BUILDERS restoring the Thring Townsend offices in Old Town have discovered three tunnels.

The grade II-listed Georgian house, at 42 Cricklade Road, offers an intriguing insight into the past with this latest finding.

Three arched tunnels, measuring 8ft tall by 12ft wide, were found by Ward Home workers.

The two largest tunnels, about 100ft in length, travel under the house towards the Goddard Arms Hotel.

Site manager Rob Mann, 46, from Gloucester, who specialises in refurbishing grade II-listed buildings, said: "We were shocked and amazed to unearth the tunnels.

"We had to dig for drainage for our site and couldn't believe what we then found.

"To be in this place is like reading a book, the longer we are here the more we are discovering. It's pretty incredible."

The tunnels held up construction at the site until they were cleared by health and safety experts and assessed by conservation officers.

They will now be ventilated to ensure moisture and damp doesn't set in.

The house is being restored and converted into five luxury flats and its old brickwork and oak beams are being preserved.

Known as the Villetts House, it was described by the Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, as "The finest house in Swindon?"

This questioning remark could suggest the goings on inside the house were perhaps not as fine as its lavish exterior would lead people to believe.

Betjeman also described it as "the first architecture to appear in Swindon."

In other words, it was the first conscious designing of a facade.

It is unclear what the tunnels were used for and where they all lead, as many are bricked up, but potential uses have been put forward.

The building's extensive cellars are believed to have connections with Old Town's famed network of tunnels, which are usually cited as evidence of smuggling activities.

Ken Clayton, 56, from Pinehurst, was one of the construction workers on the site at the time of the discovery.

He said: "It really is fascinating to wonder what these tunnels were used for.

"I would guess that they were used as means of escape.

"It could have been people smuggling, or even used for alcohol transportation to get past customs undetected."

Local historian Cilla Slipper has previously said she thinks that tunnels extend under Old Town - a network that she believes could stretch as far as the Lawns and even to Coate Water three miles away.

The house was built in 1729 and bought by the Villetts family, lords of the manor at Eastcott, in 1770.

They were a rich family who were keen to show off their wealth to fellow gentry.

This is shown through the grand entrance and extravagant stone gargoyles on the front of the building. It is thought these were placed deliberately to poke fun at the working class.

One such gargoyle depicts a man as a goat, with animal-like ears and a fluffy beard. Another shows a woman as an old hag, with jagged teeth, wearing a bonnet.