Tuesday 18 July 2017

Three rural wrecks in Southern England


Let's talk wrecks. Tumbling-walls, greenery-clothed, rain-soaked wrecks. My three picks today are at different stages of wreckiness and definitely a step beyond your average do-up.
Starting with this former school in Suffolk. The Old School was built in 1872 and closed during the war, it's been abandoned since then.
Seventy years later, the Johnsons have had outline plans drawn up and approved to turn it into a three-bed home and it's on the market at £160k.
The Old School is in the tiny village of Redlingfield, around four miles from the market town of Eye and seven from Diss.
It's basically the school hall with its two entrances, sitting on a reasonable-size plot of land in a pretty setting. Here's how it looked in its glory days:


Here's the school today:






I do hate to see lovely buildings neglected by their owners.
On the market through Durrants with a guide price of £160k. More here and here.
Reader Ollie told me about the derelict former country mansion, below, in Essex. It's such a mess that I struggled to find an appealing picture - that, plus the £1.5m price tag will put it out of reach of probably all of you. However, it's another example of gorgeous building sinfully left to rot.
This is how Ford Place once looked:



And here's Ford Place now:




Ford Place is at North Stifford, or possible South Ockenden (it was bit unclear), on Stifford Hill. There's some fascinating background on the building here, and on here on previous attempts to redevelop the site.
Ford Place is Grade II listed (having lost its Grade I listing following a fire) and comes with around five acres, including a listed walled garden/courtyard.
On the market through Quirk Deacon, details here. Incidentally, last year it was on the market at £1.25m, and in 2010 at £750k. Seems the value is in the land Ford Place sits on, rather than the building.


My final pick - above and below - looks pretty much normal after those two wrecks. It's only really the missing floor covered by a grubby carpet that gives it away:


Derelict it may be, but it's also a nicely-shaped, detached cottage in a lovely rural setting just outside the small village of Broomsgreen, Gloucestershire.


There are three rooms and a bathroom downstairs, and upstairs three bedrooms and a large "landing room/bedroom".
Outside is a garden, carport and conservatory (which you'll want to replace).
On the market through John Goodwin at £185k. Details here and here.