Latest news with #priesthole
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Harvington Hall priest hole challenge causes panic attack
The manager of an Elizabethan manor house in Worcestershire, who spent 48 hours in one of its priest holes, said he suffered a panic attack when he finally emerged. Phil Downing had challenged himself to spend two days in the small hiding space at Harvington Hall to raise money for the building, and successfully completed the task at 18:30 BST on Tuesday. "I had a bit of a panic attack when I came out. I really wasn't okay and I wasn't expecting to have a panic attack," he said. "I was expecting to be okay but it's the shock of seeing everyone's faces, the fresh air hitting you - it really does shock you." Priest holes were created in houses to hide Catholic priests through times of religious persecution during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James Hall has seven of them in total, including a swinging beam hide and bread oven his experience, Mr Downing said: "It's extremely difficult. I only had one apple while I was in there and a few slices of bread."The thing is, it's so dark in there and it's so dirty you don't actually want to eat anything, you just want to drink." Mr Downing said he had not expected it to be "so hot" despite only being dressed in a night shirt. He added: "There's no natural light whatsoever. "There's a viewing window which we black out, the light bulbs are taken out and the beam, it isn't flush to the wall, but what we do is put a black cloth material all the way around it so it completely seals it in. "It's completely pitch black."Detailing his health after the challenge, Mr Downing said he was suffering from a sore shoulder and arm, as well as a "seriously bruised" coccyx bone. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Harvington Hall priest hole challenge will have 'mental effect'
The manager of an Elizabethan manor house, spending 48 hours in one of its priest holes, says the exercise was going to be "quite a mental challenge".Phil Downing will be spending the two days in the hiding space which was "about the same size as a coffin, just taller" in order to raise money for Harvington Hall in Worcestershire. He has previously spent 24 and 36-hour spells in the hide "and I've got it on recording that I would never do it again," he added. "It's going to have some kind of effect on me psychologically," he added. The hiding places were built by families that carried on practising Catholicism in the Elizabethan period when it was could hide in them to avoid "priest hunters", said Mr Downing. The house has seven hides in total, some of which are "the most ingenious in the country". One is situated behind a swinging beam, with another above a bread oven in the kitchen. It was going to be "pitch black," in the hiding place, he added, "it's just me and my own thoughts for two days". He explained he would cope by "putting myself in the mindset of a 16th Century priest."They could be in there for over a week, and they didn't know if they were going to starve to death or not," he said. "I could imagine it would be much tougher for them than it will be for me." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
