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A hidden compartment or secret compartment is a compartment whose existence or access is not obvious at first glance, and can be used as a hiding place for objects or sometimes even for people.
A hidden compartment where people can stay is usually referred to as a hidden room or secret room, and can range from parts of small
This Company Will Build a Secret Passageway in Your House
/ref> as well as private individuals who have made improvised solutions, either for fun or for security in case of burglary.
A hidden compartment or secret compartment is a compartment whose existence or access is not obvious at first glance, and can be used as a hiding place for objects or sometimes even for people.
A hidden compartment where people can stay is usually referred to as a hidden room or secret room, and can range from parts of small wardrobe
A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accomm ...
s or closets under staircases to entire basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
s or even large mountain complexes. Hidden rooms are often accessed via a hidden door, which for example can be camouflaged as a bookshelf
A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and booksto ...
or a trapdoor
A trapdoor is a sliding or hinged door in a floor or ceiling. It is traditionally small in size. It was invented to facilitate the hoisting of grain up through mills, however, its list of uses has grown over time. The trapdoor has played a pivot ...
in the floor. Hidden rooms can for example be used as a refuge, media room, larder
A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...
or wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...
.
The term hidden compartment can also refer to smaller storage places for valuables and personal belongings in furniture (such as cabinet compartments), trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
compartments in vehicles, false bottom
A false bottom (or false back) is an internal partition in a container, typically at the bottom of a drawer, suitcase or similar item, enabling the concealment of objects from a cursory examination of the item's contents. A false bottom may be pr ...
s in containers, and various other concealment device
Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is tha ...
s.
History
In the 1500s and 1600s, hidden rooms were created in British castles to hide Catholic priests, and these were referred to aspriest hole
A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...
s.
During the prohibition era
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...
, there were several examples of hidden rooms being used for storing alcohol or as entrances to secret bars.
In 1978, in connection with the police investigation of Hans Otto Meyer, a secret room was found where Meyer kept weapons for what he claimed was a secret emergency preparedness organization under the Norwegian Armed Forces
The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...
' intelligence services associated with NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
s Stay Behind.
In recent years, there have been examples of several companies specializing in making hidden rooms,/ref> as well as private individuals who have made improvised solutions, either for fun or for security in case of burglary.
Popular culture
In the film series ''The Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
'' (2005, 2008, and 2010), the main characters enter a fairytale world through a wardrobe.
See also
*Concealment device
Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is tha ...
* False bottom
A false bottom (or false back) is an internal partition in a container, typically at the bottom of a drawer, suitcase or similar item, enabling the concealment of objects from a cursory examination of the item's contents. A false bottom may be pr ...
* Mezzanine
A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...
, an intermediate floor in a building
* Multifunctional furniture
A multifunctional furniture is a furniture with several functions combined. The functions combined may vary, but a common variant is to incorporate an extra storage function into chair, tables, and so forth, making them so-called storage furniture. ...
* Priest hole
A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...
, a hiding place for Catholic priests, built in many Catholic houses during the 1500s and 1600s in England
* Secret passage
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow peop ...
, a hidden route for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods
* Tunnels in popular culture
Mysterious tunnels or "secret passages" are a common element of the local folklore tradition in Europe. Such tunnels are said to physically link prominent places such as country houses, castles, churches, ancient monuments and other, often med ...
References