Secret staircase on show

Wednesday 4th March 2009, 10:40AM GMT.

Warden Roger Whitehouse appears from some recently discovered stairs near the Hermitage at Hawkestone Park Follies.

Visitors to a historic Shropshire beauty spot will be able to take a step back in time and catch a glimpse of a staircase that is thought to have been buried for 200 years.

The staircase was discovered by contractors working to reconstruct the historic Hermitage at Hawkstone Park and Follies.

The Hermitage was destroyed by fire 12 months ago and reconstruction work on the Grade II-listed building began last month.

Work is due to be completed at the end of April, when visitors will be able to look at the Hermitage and the staircase.

Contractors uncovered the top of the staircase which had been buried beneath a mound of soil.

Further exploration discovered the staircase, which is cut into the rock face, led away from the back of the Hermitage and twisted round the corner to a height the same level as the roof of the Hermitage.

Park bosses say the staircase is likely to have been the secret back entrance into the Hermitage.

Roger Whitehouse, head park warden of Hawkstone Follies, said: “It lends credence to the old tales about how the Hawkstone Park tour guides during the 1800s used to lead people around the front path of the Hermitage, then disappear and miraculously re-appear as ‘the hermit’ to entertain the crowds.

“As we did not know about the back staircase, we could never determine how this would have worked – now of course we know how they performed their tricks.”

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