A couple were left stunned when they found a medieval gargoyle imp hidden above their loo.
Tracy and Rory Vorster discovered the stone-carved sprite concealed under a wooden panel in their bathroom.
Cyber security worker Rory, 41, was scrubbing the toilet when he made the "grotesque" discovery.
The couple took to social media for answers after removing the shelf above the toilet in their Grade-I listed home last Sunday (14/4).
Experts at Lincoln Cathedral believe the ghoulish figure forms part of a historical drainage system dating back to the 14th century.
Dad-of-three Rory said: “I couldn’t believe it. I shouted up to my wife and said ‘I’ve found a thing.
“The whole of the house has kind of a hollow walling, so we immediately thought there could be more, in fact we’re almost certain now.
“The previous occupant had been here for over 20 years, so surely they knew, but we had absolutely no clue it was there.”
The couple only moved into the 700-year-old home on March 1 but lived a few doors down in another home which Tracy says is "haunted".
Spray salon owner Tracy, 40, said: “I think the funniest part of it was that I was so moody with Rory and said ‘please can you go clean the bathroom’.
"It all came about from our spat about not cleaning the bathroom. Had it not been for him he wouldn’t have found it. I thought it was a shelf.
“I thought it was really interesting and I asked on a group on Facebook.
“The cathedral have it logged as a drainage system. Not entirely sure why they decided to cover it up.
"It was well documented, but not that many people around here know it. It’s been documented to the 14th century.
"It would have been for a vicar. A lot of people implied a cult, but I thought it was like a kitchen sink.”
Their home on Vicars Court is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and is believed to be the home of a former vicar.
A Survey of Ancient Houses in Lincoln vol II: Houses to the South and West of the Minster in 1887 first recorded the carving as a “grotesque mask which forms the drain.”
Tracy added: “We lived in number 4 before and didn’t find anything interesting there. We live down the road.
"We moved here a month and a half ago which is why we didn’t explore that window sill. We have 12 rooms, it’s quite a large house.
“Because we don’t own the house we can’t just pull down the wall. If we were to break something down the cathedral probably.
“My plans for it are to just enjoy it because of how interesting it is. I have a desire to upkeep it.
“Number 4 was definitely haunted, that’s why we ended up leaving. I haven’t seen it in this house. I had a lot of strange dreams there.
“It makes it even more special. The house is so interesting, so I was almost expecting it to be honest.”
Tracy and Rory Vorster discovered the stone-carved sprite concealed under a wooden panel in their bathroom.
Cyber security worker Rory, 41, was scrubbing the toilet when he made the "grotesque" discovery.
The couple took to social media for answers after removing the shelf above the toilet in their Grade-I listed home last Sunday (14/4).
Experts at Lincoln Cathedral believe the ghoulish figure forms part of a historical drainage system dating back to the 14th century.
Dad-of-three Rory said: “I couldn’t believe it. I shouted up to my wife and said ‘I’ve found a thing.
“The whole of the house has kind of a hollow walling, so we immediately thought there could be more, in fact we’re almost certain now.
“The previous occupant had been here for over 20 years, so surely they knew, but we had absolutely no clue it was there.”
The couple only moved into the 700-year-old home on March 1 but lived a few doors down in another home which Tracy says is "haunted".
Spray salon owner Tracy, 40, said: “I think the funniest part of it was that I was so moody with Rory and said ‘please can you go clean the bathroom’.
"It all came about from our spat about not cleaning the bathroom. Had it not been for him he wouldn’t have found it. I thought it was a shelf.
“I thought it was really interesting and I asked on a group on Facebook.
“The cathedral have it logged as a drainage system. Not entirely sure why they decided to cover it up.
"It was well documented, but not that many people around here know it. It’s been documented to the 14th century.
"It would have been for a vicar. A lot of people implied a cult, but I thought it was like a kitchen sink.”
Their home on Vicars Court is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and is believed to be the home of a former vicar.
A Survey of Ancient Houses in Lincoln vol II: Houses to the South and West of the Minster in 1887 first recorded the carving as a “grotesque mask which forms the drain.”
Tracy added: “We lived in number 4 before and didn’t find anything interesting there. We live down the road.
"We moved here a month and a half ago which is why we didn’t explore that window sill. We have 12 rooms, it’s quite a large house.
“Because we don’t own the house we can’t just pull down the wall. If we were to break something down the cathedral probably.
“My plans for it are to just enjoy it because of how interesting it is. I have a desire to upkeep it.
“Number 4 was definitely haunted, that’s why we ended up leaving. I haven’t seen it in this house. I had a lot of strange dreams there.
“It makes it even more special. The house is so interesting, so I was almost expecting it to be honest.”
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FunTranscript
00:00 I'm Tracy Foster from Lincoln.
00:07 Well we found the imp this past Sunday while we were doing a regular clean.
00:11 I had asked my husband to clean the bathroom for me and I suppose he got bored of cleaning
00:16 and decided to explore the bathroom more than I would have.
00:21 And he came across this and called me immediately to show me what he discovered.
00:25 I mean we were extremely surprised.
00:27 I didn't quite realise the scale of what it was I guess.
00:31 I just thought oh that's quite cool, that's an interesting thing.
00:34 It was only until the next day that I investigated it that I realised in fact that it was more
00:39 than what I had realised it was.
00:41 I did think it was old because I know that everything around here is old and that the
00:45 beam downstairs is around 700 years old so I thought this is probably around the same
00:49 age.
00:50 But like I said because of where we lived it was almost like another day.
00:57 Because everywhere when you walk outside is like this.
00:59 I've spoken to a few experts already.
01:01 They have confirmed that it's a documented drain from the 14th century that was used
01:06 to flush water out of the house.
01:08 Like I said I would hopefully get permission to take the wood off and cover it with some
01:13 sort of strong glass but I would have to get permission from them because somebody decided
01:17 to cover it up but hopefully that was just somebody that chose it years ago.
01:21 The cathedral seemed to love the idea of the fact that it's here so I don't see a problem
01:26 with it but I will definitely get permission.
01:28 If I can do that then I would cover it up with glass, perhaps put one plant over it
01:33 that matches it just because they're like plants and leave it there for everyone to
01:36 see.
01:37 Thanks for watching!
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]