Couple find a 27ft well in hallway – and can’t bear to wish it away
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, could not bear to cover up the feature so they decided to find a way to incorporate it into building.
After months of hard work, they managed to install a pump to create a wishing well, covered by protective glass.
The couple now rent the beachfront property, called Bute Cottage, to holidaymakers who can enjoy the quirky water feature.
Mother-of-two Mrs Ellington 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."
Instead of paving over the well the couple covered it with a glass walkway.
Mrs Ellington, mother to fiveyear-old Oscar 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." The couple completed the renovation earlier this month.