Doing the job we do, we are well-used to visiting many different properties, and types of properties. We have seen inside many great and wonderful buildings, and even more mundane and run-of-the-mill domestic properties. But every once in a while, you get a property that has been built on and extended many, many times, giving it a unique and almost magical feel.
That is what happened with this property. We don’t know when it was first built, but it had had many extensions and extras built onto it over the years. Located on a main road, linking many villages to the main towns in the area, it may date back to medieval times. Not the oldest property we have done a house clearance in, but certainly close.
The many extensions had certainly turns this property into a very higgledy-piggledy place. The extra stairs leading to rooms, the floors being at different level, and the hidden storage areas reminded me of the Weasleys house in Harry Potter.
Many of the original fixtures and fittings for the butchers shop remained in the property. This included not only the rails where the meat would hang, but also the original till for the money. We had a few interesting finds from the property. This included old Scalextric cars, an accordion and some furniture.
Unfortunately, as is often the case in these types of property, some furniture had been brought in, in ways that we couldn’t get it out again. The big wardrobe had been brought in through the window. Time has taken its toll on the window frame, and it was not an option to then take it back out this way. Therefore, the wardrobe had to be destroyed and taken down the stairs by hand.
This house clearance was completed within a couple of days, and the property left empty, ready for the new owners,