Take a seat

Do you remember this Derelict Thursday blip? At the time I commented that it was a shame this piece of village history had been left to rack and ruin for 50 years or more. Well, just after Christmas, our neighbour Pamphyle told us he had succeeded in buying it. He's a man who likes a challenge. The house he lives in for part of the year was in a pretty ropy state when he bought it five years ago and he and his wife have done most of the fixing up themselves, with the aid of friends and family. But it is positively robust compared to the chateau.

Today he took us for a look round. Eleven truck loads of pigeon shit and assorted rubbish have been taken to the tip in the last few months, so you can now see just how much there is to do just to make the place safe. Conditions for taking photos weren't good as there's no electricity and it's pretty dark in there. So I just took a few snaps -- I'll have to go back with a tripod. 

The blip is of just a few of the objects in the "kitchen" -- including a wool carding machine, a device for warming beds, leatherworking tools, scythes, pitchforks, secateurs, a grandfather clock, and much more. Armed with torches we tiptoed through the rubble in the rest of the massive building, avoiding the holes in the floors and oohing and ahing over the magnificent stairwell with walls carefully painted to look like dressed stone, the beautiful chimney pieces that had mostly survived the collapse of the chimneys themselves. gorgeous encaustic tiles intact under the debris (see extra photo), and rotting but still beautiful doors and windows (see extra). Freespiral and Himself would be in their element! 

Although he can't do much to it now as the builder can't come to do the roof till September, Pamphyle has already decided to use the relatively safe ground floor as a venue for this summer's art exhibition, with just minimal removal of dust and debris. We couldn't have hoped for a better person to bring this relic to life.