A couple were stunned to find a secret 200-year-old well underneath their hallway when they began renovating their cottage.
Victoria Ellington, 36, and her husband Andrew, 40, were amazed when they discovered the 27ft hole by the front door. Once explored, they found that the well, which is thought to be centuries-old, still contained crystal-clear water.
The couple, from Redcar, North Yorkshire, couldn’t bear to cover up the feature so they decided to find a way to incorporate it into building. After months of hard work, Victoria and Andrew managed to install a pump to create their very own wishing well, covered by protective glass.
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The couple now rent the beach-front property, called Bute Cottage, to holidaymakers who can enjoy the quirky water feature. Mum-of-two Victoria 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.”
Opting not to pave over the well, the pair transformed it with a glass walkway and a host of lights lining the shaft. Victoria 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’s around 27ft deep.”
This month saw the completion of the renovation of the cottage, which now fetches £629 per week as a rental. Victoria commented: “The well makes it a bit different. When I saw it I was absolutely stunned and every time I lay eyes on it, I fall in love all over again.”
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