Dungeons is the lower storey of what was the monks’ Reredorter, or communal latrine. Every monk had his own seat above a four foot drain. Water from the Ty Burne river was channelled to flow underneath and flush out into the Thames. This drain was called the Great Drain and still exists under Yard.
During an air raid in May 1941, one of the bombs exposed an entrance to the drain and then Head Master John Carleton crawled inside to investigate. He got as far as Ashburnham House before realising that bombs were still falling and no one knew where he was, so there was the very real possibility of being trapped if not killed. There is still an opening to the Great Drain at the far end of Dungeons, although it has been plugged with concrete and it is presently covered with a cupboard.
