A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. Cellars are a pretty common feature in Northamptonshire, particularly in Victorian properties in the larger towns – Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Rushden. Originally, they would have been used for storage – a cool space for keeping food, before the invention of domestic refrigeration. Many were used as workshops, especially for those who worked in the Boot & Shoe industry