UK couple uncover wild ‘hidden feature’ in their abandoned house

A couple in the UK were renovating their new house when they spotted a mysterious white square in the kitchen.

It was Monday last week when the pair picked up a hammer and a mobile phone and approached the square panel in their West Yorkshire cottage.

The four-bedroom property, which had been left derelict for the past five years, is a recent purchase for the pair. They took ownership of the home earlier this month. 

Like scores of other owners of fixeruppers, they are documenting their restoration online.

“It’s going to be the biggest hidden feature,” one of the owners gushed in a now viral TikTok video as her partner used the back of the hammer to strip back the panel.

As he slammed the hammer down on the panel, the pair fell silent.

Seconds later, the panel – which appeared to be plasterboard – collapsed at one corner revealing something unusual behind it.

“Oooh,” the man was heard exclaiming.

“Oooh, it’s an AGA,” the woman said in quick succession.

An AGA, or Aktiebolaget Gas-Accumulator, is a Swedish brand of cast-iron cookers.

Clearly, the cooker had not been used for some time. One of the doors appeared to be missing. A pair of bricks had been shoved into the oven space.

The couple weren’t the only ones surprised by the find. Since posting their video online it has been viewed more than 1.6 million times with almost 300 comments.

“Lucky find. I hope you keep it and get it working. I’d love one in mine,” one person wrote.

“It’s a “combination grate”, but either way I’m so jealous. The old lady I bought my house from said there was one in my kitchen until she had it taken out in the 60s,” a second person shared.

“What a find. Blooming awesome,” a third person wrote.

The couple are yet to decide what to do with the AGA. If they decided to sell it, it could prove lucrative – new AGA stoves can fetch up to $50,000. 

The stove isn’t the only hidden feature the couple have stumbled upon during their renovation.

In one of the bedrooms, a stunning Victorian cast iron fireplace had been boarded up. 

The grate was still full of old ashes from when the fireplace had last been used. 

“This fireplace will be removed, the room will be used for something other than a bedroom,” they explained in a caption.

Yet another old fireplace was hiding in a small single bedroom. 

The pair plan to put it where the AGA stove currently to “give [them] some warmth over the British wet dark winter”.