With all of the tales of lost and forgotten riches, wouldn’t it be thrilling to learn that your house was sitting on a fortune or a piece of history for all this time? If you just moved into a new home, but for Colin and Vanessa Steer couples who have lived in their beautiful dream terrace house for over two decades, they would never have imagined there was an inch of the property they didn’t know well.
But the pair was stunned to discover an unknown portion of their property that might contain a historical relic. Colin and Venessa observed that as a result of their having three young kids in their home, a section of the floor in their living room was dipping inwards. For safety reasons, they decided to just fill it up.
“I was replacing the joists in the floor when I noticed a slight depression – it appeared to be filled in with the foundations of the house,” he said the Telegraph. “I dug down about one foot but my wife just wanted to me to cover it back up because we had three children running around at the time.”
The dog and the kitten were in separate cages, but they might still see each other. Colin kept wondering about what was in the hole, but he didn’t think much of it for a long time. Many years later, when their children were all grown up, he decided to look at the sunken area of the living room once again.
“I always wanted to dig it out to see if I could find a pot of gold at the bottom,” he said.
After retiring from the civil service, Larry planned to return to his old house and discover some forgotten riches. With the aid of one of his neighbors, Colin was able to dig a 30-inch wide hole that was 17 feet deep in about three days.
“I was quite surprised really, I would have preferred it to be in the garden where I could have got at it a little easier.”
During the six-month investigation, it was determined that the hole went down about 33 feet. Colin suddenly realized their home sat on a 16th-century well after discovering that it took about six months to solve the problem. But there was more to learn. They discovered an ancient sword while digging in the well.
“It was hidden at a 45-degree angle and sort of just fell out. It looks like an old peasant’s fighting weapon because it appears to be made up of bits of metal all knocked together,” he stated.
On his home in Kent, England, he discovered two German weapons and the bomb squad was required to come and remove them.
When it came to construction, Colin had no idea when the building was constructed.
“There could have been a couple of cottages here or it could have served a farm. I’d like to find something down the bottom, something to give me an age. I wish I had a Tardis to go back in time and see what was here.”
Colin intends to keep digging till he reaches the core of the problem, which he thinks might contain crucial information.
“I love the well and think it’s fascinating. I’d love to find out who was here before us. I’ve got a piece of Plymouth’s history in my front room.”
The homeowner’s wife is alarmed by the prospect of his drifting away from their home, as she worries about what this would imply for the worth of their property.
“I hate the well,” Vanessa stated. “But I suppose it is quite a feature. When we come to sell the house I just hope it’s not a white elephant in the room.”
She won’t have to worry about that because, especially if Colin uncovers something fascinating about their home’s history and the well in it, she’ll have him. He should probably keep digging around for now since he doesn’t know much.
