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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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When a homeowner decided to explore the space underneath the floorboards of his 17th-century property, he was shocked to discover something hidden there: a key.
Everybody loves a good mystery. In his 1994 study, The Psychology of Curiosity: A Review and Reinterpretation, psychologist George Loewenstein put forward what he termed the "information-gap theory."
Loewenstein argued that people become especially curious about a particular subject when they identify a gap between what they know and what they want to know. Unsolved mysteries tap into this instinct. They are compelling because they present a version of that gap and motivate us to close it.
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James lives on an estate in the English countryside. It lies somewhere in the Midlands region, though James has asked that his surname and precise location be omitted from this story.
"We have been here for about 15 years," he told Newsweek. "I love it for the beauty of the estate, the setting, and the surrounding parkland."
In recent years, James has been offering glimpses of his home on TikTok, posting videos under the handle @englishcountryestate.
That is where the mystery began.
One day, James decided to show viewers what lay underneath the floorboards of his centuries-old home.
"There's always been a void accessible from the side, so it was really just curiosity to see what was under there," he said.
He never expected to find anything. However, as the torchlit camera panned across the dark space, a shape came into view. It was a key. A very large key.
"Initially, I didn't know it was even a key. I thought it was a door handle, but I suppose I was intrigued," James said.
In 17th-century England, country estates ranged from modest manor houses to grand aristocratic residences, and security was an important practical concern.
Doors were commonly secured with substantial iron locks, often using warded mechanisms in which internal wards prevented an incorrectly shaped key from turning the lock. More sophisticated locks could incorporate multiple wards or additional bolts, while heavy timber doors and iron fittings provided further protection. These mechanisms were functional rather than standardized, reflecting the craftsmanship and security needs of individual households.
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James is no stranger to the tropes of Gothic literature and admits that a tiny part of him wondered if they had "disturbed a sleeping secret" when he uncovered the key.
It didn't stop James from investigating what the key was for, though.
Through a process of elimination, he was able to determine its purpose.
"The key was so big, there's only a few locks it could have fitted, so it was quite easy to check," James said.
It quickly emerged that the key fit the door to a large pantry.
"The door was already open," he said. "It's quite a large part of the house, but it was nice to discover what the key was for. The estate dates back to the 17th century."
Quite how the key ended up hidden beneath the flooring remains a mystery. Was someone once held captive in that pantry? Or was it simply hidden there by a mischievous child?
James doesn't know. However, after his 15 years there, it's nice to know the house is still able to spring the occasional surprise.
While some may be tempted to modernize, the focus for James and his family is to keep the property "as it was."
"We are very much keen to preserve the building as it has always been," he said.
Still, he's not ruling out the possibility of a few more surprises in the years to come.
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