Escape to the Country presenter Jules Hudson has discovered a mysterious hidden door in the attic of his country home, and now he’s shown fans what lies behind it
Escape to the Country star Jules Hudson has found a strange room hidden inside his home.
Fans of the beloved BBC show are used to watching the likes of Jules help couples find their dream home in the sticks. They’ve seen twosomes like Cris and Stewart bag their “forever home” away from the city.
However, this time it was Jules himself who was giving fans a look inside of their property. The 55-year-old property expert bought his own country home near Hereford for £610,000 in 2012 – and lives there with wife Tania.
The pair have since renovated the property and have kept fans updated on its progress. However, in January, Jules came across a hidden door in the attic while clearing away some old walls.
Taking to Instagram, he said: “Well folks I’m up in the attic doing a bit of renovation at Chez Hudson and we’re taking out some old nasty hard studboards that used to hide away our old water tank. This is what I wanted to share with you. Have a look at that.
“Now that is part of the original build of this house which dates back to around 1580 so the carpenters that made this, that built it, were probably talking about the latest scandal concerning Elizabeth I, can you believe? But what’s really fascinating is this. If you look at this door which I think is made of elm.
He went on: “You can usually tell if it’s elm by how broad the boards are… but look at this: one, two, three, four, five keyholes. Five keyholes for five separate locks and probably five separate owners because back in the day when you moved house, you didn’t take the door with you, you took the lock because the lock was the most valuable thing, and if you were lucky enough to own a lock, well, you were probably getting somewhere.
“It’s all part and parcel of the fascinating journey we’ve been on in understanding the story of this fabulous old building, and once those horrible walls behind me have gone and light pours through the window, this wall will once more see the light of day, something it has not done I suspect, for the best part of a century. But when it does, it can tell its story.”
Captioning the post, he wrote: “Clues to the past; this recent discovery up in our attic offers a fascinating window on the lives once lived here, some 500 years ago! Such is the joy of sleuthing around the country’s historic properties. @escape_country @warehouse701.”
Fans were gobsmacked by the secret section of the house, and many wanted to know what was on the other side of the door. Jules has now revealed what you see when you open the door – in scenes many of us would find rather creepy.
“Well folks, ever since I posted that video revealing this old door up in our attic with its five curious locks,” he began, [There have been] lots of questions as to what’s behind the door. Well, let me show you. Here we go.”
He revealed an empty attic on the other side with some old beams on the roof. “There,” he said. “What you get is a glimpse of the ancient structure of the roof, these old beams. Some of these we’ve had to replace when we fixed the roof originally.
“That wall is interesting – that’s brick. That’s probably early- to mid-Victorian, replacing the original timber facade on that side of the house and that bricked-up window there, that begs a few questions doesn’t it.
“But look at the floor, look at those boards, aren’t they gorgeous? Again, I think elm, but what’s really interesting is this. This is the old stone chimney breast which rises up from the ground floorboards, but what’s really fascinating is what’s below it…”
The presenter showed off the brick fireplace and the wood-burning stove located below the stairs. He explained that the chimney led up through the roof, and that the wood around the fireplace was potentially even older than the 500-year-old house.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
