In the middle ages, it was not uncommon for looters to target easy buildings such as churches  in effort to  make quick money.  Whether it was stealing of artifacts or from the offering boxes.  Therefore, the churches began to hire guards, The Churchwardens, to protect their building throughout the night.

​Now obviously, they couldn't hire any of their actual practitioners, because they would be expected to participate in the morning services.  Therefore, often the less desirables (although trustworthy) individuals would be tasked with these jobs.

Hence came the development of the Churchwarden pipe.  Long-stemmed pipes that allowed these men (and in some cases women) to smoke while on guard without the smoke impairing their vision.

It was also rumored, that many of these Churchwardens would use seldomly visited areas of the churches to  (like the cellars) to make and store wine, alcohol, and various other "taboo" items, as their homes were typically small and failed to have space for such things.

It is from these stories and others like it that we developed the idea of The Churchwarden's Cellar.    Although we really don't know how much of these stories are true or just urban legend, the concept remains inspiring either way.