the mole man project

“He became known as the ‘Mole Man’ after digging a labyrinth of tunnels underneath his London home.

Now, the late William Lyttle’s house is up for sale. Despite not having a roof and being a structural death trap the home in London’s Hackney carries a guide price of £500,000.

Mr Lyttle, a retired civil engineer who died aged 79 last year, spent 40 years tunnelling a 60 foot-long path of tunnels under his house”

Check out the Estate Agency full brochure for Lyttle’s house (“The property requires full internal and external refurbishment but has the
potential to be a fabulous family home once restored to it’s former glory”……..!) :

Click to access 51209607.pdf

Visit the Facebook page dedicated to William Lyttle 

This blog is dedicated to the late William Lyttle, aka the Mole Man of Hackney, who sadly passed away last year, in june 2010.

Lyttle, a retired electrical engineer, dug a series of tunnels under his property on the corner of Mortimer Road and Stamford Road, in De Beauvoir Town in North London. In 2001, his tunnelling caused a 8 ft (2.4 m) hole to appear in the pavement on Stamford Road. Reports that the tunnelling had started again in 2006 were confirmed when Hackney Council found a web of tunnels and caverns, some 8 m (26 ft) deep, spreading up to 20 m in every direction from his house. In August 2006, the Council succeeded in getting a court order banning Mr Lyttle from his property while they carry out emergency repairs.

Lyttle, from Ireland, was ordered to pay £293,000 by the high court two years ago after the council sought to recuperate the costs of scaffolding and new foundations. More than 30 tonnes of debris and waste, including three cars and a boat, were removed by contractors.

The council has since spent £70,000 maintaining the building while providing Lyttle with temporary accommodation costing £45,000. Months before he died he was moved to a flat near to his old home in the De Beauvoir estate.

Police have been unable to trace Lyttle’s next of kin, possibly including a daughter who could be in line to inherit £700,000 from the sale of the house. Lyttle, an eccentric who endeared himself to his neighbours in spite of his digging, never revealed the motivation behind what he called his “home improvements”.

I’ve myself heard for the first time about the Mole Man in september 2010, when a strange french man and acquaintance of his told me his story in a Camden Town old pub. From that day I decided to make some researches and collect informations in order to make a documentary out of it. Unfortunately, Lyttle is not here anymore to tell the truth about his story, but I hope I’ll be able to retrace his amazing path through the people who had the chance to meet him when he was still alive.