Secret Chambers and Hiding Places

Allan Fea (1860-1956) went to Grove Hall School, Highgate, became a researcher in the India Office Library and then Private Secretary to Field Marshal Lord Strathnairn before a career in the Bank of England, 1880-1900. His history of hiding places features many illustrations. The work focuses on English history and bolt holes of Catholic priests during the mid to late 1500s, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Her priority as ruler was establishing England as a Protestant country, which sent many Catholic clergy into hiding. Fea's work discusses long and short term hiding places, tunnels and other associated architectural curiosities. Many of these were only uncovered centuries later during renovation. A few unfortunately held bodies. Allan Fea wrote several books on English history, including King Monmouth, Being a History of the Career of James Scott, The Protestant Duke, 1649-1685; James II and His Wives, Some Beauties of the Seventeenth Century and The Flight of the King. He was a gifted artist and photographer. This new edition is dedicated to John Belton, who is both an antiquarian and a scholar.