Fancy a week (well, almost) of events about the mysteries that lurk unseen under the streets of London? Sadly, mainly limited to talking about what is down there rather than actually visiting the places, the talks will still be of interest to many Londoners who share my fascination for the hidden underworld.

Although most of the events invite you to tour the subterranean world through the vicarious medium of lectures – there are two tours that will include going below ground.

Organised by Illumini, the talks are free and you can just turn up on the day – although to guarantee a seat, you can send them an email booking tickets if you want. However, for a couple of the tours, booking is required.

To book tickets for any of the tours,walks or talks – send an email to illumini@hotmail.co.uk with your details and which talks/tours you are interested in.

Walks/Tours:

• There are two torchlight tours of Shoreditch Church Crypt on Friday 10th Sept (10:45am) and Tuesday 14th Sept (2pm) – free, booking essential (bring your own torch).
• A chance to climb through a very narrow entrance and down scaffolding to get inside the main shaft at Brunel’s tunnel in Rotherhithe. Tours leave 5pm & 6pm on Sat 11th and hourly noon to 4pm on Sun 12th Sept. – £5, no need to book, just pay on the day (I’ve been before, a couple of times)
• A walking tour, above ground, of what lies under Westminster on Wed 15th Sept at 2pm – £5, booking required.

Then there are the talks:

All take place at The Basement Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LT

Friday 10th Sept

• 11am The Occult World of Subterranean London
  • The talk will cover where to meet druids, witches and wizards; how to find good tarot readers; the hidden, occult places of London, and more.
• 2pm Crypts, Creatures and Caverns: the Folklore of Subterranean London
  • Dark,tales of London’s lost grottos and caverns, strange sewer creatures, urban legends and panics and ghostly goings-on in crypts and catacombs
• 5pm Subterranean City
  • Antony Clayton, author of Subterranean City will talk about various aspects of the inverted city beneath our streets

Saturday 11th Sept

• 11am Living London uncovers the mysteries that lie beneath us
  • Find out about secret tunnels and rooms that exist in our city.
• 2pm Eighth Wonder of the world
  • Robert Hulse, Director of The Brunel Museum, tells the story of the men who dug the Brunel Tunnel
• 4:30pm What lurks beneath – spirits and spectres of subterranean London
  • Rosie Murdie, ghost investigator and member of The Ghost Club will tell some of the ghostly tales associated with subterranean London.

Sunday 12th Sept

• 11am Post Office underground miniature Train
  • A talk on the post office miniature underground railway, which was used to carry post through central London
• 3:30pm Mysteries & ghosts of London Underground
  • A talk from a member of London Underground Staff, covering the baffling mysteries & ghosts on the Tube.

Monday 13th Sept

• 11am Silver Vaults
  • A virtual tour through the underground jewelers workshops of Hatton Garden
• 1:30pm Empire of Shadows
  • This talk explores Victorian London’s criminal underworld through the plays of the day.
• 4pm Into the Belly of the Beast: Exploring London’s Sewers
  • This talk will consider the allure of London’s sewers, past and present.

I have this rather old news footage of the infamous Post Office railway which ran under central London until it was shut down in 2003. I was inspired to dig it out as there is a short feature on the railway in the exhibition in the Building Centre at the moment.

The railway was opened in 1927 and ran east–west from Paddington Head District Sorting Office in the west to the Eastern Head District Sorting Office at Whitechapel in the east, a distance of 6.5 miles (10.5 km). It had eight stations, the largest of which was located underneath Mount Pleasant, but by 2003 only three stations remained in use because the sorting offices above the other stations had been relocated.

It is possibly worth noting though, that this was not the first post office railway to run in London, as a much earlier pneumatic railway ran from Euston station down to a sorting office in the city. The line was built by a private company, but the Post Office was reluctant to use it and it closed down in 1874. Some of the more modern electric railway actually intercepted with the older pneumatic lines.

The pneumatic railway tunnel was tiny compared to the electric railway – as it had only one line and also due to the nature of the design had to be a tight fit around the carriages.

There was a charity auction last year to visit behind the scenes of a Post Office sorting office, and included a visit to the station for the railway. I was willing to bet that most of the people bidding had little interest in the above ground part of the tour

Alas, I had to drop out of the auction when the bidding passed £100 per person for the tour.

I think it would be wonderful to be able to open up parts of the tunnel on special days – and indeed, it might actually be possible to walk along the line as it is almost human height in the centre. At least we wouldn’t have to worry about trains killing the visitors on the tracks!

Enjoy the clip.

As a final note – the Post Office Archive (nr Farringdon) is hosting a talk on the mail rail on Tuesday 2nd December 2008. The event is free, but you do need to book in advance by sending an email to info@postalheritage.org.uk.