Family shockingly finds 22-foot well under their home

By Douglas Whitbread and Catherine Mackinlay via SWNS

A family were left stunned after finding a mystery 22ft well beneath their home during building work to extend their kitchen.

Mom Louise Watson said workmen unearthed the three-foot-wide water reservoir below an old lean-to structure attached to their 130-year-old terrace.

The top of the brick-lined well, which was covered by a heavy slate slab, was discovered roughly two feet beneath the ground's surface.

When the family finally opened the huge pit and sent a camera down to inspect it, they found it contained six feet of "crystal clear" water.

Some horror film-loving visitors had urged Louise to keep the ancient well covered - which had been buried for decades underground.

But she absolutely loved the old-fashioned design and has now turned it into a glass-topped feature for her new kitchen.

Louise, 45, said: “It's absolutely beautiful inside. We were shocked as we thought it would be all grimy inside but it's perfectly preserved.

"There's around 6ft of crystal clear water at the bottom - we did wonder if there may be treasure or a body down there.

“Some people have said they'd be quite unnerved to have a well under their home, with some saying, 'Oh don't ever watch the Ring.'

"I'm lucky, I don't really watch films that often, especially horror films so it doesn't bother me.

“We've made a lovely feature out of it now. We've added three lights at the top and got specially made durable glass so you can walk on top of it.”

Louise, who works for BAE Systems, said she and her husband David, 46, began extension work at the back of their home in Dalton in Furness, Cumbria, last year.

The three-bed cottage, previously built for iron ore miners, had been occupied by her parents-in-law before the couple moved in with their son Jack, 11, ten years ago.

But as the builders were digging the foundations for the new part of the property in August, they came across a strange stone slab beneath their old lean-to structure.

And Louise then got a call from David to say they had discovered a water well stretching deep under their property.

She said: “My husband rang me in work to tell me that something had been found during the building work.

“At first I panicked and was like 'Is it a body? Is it a bomb?' And he was like 'No, it's a well'.

“The builders dug the foundations for the extension and right where the foundations were meant to be lying, they found a big lump of slate.

“They were bashing away at it and a bit broke off and disappeared. The builders saw it was a hole – and then they heard a ‘plop’ of water.

"We have lived in the house for ten years. My husband lived here as a child with his family - they were here for around 25 to 30 years - none of us had a clue it was here.

"It so it's obviously been covered up by somebody."

Louise said a family friend later sent a camera down the huge well to find out what was lurking at the bottom.

And this showed that the pit was in fact partially filled with crystal-clear water

Louise said: "There's no stream nearby running into it - the water trickles down the walls and it just feeds off the natural water table.

"I ordered testing kits off Amazon to test the alkaline of the water and it's not far off tap water - we were amazed.

"We did wonder if we could generate our own water with it, however, when we inquired it was around £5,000 to start so we decided to give that a miss."

Louise was still unsure of the well's history but thought it might have been used by farmers hundreds of years ago.

She said: “The area where the homes were being built was farmland, so we’re assuming it’s something to do with the farm. But it’s a big mystery.

"I'm fascinated by it and we really want to know its history.

"We don't know why it's here or who put it here. Barrow Council had no records and Cumbria Archive sent some documents over but they didn't shed any light.

And despite some visitors being freaked out by the giant pit, which now sits at the back of the new kitchen, Louise's family love their new glass-fronted feature.

She added: "My son Jack is quite happy to walk across it however some visitors can't handle it.”