A couple who bought an 1800s farmhouse cottage were left gobsmacked after finding a “mysterious door” in their new home, months after moving in.
In a video posted on TikTok, DIY expert and ITV‘s Love Your Weekend presenter Vikkie Lee revealed the discovery during a bout of renovation work she and her partner were carrying out on the house. The footage shows Vikkie using a hand axe and hammer to chip away at the wooden frame of the door before finally managing to pry it open.
“We found our 1800s cottage had a secret behind this blocked up mysterious door,” she said. “What we were about to discover really surprised us… and we didn’t know about it for months!”
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The video then shows Vikkie lifting the latch of the door to peek inside, where she finds a stone staircase and remnants of floral-patterned wallpaper adorning the walls. The eerie stairs seem to lead into darkness, with the presenter hesitant to explore further.
“We discovered it used to be a Lincolnshire half-house,” she wrote. Half houses are formed when an existing house is divided into two separate properties.
“That looks exactly like the door that went upstairs in our old 1886 farmhouse!” one of Vikkie’s followers commented. “Same colour, same hardware, everything. “We removed it and took it with us when we had to move!”
Some were unnerved, with one person commenting: “Maybe I’ve watched too many scary movies, but when something is sealed like that there has to be a reason.” Another joked: “Well done! That’s us extra screwed now you’ve released whatever was in there!”
Meanwhile, another said: “My grandparents had one of these stairwells – it was the only staircase and it started in the living room with the first step or two, which always seemed a bit impractical (no headroom at all).
Meanwhile another shared an explanation for what the property could be. They said: “That is called the servants/maids’ stairs. We live in an old 1840’s farmhouse and our house has a set of servants’ stairs off of the kitchen.”
Having bought the property at auction in May 2024, Vikkie took to YouTube where she regularly updates followers on the renovation journey, saying: “This week in our auction Lincolnshire farmhouse property, we start gutting out the living and dining room so we’re no longer camping in our home!”
She continued with anticipation for the project ahead: “We’re so excited to add a lintel in the chimney breast to cut a bigger space for a new stove and flooring, but we’ve realised it’s going to take longer than we realised (a whole series of DIYs) to get there…. like new windows, patio doors, and more.”