Husband and wife Becky and Robert Fooks were in the process of removing the concrete floor of the kitchen in their Dorset cottage when they made an incredible discovery
A couple in Dorset were in for a major surprise after they decided to renovate the kitchen of their cottage.
Becky and Robert Fooks were removing the kitchen’s concrete floor to create more ceiling height at their farmhouse when Robert, an agricultural engineer, discovered a smashed glazed pottery bowl full of 400-year-old coins.
Wife Becky told the Guardian: “It is a 400-year-old house so there was lots of work to do. We were taking all the floors and ceilings out and took it back to its stone walls. We decided to lower the ground floor to give us more ceiling height.
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“One evening, I was with the children and my husband was digging with a pick axe when he called to say they’ve found something. He put all the coins in a bucket. If we hadn’t lowered the floor, they would still be hidden there. I presume the person intended to retrieve them but never got the chance.”
Becky further revealed that it was only the following day that she examined the coins and realised how old they were. “You can clearly see the date. Some of the gold coins were easy to read, really clean,” she said.
According to the British Museum, they were likely deposited early in the English Civil War (1642-51) by a landowner trying to keep his wealth safe. The collection, which the Fooks family discovered in October 2019, included James I and Charles I gold coins as well as Elizabeth I silver shillings.
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It was sheer luck that the couple found the collection; Becky also revealed that the property’s previous owners came close to discovering the hoard.
She said: “They had removed the flooring on top of the earth and stopped work. The coins were about 10 inches (25cm) further down.”
Julian Smith, specialist at Duke’s auctioneers, said: “The cottage is situated in a small hamlet in west Dorset, and is a 17th century long-house. The property was purchased by the current owners in 2019 and they started an extensive renovation project.
“The modern concrete floor was removed and the floor dug down by nearly 2ft to provide greater height to the downstairs of the property. In some areas there were old flagstones under the concrete but the area the coins were found was bare earth.
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“The coins have been with the British Museum for identification and cleaning, and they feel the coins were deposited on one occasion.”
It comes after a pair of new homeowners got more than they bargained for when they discovered a secret room in their house.
Nicole Halliday and her partner dived into DIY straight away after receiving the keys for their 1960s home. But during the long hours of stripping wood chipping wallpaper and demolishing walls, the couple unearthed what may be a small fortune.
They discovered the previous owner’s unique way of decorating, which consisted of ‘layer upon layer of questionable wallpaper’ and after getting rid of the ‘monstrosity wardrobes’, they unearthed an extra room they didn’t know neven existed.
What’s more, behind the door was another surprise – a stocked wine cellar. After sharing a video of their discovery on TikTok, Nicole was inundated with messages.
“Those red [wine bottles] from 1984 are like £140 a bottle each,” one person said, while another joked they could use the money to buy a new boiler. “I’m low-key jealous of the wine,” another commented. “You have to open a bottle when the house is finished to celebrate.”