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The secrets of underground Hertford
A SECRET labyrinth of tunnels under Hertford's streets has been
revealed to the Mercury.
Members of the Knights Templar, a secret society which still has
members in the town, have spoken for the first time about the
underground lair used by their forebears almost 1,000 years ago.
Emanating from the dungeons of Hertford Castle and from Fore Street,
the passages run like a warren under the ancient county town and
stretch from Bluecoats to County Hall, according to the group.
Today, many of the entrances to the subterranean passages' have been
bricked up but, according to the modern-day knights, some are still in
use and may even be booby-trapped.
Too fantastic to be true? Reporter RAYMOND BROWN investigates.
AT a secret location in the town, Tim Acheson declared: "We are now
prepared to reveal a secret we feel the people of Hertford should be
made aware of. There is an extensive labyrinth right under their feet.
"We are talking here about a largely unknown, indeed mostly secret,
ancient underground network that stretches beneath the town's main
street and extends to Fore Street, Market Square, Parliament Square,
Hertford Castle, Church Street, Bluecoats, Priory Street and in fact
many, many other places.
"It reaches beneath well-known central Hertford locations, including
the tourist office, the Castle, Monsoon, Threshers, the post office,
Bayley Hall, and the council offices, both within the Castle and in
County Hall."
The Mercury was able to verify that one of these passages once
connected Shire Hall, now home to Hertford Magistrates' Court, to the
Salisbury Arms in Fore Street. Mercury photographer Mike Poultney was
there the day it was sealed 25 years ago.
Tim's twin brother Ben said: "The Fore Street section once extended to
a substantial section beneath Bluecoats School, which is still
accessible from certain buildings.
"The Bluecoats section has many secret side-chambers and passages, one
of which leads to chambers beneath the old pub the Dolphin, as well as
a massive section beneath Priory Street.
"The Priory Street section was used by Templar mystics operating
secretly among the Christians of the former long-gone Priory, which
gave Priory Street its name."
And Ben, who lives in Hertford, claims that two secret societies still
meet in the tunnels.
"The ancient subterranean labyrinth beneath Hertford is quite
extensive, although most of it must for now remain secret and some
chambers are still in use," he said.
"Much of the network was made by the Templars and secret societies
linked to them.
"Some of this work took place long after the Order officially
disbanded in 1307.
"Hertford's labyrinth could in fact provide the final proof that the
Templars disappeared underground both literally and metaphorically."
With so many of the tunnels bricked up, it is hard to verify all the
Achesons' claims.
But the Mercury, with the help of Hertford Museum, has uncovered an
old map showing a tunnel running from Bailey Hall, which was said to
run to what is now Lussman's restaurant in Fore Street, where another
secret society met. We have also found blocked entrances to tunnels in
Threshers in Fore Street and in the tourist office.
Ben said: "All the sections of the secret Templar labyrinth were once
linked. Here are the parts that I can tell you about.
"Fore Street was once the hub of the only part of the network that you
know about. No 42 Fore Street was once linked to numerous chambers
beneath Fore Street.
"It is still linked, via a passage recently blocked by the previous
owners of 42 Fore Street, reaching to Bailey Hall and beyond.
"This section also branches out to the Old Vicarage, where the
Templar-founded Theosophical Society co-founded a cell of another
secret society, the Knights Templar of Aquarius, via a local mystic
and medium whose ancestors once owned Bailey Hall as well."
According to Ben, the chambers host meetings not only of the Templars,
but of the Illuminati a shadowy and powerful group said to be bent
on world domination and boasting President George W Bush among its
members.
A recent Sky TV documentary suggested that members of the dark sect
live in the town.
"Some remain in use by the Templars and the Illuminati," said Ben. "In
places you can see where passages led from some of the
still-accessible parts of the labyrinth, linking all of the above
sections together and leading to several still secret tunnels and
chambers.
"We cannot yet reveal details of these. There are also long-forgotten
sections beneath other parts of Hertford, as well as in Royston and
Temple Farm, near Bengeo."
He said there are also branches beneath Church Street leading to
chambers around the dungeons and vaults of Hertford Castle one leads
all the way to County Hall.
Sections of it are now blocked and partially occupied by a Cold War
nuclear bunker under what is now Elbert Wurlings bar and restaurant.
"These once led to sections beneath and around the crypt of All
Saints' Church, as well as St Andrew Street and beyond," added Ben.
Margaret Harris, of Hertford Museum, said: "I only know for sure about
the Bailey Hall tunnel, which I believe was used by the judges when it
was a law court so that they could get to All Saints' Church nearby.
"That's all I know and I'm quite sceptical about this until I can see
more proof. But they are supposed to be secret."
A brief history of the Knights Templar
The Templars were an international military order who formed during
the crusades in 1118 and grew in power and wealth until their downfall
in 1307, when King Philip arrested all the Templars in France.
Many escaped to England and some settled in Hertford.
Said to be the power behind many of medieval Europe's thrones, they
created the first ever banking system. Clients could take a note to
any Templar church in Europe and withdraw money.
Arguably no less important, the knights also invented the biscuit
during the crusades. They would make a large flat bread and bake it
twice, to prevent it from becoming mouldy.
Some believe that the association of Friday 13th and bad luck dates
from when the Pope rounded up all the Templars and accused them of
heresy, putting many to torture on that day in October 1312.
The Templars are today a registered non-governmental organisation
(NGO) with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.
Local Templars still meet at Shire Hall in Hertford.
Labyrinth points to Knight moves and the Holdy Grail
THE labyrinth of "booby-trapped" tunnels beneath the streets of the
county town may hold clues in the hunt for the Holy Grail, according
to Hertford members of a secret society.
The warren was used by the Knights Templar, a society of warrior monks
believed to be the keepers of the Grail and the Ark of the Covenant.
At the heart of the maze of tunnels is Hertford Castle. It was there,
in 1309, that four of six Templars from Bengeo were imprisoned
following their arrest by King Edward II, who believed they were
holding a lost treasure.
Ben Acheson, a modern-day Templar, said: "There are treasures of
immense importance underneath Hertford. The people of Hertford should
now be told something of the labyrinth beneath them.
"They have an extensive, ancient and mostly secret Templar heritage
under their feet and it has been there for hundreds of years.
"It is time for Hertford to begin to wake up to the shocking truth.
The labyrinth is important in unravelling the mysteries of the
Templars and the Grail."
Interest in the legendary cup of Jesus, said to have been used at the
Last Supper and by Joseph of Aramithea to catch Christ's blood while
he hung on the cross, has been renewed by Dan Brown's best-selling
novel The Da Vinci Code.
Some believe the grail proves that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and
bore his children, and that their dynasty carries on today.
As the Mercury reported last month, Hertford has been put on the grail
trail due to its historic links with the Knights Templar, who were
believed to own a legendary lost treasure.
It was following a royal order in 1309 that six Templars based at
Temple Dinsley in Bengeo were arrested. Two were sent to the Tower of
London and the remaining four to Hertford Castle.
According to earlier records, dating from 1216, Temple Dinsley was "a
small and poor foundation", but King Edward II believed the Templars
had a massive hoard of gold, silver and precious jewels in a casket,
said to be buried in Bengeo.
The lost treasure, which some believe to be the grail, has never been
recovered.
Mr Acheson said cryptically: "There are some things which we are able
to reveal and some things which we are not.
"This is particularly true in relation to the labyrinth. Most of it
must remain secret."
For security reasons, the Mercury cannot reveal the locations of all
the tunnels as some connect to bank vaults in the town.
According to Mr Acheson, some may even be booby-trapped, as in the
Indiana Jones movies.
He said: "Some of the passages and chambers are highly secret and a
few are still in use. Some parts may also have been rigged to
collapse.
"If you do stumble upon any hidden entrances, passages or chambers
please do steer well clear, if only for your own safety."
A cryptic clue was left at Hertford's tourist office this month with a
picture of a chalice accompanied by a note, which read: "You may wish
to display this to your customers. The reason why will become clear in
due course. If it has not already."
It was signed The Order'.
PICTURE 1. HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT: Taken from an 1898 map advertising the
sale of Bayley Hall, a 'Subterranean passage' is clearly marked within
the grounds. Also visible are Bell Lane, leading north from Bayley
Hall, Church Street, leading north from the top right of the picture,
land to the South of Bailey Hall, which is now the A414, and the Old
Vicarage, now a private residence(s).
PICTURE 2. KNIGHT OF PASSION: Templar Ben Acheson says the labyrinth
of tunnels underneath Hertford is important in unravelling the secrets
of the Templars and the Holy Grail.
[Photo: Templar faces East holding large sword in ritual grip outside
a building at night. Sword held against chest like metallic cross,
Blade points downward, butt by chin, point by shins. White gloved
hands hold sword either side of hand-guard forming the horizontal bar
of the cross; left-hand grips handle, right-hand grips blade.]
PICTURES 3A and 3B. FORGOTTEN BUT NOT GONE: Tunnels under Threshers
off license, left, and Pizza Express, right, both in Fore Street, lend
weight to the idea that Hertford has a true labyrinth of tunnels
beneath the surface.
SOURCE: Hertfordshire Mercury, "The secrets of underground Hertford",
pp 16-17, 8 October 2004.
Archived: [ http://www.herts-essex-news.co.uk/mercury/news/story.asp?id=159459
]
FURTHER READING
BBCi, "Hertfordshire's Templar mystery", 25 November 2003.
[ http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/england/beds_herts_bucks/article_1.shtml
]
Legends - England - Beds, Herts and Bucks - The secrets of
underground Hertford
The Order of the Knights Templar was founded by a French Nobleman,
Hugh de Payens and eight companion knights in Jerusalem in 1118 or
1119 AD as official protectors to pilgrims as they journeyed to
Jerusalem. And, whilst this principle of protection was laudable,
historic chronicles have proved pitiless to their memory.
In 1308, the disbandment of the Templars was demanded by the King
of France, Philip the Fair, and a significant part of the demise of
the English Knights Templar in the 13th Century, took place in
Hertfordshire under the orders of King Edward II.
...
There are no remains of the Templars' Preceptory above ground, but
chance finds have been made, including skeletons, a chalice, and the
grave slab pictured here. These were found during works to the east
wing of the house, which seems to have been the location of the
Templar chapel, at some point in the 1880s.
...
A parchment written in a Latin code, derived from the
eight-pointed Templar Cross, exists in the Mark Masons Hall Library in
St James's, London. It surfaced at a bric-a-brac sale in London in
about 1911. It claims to list the Grand Masters through the next five
centuries. But none of the Templar legends are yet to pass the tests
of rigorous scientific and academic proof. But, what we know of the
truth is fascinating enough in itself.
...
Hertfordshire Mercury (UK), "Town may be a base for secret society",
page 2, 17 September 2004.
[ http://www.herts-essex-news.co.uk/mercury/news/story.asp?id=152654 ]
Archived: [ http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0591 ]
Hertfordshire Mercury (UK), "Holy Grail: Is it here?", page 3, 10
September 2004.
[ http://www.herts-essex-news.co.uk/mercury/news/story.asp?id=150387 ]
Archived: [ http://www.theinsider.org/mailing/article.asp?id=0582 ]
--
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