Damp Cellar - advice sought

[McMurphy]

We have a standard ED Victorian terrace house, with a low-ceiling cellar, which we want to be able to use for storage / putting the kids when they're too noisy / etc.

The floor is earthen, and is often but not always damp, so we are limited to what we can store on it (largely, sealed plastic boxes), and it can smell damp on the ground floor when we've been away for a night or more.

I'm unsure where the water comes in - by the looks of it, seeping up through the ground, but possibly from the front of the house which looks like it had a coal chute previously (?!)

Has anyone had a similar problem and resolved it?

Could anyone recommend a trustworthy tradesman/company to take a look?

Have previously been blatantly lied to by damp-proofing snake-oil salesmen attempting to sell us work we did not need , so would really appreciate a recommendation if anyone has one?

Thanks

Matt

[fishbiscuits]

This is something I looked into in some details a few years ago. As I understand it, there is no easy solution - you cannot just waterproof the floor. Full basement waterproofing is a specialist job, and not a small one.

But if you do find a solution, please do let me know!