A 14th Century Cappuccino

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What started as a simple Cappuccino in a local cafe, very quickly turned into a trip back in time and a quest for answers.

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The Born and Bread Cafe and Bakery can be found on Sheaf Street in Daventry, Northamptonshire.

Offering a wide selection of home baked products as well as fabulous teas and coffees, this cafe is a treat by itself.

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Look a little closer however and you may begin to notice things that peak your curiosity.

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A cellar door in the floor and a Manager willing to show us what lay beneath.. Mini Adventure Time!

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The cellar has long been sealed off from the neighbouring buildings. But, in the 14th Century the Monks from the nearby Monestary used these underground passages as a tunnel system.

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This then begs the question as to why? Why was a tunnel system required for the Monks? Why couldn't they use the street like everyone else?

As there was still some time left in the carpark we decided to visit the town Museum to see if they had any answers.

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To be honest, I didnt even know that Daventry had a Museum but there we were, and straight into questioning the staff. They were also aware of the Monks having used the underground tunnels, although they had no idea why.

They have kindly sent out an email request to the Friends of Daventry Museum to try and get some more information on this subject.

Whilst in the museum we were shown the original town charters from the fifteen and sixteen hundreds.

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In more recent years, after a Police raid, it was discovered that the Sheaf Street Cellars had been being used to grow Cannabis. Maybe the Monks had also been using the the network for their own contraband. Who knows 🤷‍♂️

It's funny where a quick coffee can lead you :)



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8 comments
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Hey @vanbliss, I love the simplicity of the decor, colour scheme with the different mix of materials.
An underground cellar! Good thing you were observant.
That's some great part of history revealed there.
So it's believed the Monks did WHAT? So interesting. This leaves me to do some personal research:)

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It was all rather interesting.. also, the coffee was really good.. not better than mine, but very very close 😉

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It's nice that you still appreciate visiting coffee shops 😉

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Quite an experience that place🤗😉👍🏻....
Great!🤗 Thanks for sharing!

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This is absolutely fascinating! I'm so impressed with the manager who was happy to show you the cellar. The history is intriguing and I am sure there are stories but you'd probably have to do some digging to find them.

You might even find that they were used to move important people around (high ranking clergy possibly) without them travelling on the surface and being in public.

Cannabis isn't far fetched either, I can totally believe that and I doubt anyone would be willing to corroborate it though.

What a marvellous find. Thanks for sharing!

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Thank you for your comment. Moving 'High Ranking Clergy' actually makes a lot of sense. It is strange to think of all the things that could be happening right beneath our feet. Just the other day I heard about the tunnels that link Parliament, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace and the Ministry of Defence... As you put it 'Absolutely Fascinating'.

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