HOUNSLOW GRAIL
Amateur archæologist locates the Holy Grail in a West London suburb
Amateur archæologist Barrie-Jon Bower believes he has located the fabled Holy Grail
– in a crypt under a river in Hounslow. Unemployed Mr Bower, 40, of Cinderford, Gloucestershire, is convinced that the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper has lain hidden in suburban West London for hundreds of years. He claims that the Knights Templar trained on Hounslow Heath before embarking on their Crusades, and says they built a secret crypt to hide seized relics, whose entrance, he believes, was later deliberately concealed near a weir at the man-made Duke of Northumberland’s River.
He has now invested £1,000 to hire specialist geophysical equipment with which to scour the ground once the river is drained, which he hopes will take place in early 2021 if the Environment Agency agrees to divert the river so that its bed can be surveyed. Mr Bower’s preparatory work has made him even more convinced he is on the right track: “Now I’ve been in the water it’s made me more certain. It feels hollow. It feels right. There’s something underneath. I am certain there will be a vault beneath the surface, with the Grail inside and other treasures from the Crusades. Why not Hounslow?”
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We are willing to review Mr Bower’s request and see if we are able to support him. We have a statutory role to ensure that any works carried out on a Main River are done in a way that does not cause environmental damage or pose a flood risk.” Mr Bower is eager to begin work. “I can’t wait to get started. There are some other reasons as to why I think the Holy Grail is here which I don’t want to reveal. I don’t want rival hunters to get that information. It needs to stay secret. All will be revealed.” Sun, 18 Dec 2020.