Priestgate Vaults 

[prev] …portrait we have upstairs. He’ll talk about the original house, the family that lived here and their importance, building the Guildhall and the square, but also putting it in the context of the Civil War and the impact that had on Peterborough.’ Thanks to some clever scripting, Stuart also promises a bit of interaction between Sir Humphrey and the tour guide! Next, we move on to the end of the long passage, to a spacious chamber lined with wooden wine racks and barrels…

The Georgian wine cellar 
‘Here we fast forward to 1841,’ says Stuart, ‘when the house was at its height, and Thomas Cook, the city magistrate was living here. And in this room we’ll meet John Webb, the butler of the house, who has just come down to get more wine from the cellars.’ There will be around 850 bottles of wine down here. The butler will be divulging some of the stories surrounding the building – as well as his master – including some of the scandals associated with the family. ‘As part of that he will explain how, at a dinner party, they would get through a vast amount of wine. A bottle with every course was true at this time in a very literal way…’ They knew how to party, those Georgians. From here we move into a smaller, darker room, of a distinctly sooty character…

The Victorian coal cellar
‘This was the coal cellar through the Georgian and Victorian periods. This room will be set out as if it is 1901, during the days of the hospital, and on the walls there will be projected Nurse Ethel Reynolds, who was a real character of the time. She’s just come down to collect some coal, and our encounter with her will give her a chance to talk about the charitable hospital and the operating theatre upstairs, which visitors see when they visit the museum. So, it’s also about creating links with the collections upstairs and making them more meaningful for visitors when they go up and explore them.’ It’s also about presenting something that is real. While the space is being made more suitable for visitors, it’s not having its history scrubbed away. The walls in here are not being whitewashed, for example; that’s original Victorian and Edwardian coal dust you see. Next, on to a narrow chamber, which saw special use in the 1940s…

The air-raid shelter 
‘This room, we believe, was used as the air raid shelter during WWII.’ By that time, the building had become the museum – but there was a caretaker and his family who lived on the premises. There were also offices on the top floor that were rented out to a potato merchants, Baxter and Guion, and if necessary they, the staff of the museum and any visitors would shelter down here too. ‘We’re restoring this back to the air raid shelter, putting bunk beds and benches down the side and it’ll be dressed as if it is May 1941.’ The projection on the wall in here will be the fictionalised daughter of the caretaker – fictionalised to avoid the risk of offending anybody by depicting someone who might still be alive, or has living relatives. ‘So, it will be the night of 10 May 1941, when there was an air raid on Priestgate. You’ll hear the sirens go off, and be encouraged to sit as you hear the sounds of bombers going over, and the distant bombs getting closer. At which point there will be a massive explosion… which we’re using technology to ensure it will make you feel that! It should be quite an experience.’ Peterborough got off relatively lightly when it came to bombing, but there were fatalities that night. Just around the corner, two people were killed when a bomb fell on a house, which collapsed on two fire wardens who were inside making sure nobody was in there. And finally…

The haunted chamber 
‘This is the last room people will come into,’ explains Stuart. ‘This room will be very dark, even in comparison with other rooms, and will start with a voice saying “this building is haunted…”’ We are then promised some of the ghost stories connected with the building, with the narration becoming more and more sinister as it goes along, with atmospheric effects added in… ‘There will be a projection of a ghostly figure, exactly where an apparition has been seen… And I’ll tell you no more!’ It’s at this point that Stuart casually drops in the fact that the cellar was used as the mortuary in the early days of the hospital, because ‘it was nice and cool’. It is reckoned there are about eight distinct ghosts within the building, and Stuart himself has had some very strange encounters after dark. ‘It’s an old building, and it has memories, and every now and then if you’re in the right place at the right time, something odd happens…’ And if that doesn’t make you want to go and experience Priestgate Vaults for yourself I don’t know what will…

Priestgate Vaults tours ■ £4 – Adults ■ £3 – Students, Seniors & Children (under 16)*

*Please note: Priestgate Vaults tours are not recommend for children under 8

Peterborough Museum, call 01733 864 663 or email  for more information.

www.vivacity-peterborough.com