Leafy village cottage dating back to the 17th century up for sale for £395k - complete with secret tunnel used by Catholics to flee Henry VIII's purges

A 17th century cottage in a sleepy village has gone up for sale for £395,000 complete with its own secret tunnel originally used by Catholics to flee persecution during Henry VIII’s purges.

The Tudor-era property in Fowelmere, Cambridgeshire boasts four bedrooms and the grade II listed home includes a hatch in the floor which leads to a narrow stone tunnel.

The lengthy route runs from the home – called Hill View Cottage – and joins up with several historic properties in the village, with a small central meeting room.

It is believed to be the last remaining access point to the tunnel – which was likely to have been used by Catholics and Protestants as an ‘escape route when persons of authority visited’, so as to avoid persecution.

A 17th century cottage in a sleepy village has gone up for sale for £395,000 and comes with its own secret tunnel

The tunnel was likely used for Catholics fleeing persecution during Henry VIII’s Reformation

The tunnel, which links up to several properties in the village of Fowelmere, Cambridgeshire, is accessed via a hatch in the floor

The cottage was ‘likely to have been built when Henry VIII created the Church of England’ and includes four bedrooms, two reception rooms and an enclosed garden.

A ladder leads down to the white tunnel which spirals in several directions leading into complete darkness.

Placeholders for torches or lamps can be seen on the narrow historic walls of the secret passage.

The listing reads: ‘This Grade-II listed semi-detached cottage offers excellent kerb appeal in a central village location, with an attractive white frontage, black paint detailing, and pretty bay windows.

‘This period home, believed to date back to the mid 17th century, also enjoys the advantage of being sold with no upward chain and offers future owners the opportunity to update and add further value.’

The family home is just a 20-minute drive from the historic city of Cambridge.

It is currently available with Ensum Brown for £395,000.

In the Tudor period, Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church after being denied a divorce from Katherine of Aragon.

The Tudor-era property dates back to the 17th century and is connected by a central meeting room to other houses in the village

The property is advertised as an excellent opportunity for modernisation and it comes without a chain

The Tudor-era cottage still has its distinctive black and white exterior

The listing includes four bedrooms, a large garden and features such as a wood burning fire

The family home is just a 20-minute drive from the historic city of Cambridge

Under Elizabeth I, Catholics who had been free to worship in private were hunted , fined, imprisoned or executed.

He then declared himself the head of the Church of England.

While his major contribution to the Reformation was his dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII’s successors – radically Protestant Edward VI (r.1547–53) and Catholic Mary I (r.1553–8) hunted down Catholics and Protestants respectively.

To escape persecution, priest-holes were built in many Catholic homes to provide hiding places, similar to the tunnel underneath the cottage that may have provided a safe haven for its original owners.