Couple renovating cottage discover 200-year-old well underneath hallway

A couple were left astounded when they discovered a secret 200 year old well beneath their hallway during the renovation of their cottage. Victoria Ellington, 36, and her husband Andrew, 40, stumbled upon the 27ft hole near their front door.

Upon further exploration, they found that the centuries-old well still contained crystal-clear water. The Redcar, North Yorks couple decided to incorporate this unique feature into their building rather than covering it up.

After months of hard work, they managed to install a pump and create their very own wishing well, protected by a glass cover. The beach-front property, known as Bute Cottage, is now rented out to holidaymakers who can enjoy this quirky water feature.

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Victoria, a mother of two, said: "We bought the cottage during the 2020 Covid lockdown and Andrew, who is a builder, started renovating it. We were planning to add an extension and build a family home but the foundations started slipping and we knew something was up.

"One day Andrew found this deep hole and realised it was quite a deep well right on top of the property by the front door. He was digging at the foundations and all the soil was falling into this hole."

"He just sent me a photo and said: 'Oh my god, have you seen this?' We knew then that we couldn't build an extension so Andrew just decided to make it part of the building and we could rent the cottage out."

Rather than simply paving over the well, they chose to cover it with a glass walkway and adorn the walls of the shaft with lights.

Victoria, who has two sons, Oscar, five, and Henry, nine, said: "Our sons were excited about having a wishing well so we thought we should make that a reality. We've put lights down the walls of the well and the glass is toughened."

"We can pump water into the well and we've got a little slot for people to make wishes. "You can see right down to the bottom. Andrew tried to measure a few times and I think it is around 27ft deep."

After finishing up the renovation earlier this month, they have begun renting the two-bedroom cottage out at a rate of £629 per week.

Victoria added: "The well makes it a bit different. When I saw it I was totally blown away and every time I see it I just totally love it."