A couple in Kent have discovered a vast hidden cellar beneath their home after finally knocking down a wall in a kitchen cupboard, nine years after moving in. The find, captured on video and posted to Instagram, has amassed more than 12.5 million views.
Nine years of wondering
Lifestyle photographer Tom Gold and his wife Sam Goldbrom, a textile artist and founder of the brand Little Victory, live in an art deco house in Broadstairs. The property was originally constructed in 1929 by Ideal Home as an exhibition house.
The couple are "constantly restoring and improving" their coastal villa, known as Sandy Shores, which has served as a filming location for TV productions, fashion magazines, interiors companies, and musicians.
The discovery
Captioning the clip, Tom wrote: "In the cupboard at the back of our kitchen, there's a doorway that had obviously been bricked up and plastered over. After nine years of wondering what might be behind it, today we finally plucked up the courage to find out..."
In the footage, Sam directs a torchlight through the opening, revealing a dark staircase leading to a maze of corridors and rooms beneath the property. The vast cellar had electricity and pipework, with numerous rooms storing boxes of files and suitcases.
Bizarre findings
In one space, dark green painted handprints stretched up the walls and across the low ceiling. A man off camera can be heard saying: "Nothing to be scared of", before laughing. At the end of the corridor, they found a "tunnel" potentially leading up to their garden, though it had been filled with breezeblocks, bricks, and rubble.
Sam can be heard off camera asking: "Well?" Tom replies: "It's really quite bizarre, I have to say."
The clip resonated with Instagram users, with thousands sharing their thoughts. One person said: "9 years? I would have smashed through it the day I moved in." Another said: "Oh my god, I watched this like a horror film. I can't believe the amount of space, and how it's mostly clear and tidy?! Hope the hand marks were just a prank lol."
In a separate Instagram post, Sam previously expressed fondness for their property, writing: "Our home gives as much as it takes and provides me with a venue for my workshops and an outlet for constant experimentation. We are very fortunate to live in it and hope we'll be working on it for years to come."
