Hi, hoping for some ideas, apologies for joining and instantly asking questions! We bought a detached Victorian house in Leeds 2.5 years ago. We are currently sympathetically extending the house and will then do a full refurb. Unfortunately the house has has had decades of DIY and changes and now looks like a 70's/80's time capsule inside. Apart from lovely stair handrail and a single internal arch there is nothing period visible. Even the outside has been pebble dashed. We hope to maybe uncover some period stuff or if not we will be trying to add some in. Behind varnished knotty pine cladding and various other 70's delights we can see the old lime washed finishes on walls and ceilings. I think the house is probably early Victorian but other people have suggested it is later. Whilst digging for the extension we found a lovely water cistern (brick, 2m deep, 2m diameter with domed top) complete with the lead lift pipe which would have gone to hand pump in the kitchen/scullery. Anyway enough scene setting; question time. We have found a shallow cellar. I cant get fully into it to inspect. It is about 3 feet deep and maybe 2.5mx 2m (although I'm not 100% certain of extent) the interior is lime washed. It looks to have some internal walls. My thought is that it is related to food storage and that the internal walls would have had stone slabs set on them. However I cannot find anything online like this. Also I'm not sure how it would have been accessed-it would have needed some steps down into it. It is currently covered over with stone flags which sit on top of the hall floor level. It is in North East corner of house so fits with idea of food storage. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Thanks in advance! I've attached a photo of the cellar taken by me poking my phone through a hole knocked in the outside wall below ground level.
