Couple renovating 1930s home gobsmacked by discovery inside interior wall

The duo said they had to remove ‘endless layers of wallpaper’ during the renovation of their newly-purchased property – but that led to an unusual discovery embedded in their living room wall

A couple in the middle of renovating their recently purchased 1930s home were left puzzled after discovering something unusual embedded in an interior wall. The homeowners, Charlotte Whitehouse and her partner, Joey, shared their peculiar find on TikTok.

Joey detailed how they are revamping their semi-detached property “from top to bottom”, despite having “practically zero” experience. He described the process as involving “endless layers of wallpaper, rubbish and trips to and from the car,” in a video where he pointed out a hole in the living room wall that had been hidden by wallpaper. After peeling back a layer of foam, Joey discovered another object intentionally placed behind it.

“We found this newspaper,” he continued. “The house was built in the 30s and the people before us had been here for at least 57 years.”

Upon unfolding the paper, it became clear it was an edition of the Evening Standard from Wednesday, October 11, 1967.

“It seems pretty crazy to us, because you can still read the newspaper still,” Joey commented on its remarkable preservation.

Writing in response, others shared their own discoveries from renovation projects. One TikTok user revealed: “We found postcards from 1940s, we’ve now framed them and put them in the study on the wall.”

A second added: “Found a paper from 1912 with Titanic on it, could hardly read it.”

While a third person chillingly recounted: “My sister found letters from the 50s when renovating our family home from the previous owner’s daughter detailing abuse that went on inside the house, creeped my sister out so she burned them.

“We moved in in 1980, letters were in the wall about 70 years at the time they were found.”

Meanwhile, a TikTok user offered a potential explanation for the gap in the wall. “When houses had coal fires, ventilation, draught, was needed,” they clarified. “This is a closed up vent, high level in upstairs rooms, probably above bedroom doors also.”

Another individual suggested to Joey: “Keep your eye out under the floor boards for coins. we found one in our brick work. Also our vents had newspaper in as well.”

And someone else advised: “Put a newspaper from today in there and seal it back up for the next owners.”

Char and Joey also commented on their colossal task: “Safe to say we got straight in there ripping off what felt like a million layers of wallpaper… no word of a lie because did they really need to change their wallpaper at least 50 times before moving out?

“We have three weeks to renovate upstairs before our tenancy is up at our flat, so it’s all hands to the pump to get it liveable for us and the cats.”