Sheffield couple stunned after finding secret cellar adding £70k worth to home

A couple renovating their home were stunned to discover a huge secret 23sqm cellar - and say it has added £70k to the value of their home.

Sophie Lane, 34 and her partner, Matthew 33 purchased a house that had been converted into two flats in Sheffield, in December 2025 for £375,000 and are currently in the process of transforming it back into one house to live in.

In February 2026, while ripping up the carpets in the downstairs hallway, they discovered a hidden hatch in the floorboards, and after opening it with a crowbar, were shocked that it led to an enormous cellar.

The cellar didn't show up when the couple got the house surveyed and they now plan to transform it into a movie room for their kids and even have a slide going from a hidden cupboard in the kitchen down to the cellar.

Sophie has worked out that the extra space has added £70k to the value of their home and thinks there may be even more hidden space down in the cellar.

The social media manager, from Sheffield, said: "When we opened the hatch and saw a massive cellar, so many things were going through my mind.

"We now have a whole other floor, our house could be worth £70,000 more now.

"The survey didn't pick up the cellar at all.

"We thought we might have had to build an extension, but now we have the huge cellar we don't have to do that, so it's saved us a lot of money.

"We're going to use it as a utility room but also create a fun movie room.

"I'm trying to convince my partner to let us have a slide that goes from a hidden cupboard in the kitchen down to the cellar.

"I want it to be the house that all of my kids' friends think of as the fun house."

Sophie and Matthew purchased their home in December 2025 and embarked on the mammoth task of renovating it.

The property they purchased was converted into two apartments around 20 years ago - with two kitchens, two bathrooms and walls splitting the two flats apart - and the duo plan to convert it back into one singular house.

Most houses on the same street in Sheffield were selling for £750k, whereas the two apartments were on sale for £375,000 in total, so the couple jumped at the chance to have a home in their dream location for half the price, despite the huge task of converting it.

"I said to my partner, we need to try and get this house, because we will be living in the best location, that we never would have been able to afford otherwise," Sophie said.

Sophie, Matthew and their two kids - aged four and 10 months - are currently living in the ground floor apartment, while they renovate the upstairs apartment, and will then switch, when the work upstairs has been completed.

So far, they have stripped the entire upstairs back to just the bricks and have opened up a door to connect the two apartments together.

In February 2026, Sophie and Matthew began ripping up the carpets in the downstairs hallway and found a small wooden hatch in the floorboards.

At first, they thought assumed it was just access to pipes below the house, but then Sophie realised that there was a blocked-up window at the back of the house, so decided to investigate.

"I thought surely if there's a window right at the bottom of the house, there must have been something there at some point," she said.

The couple opened the hatch with a crowbar and were amazed when they discovered a huge 23sqm cellar with 2m high ceilings, one corridor and two rooms.

A survey of the property had not picked up the cellar at all, leaving the couple gobsmacked.

Sophie has worked out the extra value the cellar could add to the house by square metre and estimates that the property could now be worth £70,000 more.

She plans to use the space as a utility room, but also create a movie room, and install a slide that goes from a secret cupboard in the kitchen down to the cellar.

The couple also think there may be even more hidden space in the cellar, as the current space only covers half of the blueprint on the house.

To check this, they need to install a lintel, to make the ceiling structurally sound, so that they can then knock the wall down, and see if there is any extra space.

If there is Sophie plans to use the extra space to create a DIY workshop.