Secret tunnel: "There have been rumours about it ever since I have been here"

But the stories about a secret military tunnel running beneath Fishergate may just be true.

There have long been rumours that a tunnel of some sort led away beneath Tower House – the Fishergate business centre that used to be the HQ of the Army’s Northern Command. Tower House manager Harry Gillam admits that no trace of such a tunnel – or even of a basement – have ever been found. “But there have been rumours about it ever since I have been here!” he said.

It seems there may be some truth to them. A few years ago, the bricked up entrance to a tunnel was discovered in the basement of Fishergate House, directly opposite Tower House. And according to Dr Duncan Marks of York Civic Trust, divots in the front lawn of Tower House itself suggest where the tunnel might have run.

The bricked-up tunnel entrance found at Fishergate House. Picture: Chris Rainger

The Civic Trust has teamed up with students from the University of York to research the history of Tower House - and of the former army generals who were once based there.

According to Etta Kirkpatrick-Tice, one of the students carrying out the research, historic OS maps from the early 1900s clearly identify both Tower House and Fishergate House as having been used as military offices. While Tower House was the Army’s northern HQ – one historic photo labels it simply as ‘The War Office’ - Fishergate House may have been an ordnance supply office.

So it is likely that any tunnel running beneath Fishergate was used by Army and Ministry of Defence personnel to move between the buildings – possibly carrying armfuls of secret files – without the need to emerge into daylight and cross the road.

“Perhaps not the most dramatic use of a secret tunnel, but very practical!’ Etta said.

Harry Gillam admits that if there is a secret tunnel, the military have done a good job of keeping it secret. But it adds an intriguing element of mystery to the building, he says.

University of York students Joseph Keeley, Etta Kirkpatrick-Tice and Tom Hart outside Tower House, the history of which they have been researching with York Civic Trust. Picture: Duncan Marks

The evidence about the tunnel is just one intriguing fact to have come to light from the Tower House research project.

Last week, the Lord Mayor of York Cllr Chris Cullwick and other dignitaries - including the garrison commander of Imphal Barracks, Lt Col. Jamie Balfour - were on hand to witness the return to Tower House of 43 portraits of former army generals whose HQ the building once was. The portraits are now on display in the entrance lobby at Tower House.

But what was Northern Command?

The clue is in the title, says the Civic Trust’s Dr Duncan Marks.

It was the British Army’s Northern ‘military district’, set up in 1793 as a response to the French Revolution and fears of invasion.

The Northern Military District headquarters were originally in Manchester. But in 1878, they moved to York, where a new HQ building - – what is now Tower House - was especially built for them by Weatherley of York.

It was a grand building, befitting its importance, with an ornately stone carved entrance, a clock tower, and two U-shaped stairwells with elegant carved balustrades, one of which still survives. In the clock tower, an original bell and clock mechanism still show the date 1878.

Grand though it may have been, the Army generals who commanded the Northern Military District (it changed its name to Northern Command in in 1905) didn’t actually live here. In 1882, Bootham House (now the Churchill Hotel) was bought for £5,000 and, as ‘Government Houseɫ’, became the residence of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. It was vacated in 1936 when ClaxtonHall, about eight miles north of York, became the new residence

Northern Command played an important role in the Second World War when it was responsible for the defence of the UK coastline from the Wash to the Scottish border, and for training of the local Home Guard – little wonder, then, that the people of York came to refer to the building simply as ‘The War Office’. The Command came to an end in 1972 when it was merged into the HQ UK Land Forces.

Tower House - aka 'The War Office' - c 1900. Picture: FFH local history society

Northern Command played a hugely important part in the civic life of York. Military tattoos on the Knavesmire ran from the 1920s to 1950s. They included everything from 100ft plywood replicas of the Tower of London and York landmarks to synchronised motorcycle display performances. The tattoos were attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

Among the distinguished generals who held command of the northern military district (and later Northern Command) were Brigadier General Edward Browne, a Victoria Cross winner; Lieutenant General Sir Harry Smith, a well-travelled officer whose life was recorded in Georgette Heyer’s 1940 novel ‘The Spanish Bride’; and Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Adam, a key figure in the Dunkirk retreat.

Being appointed to command of Northern Command was generally a senior Army officer’s final posting, says University of York history undergraduate Joseph Keeley, who carried out much of the research into the generals’ backgrounds.

But their life stories are hugely impressive, he says. “Together their service represents over 150 years of history and displays not only an insight into Britain’s military past but also a fascinating narrative of the rise and fall of the British Empire.’

Prof Simon Ditchfield of the University of York said research into the history of Tower House and its generals was long overdue. “The military heritage of York, dating back almost 2,000 years, has been the Cinderella of the city’s past,” he said. “Today, thanks to the initiative of the Civic Trust, the Kohima Museum and the owners of Tower House, the long overdue invitation to the Ball has arrived!”

You can find out more about the research into the history of York’s Northern Command on the Civic Trust’s website at yorkcivictrust.co.uk/northern-command/

Some of Northern Command’s most distinguished generals

Brigadier General Edward Browne (1852-1907, at Northern Command 1903-1903)

Browne was the only Northern Command CO to have been awarded the Victoria Cross. He received it for helping a fellow soldier under heavy fire at the Battle of Hlobane during the Zulu War, on March 29, 1879.

General Sir John Maxwell(1859-1929, CO of Northern Command 1916-1919)

Maxwell mainly served in colonial Africa and Ireland. He was involved in consolidating British colonies in Africa.

During The First World War he commanded British forces in resisting Ottoman raids on the Suez Canal. He was stationed in Ireland to enforce martial law following the Easter Rising of1916, and was accused of heavy-handedness. His next post was Northern Command in York. A quarter of the cityɫs population at the time had Irish connections - it is not known what they thought of him.

General Sir Montagu Stopford (1892-1971, at Northern Command 1947-1949)

During the Second World war, Stopford was dispatched to India to command forces in the Far East.

He notably held command during the Battle of Kohima. The Twelfth Army under Stopford’s command would conclude the Burma campaign, going on to conduct the last major land action of Western Allies of the war.