own eyes bar.

what do i remember from my early years.
1 - the railway station was still there but fenced off, you weren't allowed in it.
2 - there was a lot of concrete rebar from building demolition lying around and some old abandoned trucks.
3 - the two storage bunkers were open as they were too big to demolish.
4 - power and/or telephone lines were above ground, i had a pole right outside my bedroom window on Fletchers way. about a year after we moved in all those wires went underground and they took the poles out.

The village attracted lots of families with young children, we all knew each other to some extent or other. We all played in the wreckage, the new houses being built, the brooke, near the railway lines, everywhere.
I can say unequivocally, that i went into the storage bunkers and played there as a kid, me and my mates played on the waste ground amongst the rubble and in the new houses being built. And we eventually got into the train station but it was just an empty building and very soon demolished. there are still some old fence markers between the playing fields and the previously off limits area. The bunkers were earthed over around 1970 ish because kids like me kept going in there, inside there were no lift shafts or secret doors or anything, it was just a big concrete space.

I NEVER found any tunnels, i never heard of a friend or anybody else finding these tunnels, i never saw a map or heard of a map that had been found in the school library. i was at wreake valley from 76-83, and i never heard of it. If anybody found anything it would've gone round the village like wildfire it was so small back then. The closest thing i could think of is that on the waste ground next to the railway lines there are still manholes filled in with rubble, but they were like that in the early 70's to stop kids from falling in and hurting themselves.

add to this that where beedles lake golf club is now used to be farmers fields. The banks of the wreake were built up because that area used to flood almost every winter when i was living there and you couldn't actually drive out the back of the village. On the bank opposite the golf club entrance there used to be a pumping station which was fenced off and we used to break in and nose around but all we used to find was old jazz mags. That's probably how they got water to the site. There's another building near the railway lines and i have no idea what it is, some speculate it was a pumping station to keep water out of underground tunnels but really, nobody has a clue. The water table is high around there, and i just can't fathom how there would be underground tunnels so close to a flood prone area.


i never heard of them until this joker updated the wiki page, and i never knew anybody who has ever been down there if they exist. I never heard or read about council members going down there either. the village had its own magazine east goscote community news, surely exciting news like that would've made it??


coming from the village i would love to see an official map of these tunnels, i would love the story to be true, but there's nothing but hearsay and 'i know a guy who knew a guy that said etc'.

Prove me wrong, please.

 

[Yorrick]

I can say unequivocally, that i went into the storage bunkers

How big were these bunkers? I know the entrances were pretty big.

 

[nasher]

How big were these bunkers? I know the entrances were pretty big.

It was a long time ago, but probably about 35' x 35' entrance, and about double that length wise. There was a lot of rubble around and i think they pushed a lot of it into the bunkers so they wouldn't have to use as much earth when the covered them. But the tops of the entrances have been exposed by weather a few times over the years. i remember the one nearest long furrow got uncovered in the 70's a little, and workers came in and recovered it.

 

[kevbleicester]

Watch out for locals, I was taking pictures around the mound a had locals come out to see what I was taking pics of. Caution, but good luck.

 

[WolfHog 96]

Hey guys, I've been watching this forum for a while as im keen to know more about the villages history.

While I haven't contacted the likes of Jelson's, or been to any archive, I have been doing some research in particular with the tunnels. I don't have much atm due to still working on things, what I do have is very interesting none the less.

On the playing field, near the Scout Hut, you may, or may not have noticed some odd square concrete structures recessed into the ground. The two structures have what appears to be two door-like panels on top, covering whatever is underneath.

Also on the playing field, in the bushes areas, there are two more structures that are very similar to the above, only these are circular shaped and lack doors. They however are filled with rubble, so I don't know if there is any open space underneath them anymore. They resemble tunnel air shafts.

Now the two above are in a straight line, so rule of thumb is that they are both connected to eachother, as are the two I mentioned previously. Draw a straight line from the 'air shaft-like' one furthest from the train tracks, and you end up meeting with one of the square structures of the presumed other connected tunnels (near to the road leading away from the scout hut).

Now for those naysayers who will likely shun this post, I have pictures of the sites to back up my said findings. Tbh I have no idea what these tunnels are/were used for, but I do know that for a fact the tunnels are down there. If someone can help with finding out their original function, that would be most helpful.

I shall post more here as I do more research.

Also, I want to say that I got my research WITHOUT doing anything illegal, I didn't trespass nor did I break into these tunnels. If anyone else is willing to also do some research on them in the same way, I'd advise they do so without breaking any laws.

 

[Goldie87]

Is this still going on? It was a ROF, not some super secret military installation ffs

 

[Goscote child]

I would like to add something to the conversation.
i moved to EG in 1968 (Cassandra C's mate mentioned previously), and left in 1993. My mum lived in the same house from 1968-2017.
Firstly, i wrote the modern EG wiki page (the original was 4 lines and nothing else), EXCEPT for the tunnels nonsense that somebody kept adding back in every time i removed it. In the end i gave up. That was the first time i had ever heard of anything regarding tunnels, not in the 60's 70's 80's or 90's. I think some on here are making things up for effect.

The village was acquired in 1959 by Jelson's from the Army. On it, as everybody knows was the former Queniborough ROF. How do we know this? Well the records are public now, not secret. I got them by applying for a Freedom of Information Act request.
A nice man from the MoD sent me everything he could find on the queniborough station. I specifically asked about maps, but he couldn't find any. None, nil, nada. I then incorporated this info into the wiki page which gives its history from 1940 all the way through to 1959 and said sale to Jelson. The only info there is on the layout is the aerial photo that is common knowledge, and that just shows surface structures.

Jelson built the village in 3 phases. phases one and two were everything inside long furrow, and between broom lane and the mounds going up to but not including broome avenue. phase 3 was the area between long furrow and the a607, broome avenue and surrounding area, watergate and surrounding area.
All green areas were freshly planted around 1969 except for the village playing fields which were left rough until 1977 when they were opened as part of the silver jubilee.
The school opened in 1968, i started ther ein april 1970. the shops were built in 2 phases, the newsagent side first, the chippy side second. The village hall wasn't built until 1970, and the church was built in 1976. how do i know all of this, because i was there from may 68 onwards and saw it all with my own eyes bar.

what do i remember from my early years.
1 - the railway station was still there but fenced off, you weren't allowed in it.
2 - there was a lot of concrete rebar from building demolition lying around and some old abandoned trucks.
3 - the two storage bunkers were open as they were too big to demolish.
4 - power and/or telephone lines were above ground, i had a pole right outside my bedroom window on Fletchers way. about a year after we moved in all those wires went underground and they took the poles out.

The village attracted lots of families with young children, we all knew each other to some extent or other. We all played in the wreckage, the new houses being built, the brooke, near the railway lines, everywhere.
I can say unequivocally, that i went into the storage bunkers and played there as a kid, me and my mates played on the waste ground amongst the rubble and in the new houses being built. And we eventually got into the train station but it was just an empty building and very soon demolished. there are still some old fence markers between the playing fields and the previously off limits area. The bunkers were earthed over around 1970 ish because kids like me kept going in there, inside there were no lift shafts or secret doors or anything, it was just a big concrete space.

I NEVER found any tunnels, i never heard of a friend or anybody else finding these tunnels, i never saw a map or heard of a map that had been found in the school library. i was at wreake valley from 76-83, and i never heard of it. If anybody found anything it would've gone round the village like wildfire it was so small back then. The closest thing i could think of is that on the waste ground next to the railway lines there are still manholes filled in with rubble, but they were like that in the early 70's to stop kids from falling in and hurting themselves.

add to this that where beedles lake golf club is now used to be farmers fields. The banks of the wreake were built up because that area used to flood almost every winter when i was living there and you couldn't actually drive out the back of the village. On the bank opposite the golf club entrance there used to be a pumping station which was fenced off and we used to break in and nose around but all we used to find was old jazz mags. That's probably how they got water to the site. There's another building near the railway lines and i have no idea what it is, some speculate it was a pumping station to keep water out of underground tunnels but really, nobody has a clue. The water table is high around there, and i just can't fathom how there would be underground tunnels so close to a flood prone area.


i never heard of them until this joker updated the wiki page, and i never knew anybody who has ever been down there if they exist. I never heard or read about council members going down there either. the village had its own magazine east goscote community news, surely exciting news like that would've made it??


coming from the village i would love to see an official map of these tunnels, i would love the story to be true, but there's nothing but hearsay and 'i know a guy who knew a guy that said etc'.

Prove me wrong, please.

 

[Goscote child]

I would like to add something to the conversation.
i moved to EG in 1968 (Cassandra C's mate mentioned previously), and left in 1993. My mum lived in the same house from 1968-2017.
Firstly, i wrote the modern EG wiki page (the original was 4 lines and nothing else), EXCEPT for the tunnels nonsense that somebody kept adding back in every time i removed it. In the end i gave up. That was the first time i had ever heard of anything regarding tunnels, not in the 60's 70's 80's or 90's. I think some on here are making things up for effect.

The village was acquired in 1959 by Jelson's from the Army. On it, as everybody knows was the former Queniborough ROF. How do we know this? Well the records are public now, not secret. I got them by applying for a Freedom of Information Act request.
A nice man from the MoD sent me everything he could find on the queniborough station. I specifically asked about maps, but he couldn't find any. None, nil, nada. I then incorporated this info into the wiki page which gives its history from 1940 all the way through to 1959 and said sale to Jelson. The only info there is on the layout is the aerial photo that is common knowledge, and that just shows surface structures.

Jelson built the village in 3 phases. phases one and two were everything inside long furrow, and between broom lane and the mounds going up to but not including broome avenue. phase 3 was the area between long furrow and the a607, broome avenue and surrounding area, watergate and surrounding area.
All green areas were freshly planted around 1969 except for the village playing fields which were left rough until 1977 when they were opened as part of the silver jubilee.
The school opened in 1968, i started ther ein april 1970. the shops were built in 2 phases, the newsagent side first, the chippy side second. The village hall wasn't built until 1970, and the church was built in 1976. how do i know all of this, because i was there from may 68 onwards and saw it all with my own eyes bar.

what do i remember from my early years.
1 - the railway station was still there but fenced off, you weren't allowed in it.
2 - there was a lot of concrete rebar from building demolition lying around and some old abandoned trucks.
3 - the two storage bunkers were open as they were too big to demolish.
4 - power and/or telephone lines were above ground, i had a pole right outside my bedroom window on Fletchers way. about a year after we moved in all those wires went underground and they took the poles out.

The village attracted lots of families with young children, we all knew each other to some extent or other. We all played in the wreckage, the new houses being built, the brooke, near the railway lines, everywhere.
I can say unequivocally, that i went into the storage bunkers and played there as a kid, me and my mates played on the waste ground amongst the rubble and in the new houses being built. And we eventually got into the train station but it was just an empty building and very soon demolished. there are still some old fence markers between the playing fields and the previously off limits area. The bunkers were earthed over around 1970 ish because kids like me kept going in there, inside there were no lift shafts or secret doors or anything, it was just a big concrete space.

I NEVER found any tunnels, i never heard of a friend or anybody else finding these tunnels, i never saw a map or heard of a map that had been found in the school library. i was at wreake valley from 76-83, and i never heard of it. If anybody found anything it would've gone round the village like wildfire it was so small back then. The closest thing i could think of is that on the waste ground next to the railway lines there are still manholes filled in with rubble, but they were like that in the early 70's to stop kids from falling in and hurting themselves.

add to this that where beedles lake golf club is now used to be farmers fields. The banks of the wreake were built up because that area used to flood almost every winter when i was living there and you couldn't actually drive out the back of the village. On the bank opposite the golf club entrance there used to be a pumping station which was fenced off and we used to break in and nose around but all we used to find was old jazz mags. That's probably how they got water to the site. There's another building near the railway lines and i have no idea what it is, some speculate it was a pumping station to keep water out of underground tunnels but really, nobody has a clue. The water table is high around there, and i just can't fathom how there would be underground tunnels so close to a flood prone area.


i never heard of them until this joker updated the wiki page, and i never knew anybody who has ever been down there if they exist. I never heard or read about council members going down there either. the village had its own magazine east goscote community news, surely exciting news like that would've made it??


coming from the village i would love to see an official map of these tunnels, i would love the story to be true, but there's nothing but hearsay and 'i know a guy who knew a guy that said etc'.

Prove me wrong, please.

Moved in 1968 and had similar experiences. One big playground to explore as kids