Brendas house
Hi Brenda, I read your email with interest. Its quite amazing how you have gathered such a complete history of your home. Restoration work of the kind you are undertaking is really an act of love . Can you let me have the photopoint address ? I have always made a point of trying to trace the history of the houses I have lived in. At a cottage I once owned in the UK , we invited several old people from the village. It was well worth the supply of sherry and nibbles. Old photos turned up , information about previous owners etc. Our current ( and hopefully last home ) was built in 1917 - 1918. . Here is the ' potted history ' The original owner was a rich man who had returned from the Belgian congo , by all accounts with a wheelbarrow or two of gold. He had the house built to his excact requirements. It was the custom in those days to build a replica of the house you had in Africa. So perhaps there is another one out there somewhere. Most of the original fittings , such as marble mantlepeices and marble floors are still intact. The ohuse has not undergone any structural changes. We have the names of all the owners. We are only the fourth owner. It was once owned by a dubious character who used the cellars as an illegal alcohol still. The house is isolated so ideal for such activities. He was caught when he turned his car around to sharp to avoid the police. The house became the property of the state. The next owner kept it for fourty or more years , and restored it. The lady that moved in remebers helping the workers as they marked out the land lot. The owner before us lived there ten years and did ZERO. Leaky pipes , leaky gutters leaky roof etc etc........... Its funny how these houses are just sitting around for someone like us DIY"ers !! Your house is of great interest historically as well. Immigrants workers making their mark .I wolud like to see phots to compare with stone houses in Scotland and Germany. Bye for now Kevin
Brenda, A good looking house , not the sort of home thats going to fall apart in the wind ! It reminds me of stone houses in Europe. Cannot think where at the moment. Scotland has its fair share of stone built houses , although generally more austere looking . If I see something similar I will take a shot. You mention comments from neighbours. They really like to tell you , with absolute glee , any horrible little episode they can recall. Here are some we heard. " You will never be able to grow trees in your garden............its far to windy." This is despite the fact that we are surrounded by trees 360°. The fruit trees we planted have not blown away yet. "Oh you have bought a bit of a wreck there " As work progresses , its now changed to " Super old house , lots to do though " " Those window frames are rotten , it will cost you a fortune " Those window frames are looking just great now , stripped of the old naff green paint , and treated to some decent ' sadolin ' They are oak , some over eighty years old. Far from being soft they were like concrete. I could go on , but you get the idea. We used to have leaded glass , with a dark green tint. It was like living in a fish tank. Now we have clear glass , 38 panes replaced. A nasty , long , and messy job. You HAD to break them out. I must confess , that I got two workers in for that job. We live in the Belgian Ardennes. Twenty minutes from France , one hour from , Germany , Luxembourg and Holland. I will freshen up the album and post the address , so you can see the house. I think it was Dale , who reckons it looks like lots of houses in the US. Kevin and Laura Ashley
When my husband and I purchased our first house, we thought we were in clover. We just loved that little house. The neighbours came around to meet us and have a squizzy at the house. One said to the other "Wow! They [previous owners] sure did this up good. You can hardly tell it has been eaten apart by white ants![termites]" Dianna
Dianna wrote, . Yep , thats the kind of neighbour I am talking about. Don't you just love ' em.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kevin