Gen Z Couple’s Discoveries in 165-Year-Old Home Leave Internet Shocked

A couple couldn’t believe their eyes when they stumbled upon a series of historical items while renovating their Victorian home in the UK.

Milly, 26, and her boyfriend Louis, 27, collected the keys to the abandoned property in March. The couple quickly got to work on the south Wales villa, which had remained unoccupied for more than five years. Little did they know they would find a treasure trove of antiques along the way.

“We found a World War II helmet insert by unlocking a door covered in masonry, as well as a certificate of authenticity for a piece of the cross of Christ,” said Milly, who did not wish to reveal their last names. News week. “We also came across a newspaper article from 1925 while lifting the floorboards of the master bedroom. It centered on the death of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910.”

The couple have been renovating the seven-bedroom period property, named Belgrave Villa, for four months. They began sharing their journey online after collecting the keys, but gained viral attention thanks to a video that detailed some of their early discoveries.

Milly and Louis, known online as @belgravevilla, took to Instagram on April 14 to highlight some of the character traits they discovered during the first stage of their renovation, which saw them lift the floor boards and peel off the masonry. The video, which captures the hidden doors and beams discovered by the two men, has been viewed more than 30 million times.

In a post shared 11 days later, the couple looked through some of the antiques they found as they delved deeper into the hidden corners of the 165-year-old building.

“I’m going to open the Belgrave Museum,” Milly wrote, while viewers could see the war helmet insert, 1800s varnish and a Christmas card from 1921.

“We are restoring it with the goal of making it our home,” Milly said. “The property was built in 1859 and served as a home at the time, but over the years it has also served as a doctor’s office and, more recently, as a bishop’s residence. We actually purchased it from the Church Catholic !”

The objects found, each in particularly good condition, were distributed throughout the large property which includes a cellar and an old stable.

“The Christmas card was found hidden in the floorboards of the top floor of the house by our plumber,” Milly said. “The certificate of authenticity for a piece of the cross of Christ was found in a drawer in the house. Unfortunately, we found the certificate but no cross!”

“The varnish was found in the same cavity as the helmet insert,” she added.

The couple had discovered the World War II helmet insert while unlocking a door covered in masonry. The original door leaned against a hallway cabinet, but the two men grabbed the side of the war uniform clip nestled in a space between the cabinet and the door cavity.

“We think it fell into space while it was stored in the closet,” Milly said. “It belongs to a previous owner of the house, a Dr. Cornelius Patrick Robinson, who we know because his name was written inside the insert.”

“An Instagram follower managed to discover that he was part of the RAMC and lived in the house between 1949 and 1986,” she added.

Milly said the social media response to the findings and ambitious renovation has been “overwhelming”.

“We are so thrilled that people seem to be enjoying our trip as much as we are,” she said. “We are really happy that people are finding this interesting and are very grateful for all the advice, ideas and encouragement we have received.”

Milly and Louis continued to post information about the early history of their new home. The pair called their decision to buy the once-ruined villa a “huge risk”, but they are “doing everything they can” themselves to reduce their renovation costs.

“Louis has some experience but I’m learning along the way,” Milly said in the couple’s April 14 post.