Architecture Week. Tunnel Tours - Newhaven Fort

I hadn’t realised how excited I felt about tunnels until I was offered the chance to go on a private tour of some at Newhaven Fort. The requirement for sensible footwear made it seem like an Enid Blyton adventure. Secret tunnels arose as a topic, perhaps not surprisingly, in a pub conversation. I was talking about Newhaven Fort, and someone said: “Have you heard about the naked women in the tunnels?” I admitted I hadn’t. Apparently, there’s a story that soldiers billeted at the fort had drawn their own crude girlie pin-ups. It sounded intriguing, and since I love saucy stories, I investigated further. Speaking to Serena Costello, marketing officer for the fort, she told me that there are indeed paintings by soldiers on the walls in the Counterscarp galleries, but rumours of nudity may be overstated. These tunnels are not currently open to the public because there isn’t the funding to make them safe, but as part of Architecture Week this month, special tours will be taking place. Serena arranged an advance visit for Viva.
And so it was that Katie and I found ourselves clutching sturdy torches, descending into the gloom. Curator Phil Baldock led the tour, a man well-versed in the history of the fort. Serena also came, suggesting we hold the handrail to get the sense of how the atmosphere changes as we went down. It got distinctly more cold and damp. Evidence of defunct electric lighting was visible, fittings mildewed with slimy green growth akin to something from Dr Who. By the time we reached the bottom, the penetrating darkness was quite disorientating. Phil took us through several rooms, one with a sudden drop where floorboards have rotted. People used to wander freely around these tunnels until the fort was taken over by the Council; some of the graffiti he showed us was from the 1970s.