Pub team finds 'secret' room after beetle invasion

Pub staff discovered hidden beams and a secret room during renovation work to repair damage caused by deathwatch beetles.

The insects had bored into woodwork at the Red Lion in Woodbridge, Suffolk, causing some of the plaster to fall off.

After the damaged plaster was stripped away, builders found the hidden beams, believed to be around 400 years old, and the room no-one knew had been there.

Landlady Jo Myers said the discovery was like "stepping into another century".

Myers and management partner Karina Rose took over the Red Lion last year.

She said: "We've hit a few bumps in the road, as these old buildings always love to do to you, but it's definitely interesting."

As well as the beams - which they are getting a historian to age more precisely - a secret floor is visible at the top.

"It was not at all what we expected to see," said Myers.

"We've uncovered windows we didn't know were there, all sorts. It was shocking but amazing at the same time."

The newly discovered room is not accessible or safe, but there were "fireplaces and you can see it was once habitable," she added.

Myers said the renovations had caused a lot of interest in the town.

"The first couple of days, people were hurrying past like they were too afraid to look to see what was going on, but now more people are stopping and enjoying seeing what a historic building looks like under all the plaster," she said.

The aim of the project, helped by a £60,000 grant from investors Fireside Pub Co at Punch, had been to preserve the building and keep it going for many years to come, Myers said.

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