Source: Global Times
In London, where land is scarce, many houses have basements or cellars, regardless of size, all carefully designed and laid out, with complex and diverse functions, which are closely related to the lives of the British. Some of the cellars have a long history, witnessed many major events, and have become protected architectural remains. It can be said that the dungeons of London hide the small days of the British, hiding the secrets of history, and even treasures.
Beautifully designed and renovated basement.
"Keep an eye on the cellar" word of mouth
In the city hall of the financial city in the center of the city, there is an east cellar that many young people do not know. Dating back to 1042, it is one of the earliest and well-preserved monuments in Britain. This cellar has been used by the town hall for hundreds of years, and many major celebrations are held in this place.
There is also a cellar associated with the British Fireworks Festival on 5 November. On November 5, 1605, a believer named Guy Hawkes, dissatisfied with the persecution and restrictions on religious freedom by the English authorities at the time, revolted and placed two tons of gunpowder in the Parliament Cellar, intending to detonate gunpowder on the day the House of Parliament was inaugurated, targeting all members of Parliament as well as King James I of England at the time. This is the "gunpowder conspiracy" in British history. But the plan ultimately failed, with Guy Hawkes sentenced to death, and the phrase "keep an eye out for the cellar" was passed down from generation to generation among the London population, meaning telling each other to be careful not to have safety issues.
Modern basements are full of functions
Londoners are not accustomed to living in high-rise buildings, and they do not want to build more rooms for their residences, but many British people are very interested in digging basements. The University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom and the Guardian have published research reports that in the past 10 years, at least 4650 basements have been built in London. Compared to home extensions, Londoners are approved to build basements or cellars much more, usually over 90 per cent.
London's basements are mainly concentrated in the following areas, including Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringe, Camden, Islington and Wandsworth. Those familiar with London will know at a glance that these places are scattered throughout the upper-class settlements of the British middle class.
Used as a basement for the museum.
These well-paid British families prefer to build "super basements" that are more than three storeys above the house itself. The gym and swimming pool are basically standard in the basement of a mansion. Wine cellars and nanny rooms have also been moved below the ground, and artificial beaches with waterfalls have even been built. Researchers found such an underground mansion in the Kensington and Chelsea areas – three storeys deep and with facilities such as swimming pools, diving platforms, beaches, saunas and steam rooms, Jacuzzis, media rooms, gymnasiums and staff quarters.
For mediocre London families, such underground life is out of reach, but this does not affect some of them to enjoy their own "underground life", they have more than ten square meters of cellars, the same can be arranged in a similar way. Many of the British houses with cellars of this size were built in the 1930s.
Locals say the cellars were built because of cold war mentality, and Londoners were always worried about the day when the Russians would invade or fire weapons of mass destruction. If such an emergency does happen, the only space for Londoners to escape in a hurry is the cellar.
But in fact, this is just a statement, many British people's cellars are used to store wine, canned food that is not easy to spoil, and sanitary paper. Recently, the second wave of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has forced some Britons to go to supermarkets to buy daily necessities, and after buying them, many of them have been stored in cellars.
An unexpected discovery in the basement
The British media has also introduced living in the basement as a way to escape the summer to the public. Especially in recent years, the summer heat wave in Europe has been continuous, and the basement is also very comfortable to live in. However, some London City Construction engineers have long reminded that many people are complaining about the leaking basement, and the quality of the project has forced many Britons who have basements or cellars at home to do a whole set of cleaning work for the basement or cellar on a regular basis like the flowers and plants in the garden.
There are also some Britons who have a windfall when building basements. Dominique Currie, a 58-year-old Man in The United Kingdom, was sorting through his mother's belongings when he found an oil painting wrapped in newspaper in a dilapidated suitcase. The painting, which had been stored in a suitcase for at least 55 years, had been stacked in the cellar's utility room, and Currie estimated that her mother had long forgotten that it existed. Because I never heard her mention it. After the appraisal of Christie Auction House, it was confirmed that the painting was genuine, because it was flawless, and the auction house initially estimated it at 2 million pounds.
Another British man, Jack Brown, dug into the basement because he was bored with home isolation, but found a 120-year-old tunnel under his house. Based on paint buckets, old newspapers and other items found in the tunnels, Brown finally determined that what he dug was actually a cellar built by the ancestors 120 years ago and has been sealed off for about 50 years.