An abandoned wine cellar, thought to have been sealed for around 120 years, has been discovered after a sinkhole opened up on a golf course in Manchester.
The brick cellar, which was filled with dozens of historic wine and port bottles, was unearthed by staff at the 13th hole at Davyhulme Park Golf Club in Trafford last week.
It is thought to date back to the original manor house on the land, which was demolished in 1888.
Martyn Hamer, a professional at the club, said: “The green keeper came into the shop and said: ‘I’ve made a discovery on the golf course.’”
The staff member had seen the sinkhole and assumed that a drain had collapsed. After using the club’s on-site digger to excavate the area, he noticed the brick structure.
He was then able to climb inside and look around with a torch, finding dozens of empty bottles.
“It's quite exciting for the golf club. We do have a rich history and we are aware that before the golf club was there, it was a manor,” Mr Hamer said.
He added the reaction from the public had been huge, and members and staff had been excited about the discovery.
“In our world, when we put things on social media, if we get 100 views, we're very happy. On Instagram, the video [of the cellar] got 40,000 views within a day, which for us is really good,” he said.
“It has had a lot of comments from local people who were very interested in the history of the golf club, and that means a lot to us that people are really interested in the history of the club.”
Mr Hamer said the club had been aware there were cellars on the course, but had never known where they were located. There are likely to be more.
“If you think of how many golfers have walked on that fairway unknown to them that underneath was a huge cellar,” he added.
Mr Hamer estimated that the cellar held around a hundred bottles: “It looks like they had a good time back in the day.”
People have reached out to the club to offer to buy the bottles, but the staff have decided to display them in the clubhouse for all members to see.
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