Finding a secret door leading to a creepy abandoned room in your house would be many people’s idea of a real-life horror movie.
But when Escape To The Country’s Jules Hudson discovered a whole new section of his 500-year-old home, he could barely contain his excitement.
The TV presenter, 55, has been keeping fans posted as he and his wife Tania renovate their own place in the country, near Hereford, after buying the pile for £610,000 in 2012.
And he received a shock in January, stumbling across the hidden door in the house’s attic as he was clearing away some old walls in a bid to finally use the space.
Taking to his 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.
Escape To The Country’s Jules Hudson has discovered a whole new section of his 500-year-old home and he could barely contain his excitement
He received quite the shock in January, discovering the hidden door in the house’s attic as he was clearing away some old walls in a bid to finally use the space
The TV presenter, 55, has been keeping fans posted as he and his wife Tania renovate their own place in the country, near Hereford, after buying the pile for £610,000 in 2012
‘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. 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.’
He captioned the post: ‘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 left aghast by the development, with many eager to discover more, and Jules granted their wishes last month with an exciting update on the creepy new space.
In particular, social media users, perhaps unsurprisingly, were desperate to find out what the Escape To The Country star might find if he opened the door.
Fans were left aghast by the development, with many eager to discover more, and Jules granted their wishes last month with an exciting update on the creepy new space
One replied: ‘What’s behind the door? Have you looked?’
Another added: ‘Absolutely loved this post! I’m dying to see what is behind the door!’
One user posted: ‘What is beyond that door I wonder?’
And a fourth said: ‘Sooo very exciting…can’t wait to watch how the renovation progresses.’
‘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.’
In a moment of tension unmatched in even the most terrifying of horror flicks, Jules slowly opened up the door to see what mysterious things lay behind it.
Thankfully for those of a nervous disposition, it was simply an empty attic.
In a moment of tension unmatched in even the most terrifying of horror flicks, Jules slowly opened up the door to see what mysterious things lay behind it
Jules then went down a flight or two of stairs and showed off the house’s brick fireplace complete with a wood-burning stove, explaining how the chimney then led up through the roof
He even revealed that the wood around the fireplace was potentially even older than the house itself and possibly a ‘sapling at the time of the Norman Conquest’
‘There. 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…’
Jules then went down a flight or two of stairs and showed off the house’s brick fireplace complete with a wood-burning stove, explaining how the chimney then led up through the roof.
He even revealed that the wood around the fireplace was potentially even older than the house itself and possibly a ‘sapling at the time of the Norman Conquest’.
Jules and the rest of the cast headed to the TV Choice Awards for the first time in February and managed to bag themselves the gong for Best Daytime Show.
Despite their success, the TV star shared his worry about the current news surrounding the farmer’s tax – which could in hand affect people moving to the countryside.
Jules and the rest of the cast headed to the TV Choice Awards for the first time in February and managed to bag themselves the gong for Best Daytime Show
He confessed of living in the countryside: ‘I can’t be too political about it, but needless to say I live and work in a farming community and there is a lot of worried people out there’
During an exclusive chat with Mail Online on the red carpet at the star-studded event at Hilton Park Lane, Jules said: ‘I think that we’re all concerned about everything that could potentially undermine the fabric of rural life.
‘You know, I get it. Someone has to make decisions, but we just ask that they are the right ones.
‘I can’t be too political about it, but needless to say I live and work in a farming community and there is a lot of worried people out there.’
He added: ‘I just hope that someone is listening to be honest with you.’
