Concealed inside a key building involved in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, researchers have used the latest scanning technology to reveal in 3D a hiding-hole used by 17th century Catholic priests escaping religious persecution.
Following the English Reformation, Catholics were forced to make difficult choices between their loyalty to the Crown and to their faith. As a result, many wealthy Catholics redesigned their homes to include secret spaces known as “priest holes”.
Researchers first visited Coughton Court in Warwickshire in 2015 to make a laser scan of the double-level priest hole with the aim of digitally reproducing its location in a computer model.
Just a few weeks ago, the team returned, thanks to funding from the National Trust, to complete a scan of the entire mansion, inside and out.
The comprehensive 3D model aims to help experts visualise more clearly how the priest hole has been hidden within the structure, and to allow visitors to explore this hidden space online even if they cannot physically access it.
The building survey and laser scanning was completed by University of Nottingham archaeologist Dr Chris King together with Dr Lukasz Bonenberg and Dr Sean Ince (Nottingham Geospatial Institute) with the help of BA archaeology students at the university.
“At Coughton, the priest hole is hidden away out of sight and the 3D model will really help visitors to understand where it fits inside the building. Many visitors can’t access the tower room where the secret space is located, so this digital model allows them to experience the building and its story in a whole new way,” said Dr King.
Dr Bonenberg said: “Terrestrial laser scanning is an important new technology for recording ancient monuments as they capture a huge amount of data very quickly and this is the first time that TLS has been used for the purpose of visualising hidden spaces inside Tudor houses. Digital visualisations of historic buildings are vital tools for helping the public to picture the past.”
Now in the care of the National Trust, since the 15th century Coughton Court has been the home of the Throckmortons, one of England’s oldest Catholic families.
So what’s the connection to the Gunpowder Plot?
“In 1605 the house was leased to Sir Everard Digby, one of the leading conspirators of the plot to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James I,” said Dr King.
The researchers, who are now looking to secure new funding to support further research, hope the scanning process they are working on may help find undiscovered priest holes at other historic locations.
