Martin and Shirlie Kemp have been exploring every corner of their home since they purchased the Victorian property in 2021, leaving no stone unturned as they renovated the interior and exterior from top to bottom. However, there was one hidden underground spot that they had been unaware of for several years – until this week. On Tuesday, Shirlie took to her home's dedicated Instagram account, @maisonnumber9, to share the video of them uncovering a World War Two bomb shelter in their garden.
"We were in the garden this morning, apple picking and making a mess, and one of our gardeners, Jeff, was leafblowing everywhere," she began, as she filmed her dry grass, which had turned a different colour in one patch. I noticed this patch in the garden that was all drying out. As he was blowing all the leaves away, all the grass that's now turned to moss was coming away, and then we saw a drain lid that we'd never seen before. When we opened it, we thought, 'Oh no, maybe it's just another drain, but it's not in use.' But it's an old bomb shelter or an Anderson shelter," Roman Kemp's mother continued.
© InstagramFans rushed to comment on the "hidden treasure" and the "fascinating discovery", so Shirlie shared an update on Wednesday about what the interior looked like. Leading the camera into the dark, underground room, the couple revealed the space had a tin roof supported by a beam in the middle, while it appeared only tall enough for Martin to squat down.
© Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock"The previous owners had told us that there was an Anderson shelter somewhere in the field and that it had been filled in after the war but we had never seen any signs of it. We had always wondered where it was, but due to the grass being dead and the area so dry that the cover became visible. The original steps were broken up and thrown back inside, but it hadn’t been completely filled in. We will definitely be asking our builders to have a look for structural safety," Shirlie wrote.
Kemp renovations
Judging by the Spandau Ballet star and Pepsi & Shirlie star's love of renovations, we imagine this will become their next project. So far, they have already converted the former pig shed into an outdoor office, and knocked down the "derelict" greenhouse, which Shirlie admitted she had hoped to restore to its former glory.
© InstagramBack in 2024, she told her followers: "There's always things you wish you had done differently, and I so wish I could have restored this as I have always wanted a greenhouse, but it was actually positioned so close to the trees that it's quite dangerous and that's the reason it became derelict in the first place. I do wish we could have restored you though."
