When walking down the street, the last thing on your mind is what you're walking on - and perhaps more specifically, what's underneath your feet.
But if you were to guess, it certainly wouldn't be an abandoned street from Victorian times yet this is exactly what one man discovered.
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Lawrence Hill in Bristol has been riddled with tales of a hidden street and one historian is proud to confirm that the legends are true.
Dave Stephenson is said to have delved into the underground street after spending years listening to fascinating tales about a secret world which stretches from Ducie Road to the Packhorse pub, with glazed shop fronts and old gas street lamps hanging on the walls.
According to Bristol Live, there was even an anecdote of a man who fell through a hole in the road after a few too many pints and found himself transported back in time.
Dave alongside a couple of friends set out to discover the truth back in 1999 - 23 years ago - by climbing down into the cobweb-encrusted enclave that lies buried beneath the road at Lawrence Hill and returned with amazing photographic evidence of the eerie remains of a forgotten era.
He has since investigated the real story of how these secret cellars came to be there and what they have been used for in the past - some of which includes Hells Angel discos under the Packhorse pub, a coffin store for the undertakers, a stable for old Co op delivery horses and an unofficial air raid shelter during the Second World War.
One tunnel is even said to have ran under a bank and later closed off after someone attempted a break-in from underground.
Dave explained that 200 years ago the well-known Herapath family owned the brewery connected to the Packhorse Inn with the whole property stretching down to Duck Road and as far back as Lincoln Street.
In 1832, a horse-drawn railway went through Lawrence Hill, next to the pub, and there was a wooden bridge over the top.
He explained: “When the Bristol and Gloucester Railway arrived on the scene William Herapath sold most of his estate to them for £3,000. By 1879 this wooden bridge needed replacing, so the authorities decided they would heighten the road.
"In the process the Packhorse Inn – and the neighbouring shops – disappeared as the new road was supported on a series of arched tunnels. Amazingly, the present Packhorse is built on top of the old one and still retains the very steep stairs down to the original.”
Over 20 years later, Dave looks back fondly on his initial trip underground as he recalled the exact location they took up a grille and put a ladder down the drop where he found four tunnels however only one remained open, spanning right across the road.
Three are said to have been bricked up halfway across alongside most old Victorian shops in a bid to deter thieves targeting the new businesses above.
Sadly now the tunnels are deemed too dangerous to enter.
Dave said that one of the underground shops still open had been "stripped of everything, even down to the fire grate and other fittings" adding that he spotted an old Victorian sash window frame which was still intact "but with most of the glass panels missing".
The whole place was thick with dust and filled with builders’ rubble and random items including a horse trough and an old wheelchair.
The street lamps had all gone when Dave visited and a local scrap dealer later told him they disappeared in the 1950s and would have been quite valuable, but the old paving stones remain.
These days the tunnels are strictly off-limits to explorers and as a result Dave sadly hasn’t been back - however he did join an arranged visit to the original rooms under the Packhorse Inn with a group of cavers.
Dave said: “The cobwebs there were as thick as a baby’s arm and the fire grate remained, covered in years of dust. A giant RSJ beam engraved with the letters GWR (Great Western Railway) had been put in to strengthen the building.
"The road above was built for horses, carts and carriages. Even with all today’s traffic, which includes hundreds of buses and very heavy lorries, it still stands, but few people suspect what lies beneath.”
