Luisa Beccaria Fall 2012 RTW
Secret English Underwater Billiards Room - Witley Park
Taken from weburbanist (click through for more);
‘Mining industry tycoon, Whitaker Wright had this underwater billiards room and fish-watching conservatory built in the middle of a man-made lake on his property in Goldalming, Surrey. Accessed through a small wooden door, a spiral staircase and a short underwater tunnel boat ride, the room is well and truly secret to anyone who is not in the know. In fact, it has become something of a local legend; stories of the underwater room have been passed down through generations but many believe that the tales are pure fiction.After the property’s original owner was convicted of fraud, he killed himself with a cyanide capsule and Witley Park fell into the hands of Lord Pirrie, the builder of the ill-fated Titanic. Escaping death on his own creation thanks to an illness that kept him at home, Pirrie owned the home for around 15 years before his own death from pneumonia. Since then, Witley Park has been used as a conference center and meeting room, even after the original mansion burned down in 1952. The underwater billiards room has been accessible to many, but today it is blocked off and guarded with a security system.’
