A couple were stunned to find a secret 200-year-old well underneath their hallway when they began renovating their cottage.<br /><br />Victoria Ellington, 36, and her husband Andrew, 40, were amazed when they discovered the 27ft hole by the front door.<br /><br />Once explored, they found that the well, which is thought to be centuries-old, still contained crystal-clear water.<br /><br />The couple, from Redcar, North Yorks., couldn’t bear to cover up the feature so they decided to find a way to incorporate it into building.<br /><br />After months of hard work, Victoria and Andrew managed to install a pump to create their very own wishing well, covered by protective glass.<br /><br />The couple now rent the beach-front property, called Bute Cottage, to holidaymakers who can enjoy the quirky water feature.<br /><br />Mum-of-two Victoria said: “We bought the cottage during the 2020 Covid lockdown and Andrew, who is a builder, started renovating it.<br /><br />“We were planning to add an extension and build a family home but the foundations started slipping and we knew something was up.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />“He was digging at the foundations and all the soil was falling into this hole. <br /><br />“He just sent me a photo and said: 'Oh my god, have you seen this?'<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />Instead of paving over the well the couple covered it with a glass walkway and lined the walls of the shaft with lights.<br /><br />Victoria, mum to Oscar five, and Henry, nine, said: “Our sons were excited about having a wishing well so we thought we should make that a reality.<br /><br />"We've put lights down the walls of the well and the glass is toughened.<br /><br />“We can pump water into the well and we’ve got a little slot for people to make wishes. <br /><br />“You can see right down to the bottom. Andrew tried to measure a few times and I think it is around 27ft deep."<br /><br />The couple completed the renovation earlier this month and now rent the two-bedroom cottage out for £629-a-week.<br /><br />Victoria added: "The well makes it a bit different. <br /><br />“When I saw it I was totally blown away and every time I see it I just totally love it."
