Inventor's House Had Tunnel to Escape Luddites who Smashed His Invention
"The bolt hole was designed to hide from angry textile workers." Source of caption and photo: the BBC article quoted and cited below, and viewable at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/4791069.stm
A series of secret rooms and a tunnel have been discovered under a building in Loughborough. The secret living quarters belonged to John Heathcote, a man who invited the fury of the Luddites after inventing a lace-making machine in the early 1800s.
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Keeper of Charnwood Museum Susan Cooke added: "We don't know if (John Heathcote) did actually hide down there because he fled Loughborough and went to Devon."
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Activists smashed Heathcote's lacemaking machine in Loughborough in 1816.
For the full story, see:
"Workmen discover secret chambers." BBC News online. Last updated: Tuesday, 15 August 2006.
(Note: ellipses added.)
