They have been used for refrigeration and air raid shelters
Nottingham is famous for its caves - but it's not the only part of the county with an underground labyrinth. It's not a well known fact but Arnold has around 200 caves, rock cellars and passages - and some have fascinating stories behind them.
"That shows you how many and how big they were," said historian Bob Massey. "We have the letter that went with the report but we don't have the report which is very frustrating as it would tell us a lot about them which we don't know. I wish I could find that. It would be ideal if we could find it because it would tell us so much about what was there that we can't trace today.
Arnold's Caving Society investigated the caves under Arnot Hill House in 1983. The former mansion of John Hawksley now belongs to Gedling Borough Council, who recently went down there. Mr Massey said: "The council have very recently been down the Arnot Hill House end of the caves and progressed a short distance. They took a couple of pictures - they seem in good condition although there is water in them as you progress further so I don't know how far you can get.
Another tale reveals how the artist Arthur Knighton-Hammond, while growing up in Arnold, explored the cellar beneath his aunt's house in Wood Street. Together with his cousin they found a door and followed a passageway. At the end they pulled themselves up using rungs on the wall and burst into the kitchen of a house at the other end of the street. The householder, who was baking at the time, "nearly died of fright".
"It was my great grandfather Arthur Oscroft who brought the house into the family in 1899. It was used before fridges to store food and meats and during the war as an air raid shelter. We don’t use it for anything now and we’ve always been able to go down it. At the top of the spiral stairs it’s open so it can breath."
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