Dorset couple find 17th-century treasure hoard while renovating kitchen

‘Poorton coin hoard’, discovered under floor by Betty and Robert Fooks, expected to fetch £35,000 at auction

Renovating a kitchen can be expensive but a couple from Dorset have found it to be a lucrative exercise after they discovered more than 1,000 17th-century coins hidden under the floor.

Betty and Robert Fooks were removing the kitchen’s concrete floor to create more ceiling height at their farmhouse in Dorset when Robert, an agricultural engineer, discovered a smashed glazed pottery bowl full of 400-year-old coins.