Couple digging new kitchen floor in their 17th century cottage find £35,000 ... trends now
A couple digging up the kitchen floor of their newly-bought 17th century cottage found a £35,000 hoard of coins dating back to the English Civil War hidden under the concrete.
Robert Fooks had dug 2ft deep using a pickaxe by torchlight when he found a smashed glazed pottery bowl full to the brim with the 400-year-old coins.
He had recently bought the cottage with his wife Betty and was carrying out renovation works to create more ceiling height when he made the jaw-dropping discovery.
Mr Fooks, an agricultural engineer, meticulously counted the hoard to find there were 1,029 in total with some including gold coins bearing the face of King James I and King Charles I.
The discovery at the cottage in South Poorton Farm, in a hamlet near Bridport, Dorset, is believed to have been buried between 1642 and 1644 during the English Civil War for safekeeping.
Betty and Robert Fooks were carrying out renovation works on their newly-bought 17th century cottage in South Poorton Farm, in a hamlet near Bridport, Dorset
Mr Fooks had dug 2ft deep using a pickaxe by torchlight when he found the 400-year-old coins in a smashed pottery bowl
The couple reported it to the local finds liaison officer and it was then sent to the British Museum for cleaning and identification.
The coins are now coming up for sale at Duke's Auctioneers of Dorchester, Dorset.
Mrs Fooks, a 43-year-old NHS health visitor, said they were taking all the floors and ceilings out and had taken them back to their stone walls.
'One evening, I was with the children and my husband was
