Ever since childhood I’ve wanted to dig underground. Indeed, I did so. Which I’ve written about elsewhere on here. But I’ve never worked on the scale I’d like to. Maybe I never will? I don’t know…
But here’s a post on a guy who did. I’ll be honest, he’s clearly an eccentric, or nutjob, even. And if I do ever go underground, as I dream of, I’d hope it’s not in the same ‘hillbilly heap’/mental patient style.
That being said. Teresa and I are clutter-bugs…
Anyway, I discovered this story today. Here’s an interesting article on it, and related matters.
Sadly, but predictably, some folk wish to make more of all this than is actually credible, e.g. the above (from a website calling itself ‘undertheradarcases’, or something similar).
Here are some images of Lyttle’s house, in Hackney, which fell into disrepair. And some of the ‘catacombs’ he dug.
I ought to credit Karen Russo for a number of the subterranean images. Russo talks online about trying to make a film with/about Lyttle, but having to abandon the project, due to his aberrant behaviour – racist, misogynistic, she claims – towards her.
Lyttle’s final years sound awfully tragic. Evicted from his home, forced to live at the top of a tower block (to prevent further tunnelling!), and faced with bills he obviously couldn’t pay, for work the council allegedly carried out make his property safe (removing stuff/filling in holes, etc.).
I’ve read that he knocked through a joining wall in his high-rise prison – his compulsion diminished, but not vanquished – and descended into paranoia and ill health. Eventually dying of ‘natural causes’, in 2010, around the age of 79.
It seems typically heavy-handed that The State should do this to a guy nearing his end. I recently read about an Australian law enforcement fiasco called Operation Painter, in which elderly vulnerable folk were also treated abominably.
In my opinion they should have left him to die in peace, in the home that he clearly loved, in his own weird way. All their brutal interventions did was steal an old man’s home and make a misery of his final years. Way to go!
In 2012 Lyttle’s former home, inc. what remained of some of his tunnels, was bought by artist Sue Webster, who had the place renovated. Read more about that here.