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

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, 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.

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."

Instead of paving over the well the couple covered it with a glass walkway and lined the walls of the shaft with lights.

Victoria, mother to five-year-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 and now rent the two-bedroom cottage out for £629-a-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."