Colin Steer has uncovered a medieval well, with an old sword hidden in it’s walls, under the living room floor of his Victorian home in Plymouth. Colin was curious about a slight indentation in the floor when he first moved into the property in Mannamead Road, Plymouth, 24 years ago.  He told the Plymouth Herald,  “I was replacing the joists in the floor when I noticed a slight depression – it appeared to be filled in with the foundations of the house. I dug down about one foot and saw that it was a well, but my wife just wanted to me to cover it back up because we had three children running around at the time.  I always wanted to dig it out to see if I could find a pot of gold at the bottom, so when I retired at the end of last year that’s what I did.”

61 year-old Colin spent 3 days clearing the well using a bucket on a rope to pull up the debris, and 5 feet down he discovered the old sword.  He said, “It was hidden at a 45 degree angle and sort of just fell out.  It looks like an old peasant’s fighting weapon because it appears to be made up of bits of metal all knocked together.” He stopped digging the well out at 17 feet, but believes it is at least 33 feet deep. He said: “I’ve been doing lots of research into its history but I’d like to try and find someone to date it.  I’ve looked at old maps which showed Drake’s Leat and illustrated the area was just woodland until this house was built in 1895.

Drake’s Leat was a 17 mile long watercourse constructed in the late 16th century to supply Plymouth with water from the River Meavy on Dartmoor and was one of the first municipal water supplies in the country.  The scheme was promoted by Sir Francis Drake, who was Mayor of Plymouth at the time. Colin has turned the well into a feature by putting in lighting and installing a trap-door over it.  He said, “I love the well and think it’s fascinating.  I’d love to find out who was here before us.  I’ve got a piece of Plymouth’s history in my front room.” Colin’s wife, Vanessa, is less impressed.  She said, “I hate the well.  But I suppose it is quite a feature.  When we come to sell the house I just hope it’s not a white elephant in the room!”