When The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk recently moved into his new home, he expected little more than a busy spell of renovations and a chance to redesign his garden.
But what began with clearing raised beds, chopping back branches, and replacing an old shed quickly turned into an extraordinary piece of living history.
Beneath the heart of his outdoor makeover, Kirk unearthed a long-hidden Anderson shelter from the Second World War.
'I could not believe what I found inside'
The early stages of Kirk’s renovation uncovered some unexpected treasures.
In one raised bed, he discovered a rusting seesaw and even a small statue of Bob Marley. The removal of the garden shed was next on the list, and that was when the project turned from quirky finds into something extraordinary.
“I could not believe what I found inside,” Kirk admitted after spotting a gap between the raised bed and the shed. Peering closer, he realised there was something buried below.
What was inside the shelter?
What Kirk first thought was just a gap in the ground turned out to be the entrance to something far more significant.
“To my total amazement it appeared to be some kind of Anderson shelter. The estate agent had no idea it was there until we bought the place. My neighbours never knew it existed, but it was definitely an Anderson shelter,” Kirk explained.
Inside, the shelter was cluttered with decades-old junk. “Sadly, no gold or missing masterpieces, but if you’re looking for an old wooden ladder, insects, or a copy of Friends on VHS, you know who to come to,” he joked.
Once emptied, a set of stairs was revealed, leading down into the underground shelter, a new hidden space in his garden that Kirk now has the chance to reimagine.
Kirk asks: 'What should I do with it?'
Kirk requested some suggestions from his 180,000 followers on Instagram, and they duly obliged.
One person responded: "Please restore it!!! I’m a history teacher and it would be so important for some classes to visit/document etc. not hoardes of people but when your children go to school! Combined with a den for them sounds good."
Another suggested: "Kids den! And a great place to cool off during the hot days!" while another offered: "Would be great to restore the shelter in some way due to its historical importance. Could you use it as cold storage maybe? Wine cellar??"
Finally, someone gave a more tongue-in-cheek suggestion: "Use it as the shed since you now haven’t got one. 🤷🏻♂️"
