Workmen in Hove, East Sussex, found a stash of gin bottles in an underground tunnel between St Andrew's Church and the Iron Duke pub, formerly The Kerrison.
Electricians smashed through a paving slab to check that a lightening rod had been earthed, only to reveal an underground chamber full of green bottles.
Mike Robins, church historian and custodian, said that there had been rumours that a secret tunnel had been constructed for Victorian gentry to sneak off for drinks without their servants seeing them.
Darren James, one of the electricians who made the discovery, said: "I just thought there would be a bit of rubble but we found all these bottles. We didn't find anyone who had been drinking them though."
