A souterrain, an underground stone-lined passage, runs under the Glebe House at Donaghmore in County Down. The rector, the Rev. Dr. Cowan, described it to Elizabeth Andrews: the lintel of the main entrance is the stone that forms the base of the old Celtic cross standing near the church. Under the cross is the central chamber, about 62 feet long, with branches extending to the Glebe House, ending under the study, where according to one tradition a rich old vicar made the end into a wine cellar.
According to an older tradition, this chamber under the study was the dressing room of the small Danes, who after their toilet passed through the underground passages to church. They had to pass through many little doors and down stairs and through parlours until they came to the great chamber under the cross, where their minister held forth. Andrews reads the stairs and doors as memories of the descent between chambers and the low bridges in some souterrains.
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