'Old Timers' are the many vernacular cottages and often deserted homes scattered across our rural landscape. The photo's that follow are a selection of some of the buildings in three counties.
Beneath the shroud of greenery lies a once handsome cottage with a tiled roof.
It caught my eye twenty odd years ago and I often wondered if anyone would appreciate its very private location and buy it, nobody did so nature has now taken over.
This one too has always attracted me. There were once figures on the porch roof but since the recent clean up they have sadly disappeared. I wonder if a 'For Sale' sign will shortly be seen, for it has a useful level field behind and would make a good wee home for someone with the energy to care for the place.
No hope for this old home I guess as it is only a couple feet from a busy road.
This old timer has seen it's folks move way and the present owner can see no value
in even maintaining it as a useful store. It is very sad to see unwarranted neglect.
A long house where music and yarns would have almost lifted the rafters off whilst the owners jigged the night away.
Once referred to as an Irish cabin, most likely thatched and now sheeted over with corrugated iron, then converted to a shed: the doorway increased in width to accommodate cattle.
All is not lost for this old gatehouse is now occupied and provides a sturdy home
for it's owners.
Yet another gatehouse that we often pass by.
This was the original gate lodge for Castle Bernard, renamed Kinnitty Castle.
The present entrance and driveway is now at Beech Lodge.
Beautiful Mel. But sad to see them go to wrack and ruin. Every time I pass one such cottage i always try to visualise the family that ince occupied it and the way of life they once had.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comments Mary. Our home would have gone the same way had I not purchased it, for the man who had inherited the place had not thought it was worth much until I made him an offer.
DeleteSad to see old houses go that way, ought to give them to the homeless A and help them make them liveable.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you, except that it takes initiative to do that and the problem is that these places are in rural areas where the occupier would need their own transport.
DeleteSad to see these homes disappear. I would love to rescue that cottage underneath all that greenery.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue am sure you would turn it into a comfortable home.
DeleteI love these old cottages and wonder what life was like in them, what families lived in them and how many children were brought up in them.
ReplyDeleteLife was very different in those days and yet people got by and family life was generally much stronger,
Deleteas for how many children ? Then I will quote a saying that you are probably familiar with " The rich get richer and the poor have children"
What beautiful cottages. What a pity they can't all be loved and lived in. Thanks for the photos
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment LA.
DeletePlease see my reply to Mac' n Janet above.
I always want to rescue these places I pass. Some are so beautiful. All have so much potential.
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do Mitchell !
DeleteHi Mel - lovely selection of 'old timers' - some will be saved, some will slowly be taken over by nature - providing lots of homes for lots of little critterly old timers! Lovely photos - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your critterly care Hilary :-)
DeleteHeron, apart from the romantic notion the practical side on Lewis (a similar area to parts of rural Ireland I would guess) is quite simply that people generally don't want to live in houses without damp-proof courses and modern insulation and facilities and being in very rural areas doesn't help either. The cost of renovation to modern building standards can often be more expensive than starting anew. I live in a former croft house which is nearly a century old but the alterations, extensions and additions over the years mean that only one re-rendered gable end of the original house can actually be seen. You have now set me the task of seeing if I can find any old timers on Lewis that are as characterful as yours.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment Graham and I agree, for yes it takes time, patience and money to bring about the necessary changes to the external walls in order to keep out the damp. We have made great strides by using damp proof paints and then plastering the walls and coating them with a preparation that raises the internal heat by two degrees. A slow deliberate slog but very worthwhile our place dates back to approximately 1800 and much of the floor is below ground level by 6 inches.
DeleteGreat post Heron. I once read that there is land in Ireland that nobody knows who it belongs too. You are right about the rural occupier needing transport and I often see new houses built next to an old ruin or semi derelict property here in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteHello Dave good to hear from you.
DeleteYes, I believe there are a few parcels of land around that have no known owners or title ; though probably by default they have now come under the protection of the OPW - I must enquire.
This is right up my alley, Melvyn!! I love old houses, their story, their past and future. Houses like these get my mind going and I can imagine all sorts of life once vivid within the walls. Fascinating to think of and a bit sad and melancholy to see them decay and disappear. On Swedish tv we last year had a show running on old houses and their new owners. The team had prepared a thorough research on houses and mansions taken over by young families with their mind set on restoring. The fascinating stories folding up in front of their eyes, maps, letters, pictures, documents.
ReplyDeleteYou would have loved it. And I love these pictures, good and keen eye you have, dear friend!!!
Hello Solveig !
DeleteThank you for your comment and I am certain that I would have enjoyed that TV presentation on old houses. For I have lived in a great many old properties. Some of them great old barns of places on three floors with umpteen rooms and intricate cellars that led from one area to another and displaying the supporting walls that were holding the whole building up. Every home that I have lived in has had a story
unique to it's self.
It's always sad to see once-loved homes left to fall into ruin. I especially love the second photograph, something romantic about that little home. I do hope the clean up means someone is going to love it again. I know a man who had a lovely home, and especially a beautiful garden, but he seemed to lose heart over time after his wife died and in the end he sold up. It has been rented out by its new owners to people who have no respect for others property, no thought to how the garden looks, a garden that was once someones pride and joy has now become a repository for a teenagers cigarette butts and a toilet for the cat. Shameful. Sad. Thanks for visiting my blog... like this one of yours!
ReplyDeleteYes, Edwina I can understand the sadness of seeing a once loved home fall into ruin.
DeleteThere is though the ever over riding power of nature that swallows every ruin in time with a varied plant life to provide homes for the little creatures.
Long ago I was a small boy who used to walk past the bomb sites from WW II. Bombed homes in the main, that were covered in wild plants with masses of Buddleia that attracted the butterfly's and so I saw this great contrast of destruction decorated with a natural beauty.
Thank you for leaving a comment.
One of those gatehouses would be most fun to inhabit. I wonder what tales they might tell if their walls could share them. Enjoyed my visit here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and commenting Midlife R'tripper.
DeleteThere stories would be numerous and varied in many ways of that I am certain.
I love that 'oldtimers' name. It's great that a couple of them are still lived in, but I hope a few more can be saved! Wouldn't it ba wonderful to see the renovated! But if not, Hilary is right...they can still provide shelter for the other rural inhabitants :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your considerations and comment Val.
DeleteGreat to take a look at this neglected selection of buildings Mel even if it is sad to reflect on what they once were. More and more of these types of buildings are being brought back to use in Devon as holiday homes are ever more popular. This may be a reflection of the current state of the World and terrorism threats of course.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why people would be revamping up these types of buildings in Devon. After all look at what they have: azure sea colours, scenic views, Dartmoor, cider, clotted cream teas and glorious rain for six days out of seven - at times :-)
DeleteThank you for commenting