I'll get the negative news out of the way first!
"Dream" House
After the owner confirmed the viewing B and I went along yesterday to view the "tower" house. But there was no-one in! Exterior wise the house looked as perfect as the photos and you could easily access the back garden which was open to the side of the house. (I only poked my head round briefly to see if the owners were in the garden as I didn't want to be accused of trespassing!) Its half an acre and much much better than the photos suggest - there were even ornate "stately home" type fountains!. Although as B said he would be fencing the side access to the garden off if he owned it as there was nothing to stop anyone walking in. We waited for about 25 minutes and chatted to the neighbours a nice couple in their forties who knew little about the owners although they did mention the rather worrying (alarm bells ringing) news that not only had the house been on the market a year ago but it was also on the market the year before as they had viewed it themselves before buying the house next door!! Anyway I tried to arrange another viewing for tomorrow only to get an email this morning from Purple Bricks saying the viewing was cancelled as the house had been withdrawn from the market! All details have already been removed from the website - the owner never even replied to the polite message I had sent after yesterday's failure! In fact now I wish I had taken my camera as I could have got a few photos of the back garden to show you!
Yes, I am very disappointed because I could easily have moved into that house tomorrow. But in a way it is a relief as it was at the very top of our budget and would have depleted our savings a lot. Also we would have to sell this house in one heck of a rush, and probably have strangers trooping round which would be worrying. If I am honest being in the middle of a pandemic is probably not the right time for me to consider moving. Even worse we could have gone ahead with the purchase only to have the owners pull out on us at the last minute. I don't know what happened last year or who pulled out but the house was showing on the website until late last year as sold subject to contract and then eventually disappeared until last week. What we shall do now I really don't know? - no other house locally would ever for me measure up to that one.
For now once plans next door are submitted to the Planning Department we shall fight them all the way. And if as will probably happen, seeing some of the monstrous extensions round here, they get approval we may well just have to put up with the noise, dust and disruption even if it is for months. The trouble is planning regulations seem to have been relaxed that much that "anything goes". We did wonder if the rule that you can't extend your house more than 50% of the original size still existed as they have already exceeded that (or rather they and the people who lived there before). It is difficult to make head or tail of information on planning sites! We may change our minds in a week or so but at the moment my emotions are too high to consider the best course of action.
Note to MillyMollyMandy re: photo size. All being well if you click on the first photo it will take you to a gallery where pictures are a much larger size.
Anyway on Saturday D and I had a nice afternoon out.
We went along to the village of Fillongley, North Warwickshire, in search of a motte and bailey castle. There are two sites where there are earthworks - one at Castle Hills and one at Castle Yard and it is the latter we went to seek as I knew there was a public footpath that crossed it.
Here are the earthworks, banks and ditches. It is believed it was founded by Johannes de Hastings in 1301 and became the Hastings chief residence in Warwickshire.
There are fragments of masonry which appear to be the remains of a rectangular building possibly a keep.
Afterwards we went a walk round the village which was very quiet and made me think it may be worth visiting one of the less well known "black and white" villages in Herefordshire next time we are there.
St Mary and All Saints which I visited a few weeks ago.
Part of Alpha House built 1612.
VJ Day Celebrations at one house.
Bournebrook School by John Cotton 1877
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) weather vane.
The Statue is entitled "The Family" and is by Graeme Mitcheson (2011)
We walked back through the churchyard - there are two Crosses - one 15th century restored by Bodley Garner 1896.
Reading
I read this book recently on places to see nature in Warwickshire. Many locations I was aware of as they are Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Reserves but I did find quite a few new places to visit in the future.
Garden
Tomatoes are forming at long last!
Phlox and Golden Rod
Water Mint by the pond and
Agapanthus will soon be in flower.
Apologies for some reason several photos seem to have appeared twice! (Really not feeling very with it today - another bad night's sleep!!)
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 (I haven't yet had time to upload D's Fillongley photos!)
Reference: The Buildings of England Warwickshire (Pevsner)
Our Warwickshire website
13 comments:
So sorry your viewing fell through, they sound rather rude, and talking to the neighbours maybe this is not a bad thing, for obviously something must be amiss. A beautiful period property here was on the market for several years at a good price but never sold. Then a friend viewed it and told me why. It was multi coloured inside with damp and mould which would have cost thousands to put right. I don't blame you not wanting to get involved in moving now, and having strangers in, goodness only knows where that could end up now. Glad you managed a good walk. It's lovely to see window boxes looking full and well kept.
Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much - yes they do seem rude. I don't know if they know where we live which thankfully is only 20 minutes away but we could have travelled for hours! The inside of this one from photos (have found a lot more!) looks fine but I have also discovered it has been on the market 6 times in 5 years!!! with different estate agents so there is something weird going on. Glad I spoke to neighbours as I was forewarned in a way. Sadly, OH is now trying to interest me in barn conversions and modern houses in the same area but really they can't compare!
Yes walk did us good and I forgot the bombshell from next door the whole time! My son doesn't want to move and he was down so a trip did him good.
Oh, how disappointing is that? and so rude to let you book and then let you down. The Universe seems to have it in for us both ref. being hopeful about houses - the one we loved was marked sold, then came back on next day, then the following Monday was sold again. . . We tried, we really did. I guess it wasn't for us, and the one with the turret not for you either. Something better will come along.
At least you and your son got out for a change of scenery at the old motte and bailey site. Lovely photos from that.
We are more than ready for a day out too - they are so rare, and then the last one ended in disaster! Now with Green Flag so the RAC can go shoot themselves!
What a dreadful thing to do. You could have travelled miles to see the house. At least they should have had the courtesy to stay at home and tell you they had decided not to sell. It was good to get some feedback from the neighbours as it does all sond a bit strange. I hope that once the plans for next door have been submitted you can see them and perhaps put in objections if not to all then perhaps to some parts of it. Fillongley village and nature reserve look wonderful and a nice break from all your house worries:)
Bovey Belle - Thanks so much for your kind words. Yes, all you can tell yourself is that it wasn't meant to be! Initially it seemed "fate" that it came back on the market the day before neighbour dropped the bombshell but now all I am left with is the bombshell! The house I have discovered has been on the market 6 x in the last 5 years so there is something very strange going on. Hope you sell soon and find your perfect house too :)
I do find going out takes my mind off problems but then as you say days out so rare atm!
I will remember that about the RAC - not sure who we are with - I think we were given a year's cover with someone or other when we bought the car last year. So sorry about the horrendous experience you had :(
Rosie - Thanks so much for kind words. We thought the same - we could have travelled a long way - it really was rude of them. Have now discovered that, as mentioned above, the house has been on the market 6 x in 5 years!!! mainly with different estate agents. So there is something very weird going on.
Just trying not to think too much of neighbours at the moment as I have started sleeping badly again. What an awful year we are all having. When I've calmed down a bit I will start decluttering more here - we really do need to put a new kitchen in but like everything at the moment it doesn't seem the right time :(
Yes Fillongley is a nice village and good to get out for a few hours.
Hi Caroline - I've been reading your posts in the wrong order, first thinking MOVING??? What have I missed lately! Then I read the next post and all became clear. What a shame the viewing didn't happen. I don't think you should buy a house in a rush though - after all, it may be more difficult to sell yours if there is building work going on. But I can understand how you feel. We were extremely lucky that we moved just before a huge wind turbine was to be constructed very close to my old hamlet and would have been visible from the back garden. My old neighbours formed an association and were up in arms about it! We of course are very pleased we sold when we did!
About the photos. I think your previous ones used to open up individually when I clicked on them, whereas now all of them open and I can just click on the next one and see them all. However you can post them in various different sizes with Blogger. Mine are large, and there is medium, small and original size (which is huge unless photos are reduced!). I think most people don't bother to click and view larger so I like mine to show up on the post itself as best as possible.
Yes I do resize mine, because I edit all my photos, then add a watermark then resize, usually to 1500 pixels longest side. Then if anyone wants to steal a photo, it's watermarked and not best quality as it is reduced in size. There is also embedded copyright info within my photos. I use Lightroom to do all this. It takes ages doing all this with my photos which is one reason why I get put off blogging as it just takes sooo long. Also the html is different in the new blogger so getting the layout right takes longer. By the way I've remembered Control + makes text bigger on the screen!!! lol :-)
Anyway, I enjoyed all your photos and love your new little garden at the caravan. Great having all those birds visiting already.
Mxx
MillyMollyMandy - Thanks so much! Would be confusing if posts read out of order! We were hoping we could sell and move out of ours before the building work commenced! although of course if they had got planning permission it would show up on searches. No doubt would affect sale value of our property :( I still can't believe this news to be honest.It is like a bad dream!! You were fortunate indeed to escape when you did! I do agree about buying or selling in a rush though.
Yes I know you can change photo size - may try large when I have a few photos - just didn't want to use it when I posted loads!
I should watermark mine too to be honest. I won't go into too many details as the company did end up paying me some money but a few years ago my son saw in a plant nursery a range of items with one of my photos on it which had obviously been used from my blog without permission. I complained to company and they did pay some money for use in the end but it was a heck of a shock and shows you should water mark them! But as you say takes so long and it would put me off blogging! Glad you remembered how to make text bigger I knew there was a way.
Still not used new blogger although I am sure I will have to eventually.
Take care :)
So very sorry, RR, that things have not unfolded in the way they might have done, but at least you are spared the anxiety of viewers for your property at this point in the pandemic. This would certainly be a big worry to me, especially as my gov-shielding only paused at the start of August. I'm so sorry it leaves you with this situation to face, but I expect your days in Herefordshire will be even more special. I'm sorry you have had photo/s taken from your blog without permission: perhaps I have without knowing. However, I have valued the polite requests I have received over the years for, e.g. a charity Christmas CD cover and a Welsh holiday home brochure. As for going over to the new Blogger, I dread it!
Caroline Gill - thanks so much for your kind words. It could have been worse - owners sound somewhat unreliable so we could have gone ahead only to find them pull out way down the line! OH still wants to move unfortunately but I am not going to move for the sake of it - that house was special so I could have made an exception. As you say worst possible time to sell and move!
Yes I have had polite permission requests to for charities or history organisations and the odd person doing a project which I am always happy to agree to but this was someone taking it without permission to use and make a profit! I was not happy at the time although it was resolved amicably in the end. But when I see that range now I still shudder although they did also send me some free samples!
Thanks for your reply, Caroline. I have found a few of my photos being used on the net and I emailed one organisation and asked them to take it down. They did and apologised, but it is amazing in this day and age that anyone should still think that all images on the web are theirs for the taking! Most people ask or at least link back to my blog or just credit me without asking which is OK. I'm glad you got some money for your stolen image though I can imagine the shock! :-)
MillyMollyMandy - thanks so much. I was going to ask them to stop using it but the range had been on a market for a year so Company agreed to pay commission for that year and in the future. Although the range has now been withdrawn so no more money! It was a shock son and I were in Herefordshire and stopped of at a nurseries on way home. I went looking for hop garlands so wasn't with my son. 10 Minutes on journey home he announces there is a range of stuff in that place using your "*****" image. Luckily he had taken a photo and it didn't take long to track down the company. They tried to come the nonsense that it was freely available on internet so they were entitled to use it but I told them in no uncertain terms that I retained the copyright. Couldn't face a court case as I was up to my eyes in trying to get a relative out of mum's house so it could be sold so I just accepted the money offered after turning down their original offer which was peanuts!!! Since then I've seen lots of the stuff on sale in touristy type shops.
I am always happy when people email to ask as mainly it is for history organisations/charities or kids doing a school project. But it is nice to be asked and to be credited! :)
I am sorry your viewing fell through. Reading your previous posts the owners of the property seem annoying.
CherryPie - Thank you - there is something very strange about it all!!!!
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