Secrets of Underground London

On the surface, London is a buzzing metropolis of almost 9 million people. But underneath lies secret, hidden historical worlds, all but forgotten by the millions of people above. These places make up the countless layers of London, and each tells a unique story of the city’s past — successes and failures; victories and tragedies.

Secrets of Underground London is about all these secrets, most of which are entirely hidden underground in London. Some secrets are historically expected and others could turn out to be complete surprise.

Among the many topics quickly covered are the Black Plague mass graves, Roman walls, the Chiselhurst chalk caves, tunnels, buries rivers, the Cabinet War Room, silver vaults as well as portions of both the British Library and British Museum.

The Underground has always been the perfect place to store precious items; from the deep tunnel storage of priceless works of art during the war, to impenetrable vaults packed with silver. But the British Library stores a truly astonishing collection of nearly 1.5 million items, from modern novels to priceless historical documents, all available at the exact time a visitor wants it, whether they’re coming from Notting Hill or Nantucket.

In a city as densely packed as London, sometimes the only way for a building to develop is to build down – and that’s exactly what the British Museum is doing.

Surrounded by 300 year old buildings and containing the wonders of human civilization, any construction work here is a perilous operation. But four new subterranean levels will breathe a new lease of life into this 260 year old institution, paving the way for the next generation.

Discover amazing worlds of the past, present and future in Secrets of Underground London.