In 1988, Colin Steer, an Englishman now in his seventies, moved into an old Victorian house in Plymouth. While fixing up the living room, he noticed a small dip in the floor near a window. At the time, he had no idea this little mark would one day reveal one of the biggest surprises of his life. He first thought it might be hiding a body or a deep hole, but because his children were young, his wife Vanessa told him to keep it sealed for safety.
Years went by, and in 2012, after he retired, Colin finally had the time to look into it. With patience, he started digging slowly, and after going down 17 feet (over 5 meters), he found more than just a hole. Hidden under layers of clay was an old stone well that dated back more than 500 years to medieval times. While digging, he uncovered a simple sword buried five feet down—an old peasant weapon made from rusty metal, likely used for defense long ago. Later, he also found a coin from 1725, tossed into the well about 300 years earlier, maybe as part of a wish or tradition.
The well’s secrets did not stop there. At the bottom, it still held four feet of clean, fresh water, which Colin tasted and found safe to drink. He even thought about testing it further and maybe bottling it. Today, he has covered the well with a glass lid and a small door, turning it into the most unusual part of his living room. His grandchildren love looking into it, and visitors are amazed by the hole that hides so much history. Nobody knows exactly what it was first used for—whether for a noble family or for nearby animals—but Colin Steer has turned his home into a small museum, keeping a window open to the past.
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