A series of secret tunnels with roots deep in history as well as in the soil of central London are slated to become a visitor venue featuring art exhibits, fashion shows, events and, of course, a pub.
The Kingsway Exchange tunnels, built in haste as a bomb shelter starting during the 1940 Nazi blitz of London and finished in 1942, were sold last year to Angus Murray, whose London Tunnels company is behind the project, which may cost as much as $275 million.
The mile-long tunnel complex, with diameters ranging up to 25 feet, is under the Chancery Lane tube station. While it became superfluous as a shelter, it had a long history as a secure telecommunications hub, run first by the military and then by British Telecom, who last used it around 1990. During the Cold War, it was one of the connection points for the ‘hotline’ between the White House and the Kremlin.
Murray says he hopes to open the complex by 2027.
