• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Family Days Tried And Tested

Adventuring through childhood... with love and dysfunction in tow

  • CategoriesLots to see!
  • About UsWho are we?
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
You are here: Home / Holly House / Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

February 24, 2019 ·

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Today we ventured into the crypt at Holly House. Situated on the north side of the church, it has been something that has intrigued us for the past year. And it wasn’t until today that we finally unearthed its secrets.

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

The medieval tower of the church dates back to the 12th century whilst the main body of the church was built in the 18th century. The crypt does not seem to be recorded anywhere and does not appear on any plans so it really was a mystery waiting to be explored.
 
The entrance to the crypt consisted of a brick wall built up around a short stone staircase which was topped with a heavy metal grate. It’s clear that no one has entered it for many years given the rust on the metalwork and the relatively mature trees that had grown in the stairwell blocking the entrance. 
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
So our first job was to clear the foliage that had grown over it and remove the trees from the stairwell to enable us to open the gate.
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
Renovating and conserving Holly House is completely a family affair and all the children, big and small, are actively involved in getting stuck in to help! 
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
Having removed a ton of ivy growth from the entrance we were able to open the gate around 6 inches. Just enough to enable us to squeeze through to get to the trees that had grown behind it.
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
The girls cracked on with clearing above the gate while the thick branches were removed from below.
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
With the majority of the tree removed, we were able to open the gate. 
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House
 
And here’s what we found in the crypt. It was a small stone-lined room that housed a furnace. Probably used as a heating system for the church. More historical investigations will determine this…
 
Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

 There was a plaque on the side of the furnace but, unfortunately, it had rusted over and was undecipherable.

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

We didn’t find any immediate signs of bats but on the walls of the crypt we found three cocoon type things. They were the size of a matchbox and appeared to have a hanging thread. These were spider egg cocoons. We left them there undisturbed.

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Below is the damper used for the furnace.

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

It was a good day’s work and the kids all worked really hard at making the crypt accessible. As time goes on we will explore more in-depth and delve into the history. But at a first glance, it seems that the crypt was used to house a boiler room. No treasures or relics and no signs of any ghouls… yet.

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

Have you seen the Incredible Windows Of Holly House?

Exploring The Crypt At Holly House

You can also follow us here on Instagram where we will be sharing an everyday account of our journey.

Facebook Comments

Related posts:

The View From Holly House The Windows Of Holly House Clean Up Begins At Holly House Cleaning Out The Tower At Holly House

Filed Under: Holly House Tagged With: Conservation, Holly House, Renovation

Family Days Tried and Tested provides inspiration and ideas for you to make lasting memories and achieve great family days of your own.

Our aim is to offer our own experiences of family outings and activities whatever the weather and with a young family. Read More…

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Hello!

Family Days Tried and Tested provides inspiration to make everyday family life fun. It includes simple craft activities to do at home plus lots of reasons to play outside. Family Days Tried and Tested is all about frugal fun, honesty and lots of laughs.

Contact Us

TOTS100 - UK Parent Blogs
TOTS100
I'm a Netmums Influencer

familydaystriedandtested

Living life however it comes👌
Renovating & restoring 💒
Featured in The Times 📰
Family fun Multi award winners🏆
Adventurers🗺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Family Days Tried and Tested
☺️ Really pleased at how the kitchen ceiling i ☺️ Really pleased at how the kitchen ceiling is looking! It’s been a long process insulating between the beams and putting up lining papering and cleaning down and waxing the beams but our hard work is starting to pay off and it’s looking beautiful. So many people advised us to cover the beams up as an easy measure but for us that was never going to happen, keeping the church as original as possible is our highest priority, it’s a stunning building, why change that? 
Our next job is to give the walls another coat of paint around the memorials we restored and hang the chandeliers central to the arches...then maybe we can think about building the kitchen 🙂

 #Dreamhome #conversion #Historicbuilding #History #Familyhome #buildingthedream #renovationproject #Selfbuild #Homerenovation #churchconversion #granddesigns 
#renovation #beautifulhomes #designerhomes #homedesign #architecture #churchrennovation #architectureporn #church
🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️😷🍿🎬 We’re thr 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️😷🍿🎬 We’re throwing a ‘lockdown heroes’ treat night for the children as a reminder to them of how proud we are of them holding it together during the lock down. 
I made some printouts to set the scene and we’ll have treats and watch a superhero movie. 
This pandemic is so hard on everyone and it’s so easy to overlook how well the children are cracking on throughout, they are so resilient when it comes to change but it’s such an incredibly emotional and unknown time for their little minds. 

So this little treat night is a reminder to them that they too are hero’s in their own right and that we’re proud of the part they play too 💖
🚶‍♀️🚶📮✉️🌈🚪 We took a walk 🚶‍♀️🚶📮✉️🌈🚪 We took a walk around our neighbourhood and used the time to practice our colours by spotting different coloured doors. We took a photo so we could sit down and look at them when we got home too. 
A really simple, fun and educational activity, with the bonus of fresh air too 👌

**All the doors opened onto the main pavement meaning that there were not any front gardens or paths, so we didn’t trespass 😉
🌳📏Finding out how old trees are using string 🌳📏Finding out how old trees are using string! 
We used a piece of string on which we made a mark every 2.5cm along, we then chose our trees and wrapped the string around the girth of the tree around 1.5m up (5ft).
The then we counted the points on the marker and each point (2.5cm) was equal to 1 year. 
This tree is was around 52 years old.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Family Days Tried and Tested Privacy Policy

  • ImaginationInspiration
    • Simple Play Ideas
    • Magical Adventures
    • Themed Days
    • Frozen
  • Indoor FunIncludes food!
    • Food
    • Themed Bath
  • Outdoor FunBack garden, beaches & more
    • Beach
    • Garden
    • Local Exploring
      • Chepstow
      • Forest of Dean
      • Somerset
  • SeasonalSomething for every time of year
    • Valentines
    • Spring
    • Easter
    • Summer
    • Halloween
    • Autumn
    • Remembrance Sunday
    • Winter
    • Christmas
  • About UsWho are we?
    • Mummy Musings
      • As They Grow
      • Parenting Realities
      • Awareness

Family Days Tried and Tested · Copyright © 2021