# The Hoarder's House, June '11



## mookster (Jun 9, 2011)

Following a rough idea and our nose, this was the last location on mine and Flubbera's trip today. After 4 sites we were exhausted but in high spirits. We knew the barns held a sizeable collection of cars but nothing prepared us for what we found inside the house itself.

A modest but overgrown two-up, two-down cottage looking to be at the very least 1700s in architecture probably wouldn't provide much interest to people - but the moral of the story is you never know what is behind the doors of even the most unassuming looking building. We had finished with the cars in the barn and decided to tramp through the undergrowth to the old farmhouse. One push of the front door and we were running back to the car to get torches, not quite believing what we were seeing inside.

Anyway, cars first. Here is some of what is out in the barns...it's a real shame that almost all of them are too far gone to save.

















































We moved onto the house. It took us about 15 minutes once inside to fully register in our minds what we were seeing. The first thing that hit us was the smell - the smell of tobacco mixed with the ancient wood-burning stove filled the air in the living room, floor and walls covered in _stuff_, one man's obsessive hoarding of, well, anything. We spent about half an hour in the small living room alone poking through the piles and piles of things in near-darkness. Things were tidier upstairs, but more personal. Cases piled on beds full of items, personal items laid out on dressers and wardrobes full of clothing. Part of it felt wrong sifting through a man and his wife's belongings but after a while that faded, and we tried to make sense of the huge amount of things in both upstairs bedrooms. In a draw we found a photo of his wife standing proudly outside the cottage, hidden in a book we found 3 (yes 3!) genuine four-leaf clovers. Books were stacked on the floor and in boxes, clothing everywhere. In the end me and Flubbera only scratched the surface of what could be in here.

I apologise in advance for the quality of some pics - the lighting was poor at best with trees growing up around the windows, and trying to manouvre a tripod around the clutter to find flat floor was hard!





































































If, on the off chance you do know where this is, can I request you keep it to yourself. Thanks.

More photos of the cars here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157626799477257/

And the house here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157626799573013/


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## Goldie87 (Jun 9, 2011)

Nice one, very interesting stuff.


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## gingrove (Jun 9, 2011)

Outstanding find ! some of the things in the pictures like the Micky Mouse Peep Scope and the sixties TV are amazing. Its such a pity that it will all end up stolen or burned rather than in a museum where it belongs


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## smiler (Jun 9, 2011)

Good One Mook,
I could happily spend a weekend just exploring the cottage; I sincerely hope you are able to keep its location a secret; it would be a shame if the scavengers found it. Thanks for Sharing, (I wouldn’t have)


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## rectory-rat (Jun 9, 2011)

A nice place and a very exiting find, many thanks for sharing 
If you don't mind could you tell me which county it is in

-RR


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## night crawler (Jun 9, 2011)

What a place and I did like the 1950/60's porn classic stuff.


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## Winch It In (Jun 9, 2011)

smiler said:


> it would be a shame if the scavengers found it.



Looks like someone has already been there, by the state of the Ford Capri MK1.


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## talkalot (Jun 9, 2011)

Actually some of these cars look worse than they are. im a mechanic/ valeter and do bodywork aswell. i wouldnt mind getting in touch with who ever owns these and trying to buy a few to restore them again  shame to see them like that :'(


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## RichardB (Jun 10, 2011)

Some amazing tat there. There doesn't seem to be much stuff newer than 1960s in the house, it's as if they ran out of hoarding space in 1970.

A great collection of cars too. I wonder how many people could identify the green car between the Capri and the HA Viva, it's by far the rarest of the lot.


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## Pincheck (Jun 10, 2011)

interesting stuff the one thing about these places a bit like farms they may look abandoned but you always have to be careful incase they are not!. So people have different ideas on how to live and these places are their refuge. Nice report


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## BahrainPete (Jun 10, 2011)

Fascinating find with so much to see - Thnx


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## audi-adam (Jun 10, 2011)

that citroen ds has to worth a few quid to the right person ! , what an incredible place , thanks for posting it up


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## Simon-G (Jun 10, 2011)

Wow those cars did it for me fantastic pics


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## Badoosh (Jun 10, 2011)

Wise to keep it's location out of the public domain. For me this is one of the best finds this year so far - reason, it's just one f those places where you walk in expecting little & then shaboom, the jaw hits the floor! Cracking photos to boot, top work Mooks!


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## mookster (Jun 10, 2011)

Badoosh said:


> Wise to keep it's location out of the public domain. For me this is one of the best finds this year so far - reason, it's just one f those places where you walk in expecting little & then shaboom, the jaw hits the floor! Cracking photos to boot, top work Mooks!



Cheers everyone, it was such an incredible surprise! I think we spent about 15 minutes just standing in the living room trying to take it all in....

I'll try my damndest to keep the name and location out of the public domain even if it kills me, don't worry


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## soranman (Jun 10, 2011)

Great report, what an amazing place. Out of interest, what sort of dates were the newspapers?


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## st33ly (Jun 10, 2011)

mookster said:


> Cheers everyone, it was such an incredible surprise! I think we spent about 15 minutes just standing in the living room trying to take it all in....
> 
> I'll try my damndest to keep the name and location out of the public domain even if it kills me, don't worry



Nice one mate.

I didn't go upstairs on my visit so i may have to take a trip back.
Most interesting find I think.


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## themousepolice (Jun 10, 2011)

st33ly said:


> Nice one mate.
> 
> I didn't go upstairs on my visit so i may have to take a trip back.
> Most interesting find I think.



yes i got a good idea where this is (local to me) but dont worry im not going to say where.


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## rectory-rat (Jun 10, 2011)

mookster said:


> I'll try my damndest to keep the name and location out of the public domain even if it kills me, don't worry



Good! My apologies for asking what county it was in, it is much more important that it is not found and ruined

-RR


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## Em_Ux (Jun 10, 2011)

Wow what a find!

I recently did a 'car graveyard' report so seems to be the season for finding cars!

Really interesting all the items in the house.

Thanks for sharing


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## podman (Jun 10, 2011)

RichardB said:


> .
> 
> A great collection of cars too. I wonder how many people could identify the green car between the Capri and the HA Viva, it's by far the rarest of the lot.



Looks like the semi legendary Talbot Tagora - quite possibly the blandist car ever built


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## kathyms (Jun 10, 2011)

*brilliant find*

this find is so much like the jimmy blanche home. i thought that was a one off but it proves there are other people that live as hermitscollecting everything that is important to them. i do love these finds they to me are better than any industrial site or ww2, to think that man lived in that house did he die there how long was he dead. morbid yes but sad as well, this was someones life. this is were we are important, recording the way things were / are the life of a man befor the pikeys chaves or just the eliments destroy it. thank you for that. wonder if he still watched his porn up to the end yuk.


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## blakey79 (Jun 10, 2011)

Wowowowowowowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww


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## mookster (Jun 11, 2011)

Thanks everybody - I'll be revisiting soon to have a further rummage, armed with disposable gloves and a dust mask.



soranman said:


> Great report, what an amazing place. Out of interest, what sort of dates were the newspapers?



The latest ones we found were dated around 2007ish if I remember correctly - they went back decades though


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## TeeJF (Jun 12, 2011)

gingrove said:


> Outstanding find ! some of the things in the pictures like the Micky Mouse Peep Scope and the sixties TV are amazing. Its such a pity that it will all end up stolen or burned rather than in a museum where it belongs



Can't an approrpiate and sympathetic place such as a museum be made aware of this stuff precisely so that it can be preserved? What does the law say about that sort of thing? I mean, I know it's technically still somebody's stuff as in the heir(s) of the original owners because I presume the house is abandoned due to death... it's a crying shame to see such interestting stuff rotting away! I suupose not...


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## waley_bean (Jun 12, 2011)

Wonderful find, really impressed!


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## mookster (Jun 12, 2011)

I paid a revisit today and found some people off of here (you know who you are!) who'd discovered it by doing some detective work of their own - My report was posted by some numpty on a Mini forum and the Mini and Jaguar have now 'mysteriously vanished' as well as a few choice items from the house.

Still an amazing rummage though, and it was nice to meet some new people totally by accident! Thanks to you all for a great day even if I only spoke to you briefly.

It seems the cat is already out the bag in some circles and I could do nothing to stop it short of not posting at all

Anyway here are a few more pics...I found the cards especially poignant.








































































More images are in the flickr sets.


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## Foxylady (Jun 12, 2011)

These are wonderful pics, Mooks. The games and annuals are fantastic.


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## kathyms (Jun 12, 2011)

*house*

mooks so now its over at least 2 other sites can you whisper were it is please befor its to late.


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## maximus (Jun 12, 2011)

*deja vue*

excellent post and pics mate.

pity the scavangers have visited .....I had that problem with the one and only thread I did,I'm not doing anymore,someone found out where it was and helped themselves to the poor old dears personal items,I was livid


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## themousepolice (Jun 13, 2011)

*car mongrels*

once again your info and pics are good, its the car numptys that are not.

the abandond car thread has more views than any other post which leads me to believe people have joined this site just to get locations of vehicles in order to steal the whole car or raccoon away parts. or am i generalising too much ?

no wonder they keep asking krela for cars to have their own section. its sad and not what we about surely.

maybe the Mods can get together for a solution or remedy before it esculates ?

am i the only one who thinks this way?

im going to bed depressed


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## mookster (Jun 13, 2011)

Same as this forum and others like it have the pikey scum and chavvy lowlife watching them, car forums also have the same type of idiots on there just looking for things to steal - and from what I gather the cars at least have been known about on one of the car forums for ages so they are no big secret to the classic car community, there were loads more cars out the back at one stage and they have all gone, and the recent drag marks inside the barn and shed indicated that there were cars there until not so long ago.


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## professor frink (Jun 13, 2011)

Nice one Mooks, I could spend all weekend in there mooching around all that stuff.

It's like a retro jumble sale, what was the porno like?


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## themousepolice (Jun 13, 2011)

mookster said:


> Same as this forum and others like it have the pikey scum and chavvy lowlife watching them, car forums also have the same type of idiots on there just looking for things to steal - and from what I gather the cars at least have been known about on one of the car forums for ages so they are no big secret to the classic car community, there were loads more cars out the back at one stage and they have all gone, and the recent drag marks inside the barn and shed indicated that there were cars there until not so long ago.



yes a bit green of me to assume it wasnt posted elsewhere, i was just writting with disapointment in my fingers last nite. who knows if it was the mini guys or not whove taken. at least you know the other guys there at the time now and if places like this are common knowledge on car sites then maybe we shouldnt aid them and the abandond car threads should be taken off. i dunno, thinking aloud really

things wont hang around long now that is certain and maybe you should let others on here know the location to give them a chance to see it. i am not a member of any other similar group and dont really want to be so i only see whats on here.

thanks again mook your threads are good. THEMOUSEPOLICE (THAT NEVER SLEEPS)


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## night crawler (Jun 13, 2011)

mookster said:


> I paid a revisit today and found some people off of here (you know who you are!) who'd discovered it by doing some detective work of their own - My report was posted by some numpty on a Mini forum and the Mini and Jaguar have now 'mysteriously vanished' as well as a few choice items from the house.
> 
> Still an amazing rummage though, and it was nice to meet some new people totally by accident! Thanks to you all for a great day even if I only spoke to you briefly.
> 
> ...


Problem is with places like that is there is always some one who lives nearby and knows where it is, the mini being a Mk1 is as rare as hens teeth and some one is always willing to try restoring it. The items that were taken can be sold on ebay or auction if they are worth anything. It's a sad world we live in that lowlife just take with no regard to others just to make a few quid.  You would have proably been better just showing some of the derilict parts and leving the choice bit's for a later time. BTW how long befro the toy's go.


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## kathyms (Jun 13, 2011)

themousepolice said:


> yes a bit green of me to assume it wasnt posted elsewhere, i was just writting with disapointment in my fingers last nite. who knows if it was the mini guys or not whove taken. at least you know the other guys there at the time now and if places like this are common knowledge on car sites then maybe we shouldnt aid them and the abandond car threads should be taken off. i dunno, thinking aloud really
> 
> things wont hang around long now that is certain and maybe you should let others on here know the location to give them a chance to see it. i am not a member of any other similar group and dont really want to be so i only see whats on here.
> 
> thanks again mook your threads are good. THEMOUSEPOLICE (THAT NEVER SLEEPS)



this is true, i dont wont to cause up set but the site im band from but can still read posts now had the exact same thread. mooks you may have put it on others as well its none of my buisness but this is how it doesnt take long to work things out if these people know what they are looking for. we cannot piont fingers at anyone even tho the offenders did put remarks in the dust lol.so please give us people a clue so we can find it and have a chance to see the priceless place befor its all gone.


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## mookster (Jun 13, 2011)

Yes there is a whole big debate raging on the 'other forum' now - all it took was one person to say 'oh this should have been in non-public' for it to start. 

And in hindsight maybe it should have stayed quiet for a bit - but my reasoning behind it was that whatever time I posted this in public the result would be the same, and the place would always end up stripped. I'd rather it has it's moment of glory on here than be hidden away on my hard drive for nobody to ever see, as I never don't show things I find on here and other forums. It's naive to believe that just because I don't show it, it means it won't be ruined or stripped anyway, and from conversations with others this place was going to be made public very soon anyway.

This place is a true once in a blue moon find, and to me at least it is important it got shown regardless of the consequences from members of the light-fingered community. The place is not unknown about at all, we were not the first inside the house as it had already been turned over and night crawler is right, the local scum always know where these places are without having to consult the forums - a heras fence is just an invitation for idiocy. However there was no way of just showing the derelict parts, the house is way too small so whatever photos I got of the rooms would have included loads of it anyway.


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## Em_Ux (Jun 13, 2011)

That's a real shame things have gone missing.

I for one enjoyed looking at your photos so thanks for sharing.


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## themousepolice (Jun 13, 2011)

mookster said:


> Yes there is a whole big debate raging on the 'other forum' now - all it took was one person to say 'oh this should have been in non-public' for it to start.
> 
> And in hindsight maybe it should have stayed quiet for a bit - but my reasoning behind it was that whatever time I posted this in public the result would be the same, and the place would always end up stripped. I'd rather it has it's moment of glory on here than be hidden away on my hard drive for nobody to ever see, as I never don't show things I find on here and other forums. It's naive to believe that just because I don't show it, it means it won't be ruined or stripped anyway, and from conversations with others this place was going to be made public very soon anyway.
> 
> This place is a true once in a blue moon find, and to me at least it is important it got shown regardless of the consequences from members of the light-fingered community. The place is not unknown about at all, we were not the first inside the house as it had already been turned over and night crawler is right, the local scum always know where these places are without having to consult the forums - a heras fence is just an invitation for idiocy. However there was no way of just showing the derelict parts, the house is way too small so whatever photos I got of the rooms would have included loads of it anyway.



yes your 100% correct. this place could of been trashed and stripped without any of us seeing it and someone else was bound to post it some place anyway, in time. you are to be comended or promoted as your 'invitation for idiocy' quote sums it up. thank you once again


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## eggbox (Jun 13, 2011)

Just an amazing place. So sad to think it will inevitably get robbed and chaved.


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## KingLewis92 (Jun 13, 2011)

I Was Reading This In College For Ages, & Even My Tutors Loved It!

& It Is Truly A Blue Moon Find! Its A Dam Shame About Things & Cars Going Missing...


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## Pincheck (Jun 13, 2011)

mookster said:


> Yes there is a whole big debate raging on the 'other forum' now - all it took was one person to say 'oh this should have been in non-public' for it to start.
> 
> And in hindsight maybe it should have stayed quiet for a bit - but my reasoning behind it was that whatever time I posted this in public the result would be the same, and the place would always end up stripped. I'd rather it has it's moment of glory on here than be hidden away on my hard drive for nobody to ever see, as I never don't show things I find on here and other forums. It's naive to believe that just because I don't show it, it means it won't be ruined or stripped anyway, and from conversations with others this place was going to be made public very soon anyway.
> 
> This place is a true once in a blue moon find, and to me at least it is important it got shown regardless of the consequences from members of the light-fingered community. The place is not unknown about at all, we were not the first inside the house as it had already been turned over and night crawler is right, the local scum always know where these places are without having to consult the forums - a heras fence is just an invitation for idiocy. However there was no way of just showing the derelict parts, the house is way too small so whatever photos I got of the rooms would have included loads of it anyway.



fair does your call mate, on what you do or report i would guess like you say local chav's now about it as you say, an well there are explorers with eBay tendencies we know off. 

nice pics all the same interesting stuff one of the reasons why i no longer post fresh places up much now and the same goes for a number of other Scottish explorers i now off. Just one of those things its all down to a personal call by the explorer who visits, there is nothing written in stone saying you have to share or not things , its a call made by the explorer guys.The only way to see stuff is get yourself out and do it if you really want to see it. Then its your choice and its all individual choices so chill out


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## wagg20 (Jun 13, 2011)

Wonderful Find. Did you manage to take a photograph of the 'photogograph of the wife outside the cottage' that you discovered in the draw? Would be interesting to see what the previous owner looked like.


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## hamishsfriend (Jun 13, 2011)

*mookster* - At least you got there in time to record what there has been, and that is great! 

I don't think that, in our day and age, these places can be kept secret. I have, however, decided a while ago to withhold info concerning locations (unless a place is widely known already) in public posts. But as has been said already by other contributors, people will find them sooner or later, and some are only too happy to let everybody else know, after they've been there and taken their pictures.


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## night crawler (Jun 13, 2011)

Well I can see who could be to blame for posting the pictures considering they use the same avatar on both forums. The temptation was too great for some one to make a quick buck on and there are some unscrupulous people only too willing to take advantage.


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## kathyms (Jun 14, 2011)

*avitars*

ok crawler, ill be looking at avitars now. mmm miss marples isnt my middle name for nothing. oh and murphy did darken my door, but thats a different story lol.


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## talkalot (Jun 14, 2011)

*.*

Well i was interested in the cars and i wanted one.... but... i wanted to do it the legal way because half of these cars are extremely rare and deserve a fighting chance to be restored and maybe to go on the road once again and to obviously be treasured by the collector. I will assure you that ive not been down there taking them as i still dont know of the place or its location.

However i would love to know where it is because really... would you prefer these cars being hacked to pieces by stupid chavvy pikeys or to them going to collector and seeing them at classic car shows? your choice, give it 6months and they probably wont exist anymore let alone the belongings in that house.

You need to act quick!


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## Badoosh (Jun 14, 2011)

talkalot said:


> Well i was interested in the cars and i wanted one.... but... i wanted to do it the legal way because half of these cars are extremely rare and deserve a fighting chance to be restored and maybe to go on the road once again and to obviously be treasured by the collector. I will assure you that ive not been down there taking them as i still dont know of the place or its location.
> 
> However i would love to know where it is because really... would you prefer these cars being hacked to pieces by stupid chavvy pikeys or to them going to collector and seeing them at classic car shows? your choice, give it 6months and they probably wont exist anymore let alone the belongings in that house.
> 
> You need to act quick!



Me thinks you're too late, & every man & his horse n cart is on the case but anything is worth a try.

Why does everybody keep asking for the location, it's not exactly difficult to obtain this now with a little time & effort without asking on forums or bugging Mookster for the location.

I for one would love to see the cars end up in the right hands & restored to their former glory so good luck!


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## TeeJF (Jun 14, 2011)

Once again I'm appalled to see such touching history being destroyed by scum bags. The stuff you have shown us is amazing. By the way, I used to have some of that talc years ago...


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## smiler (Jun 14, 2011)

I am so sorry the scavengers found this place, it must be one of the best finds ever posted, as I said in my first reply, Thanks for Sharing (I wouldn’t have) but it was your find and your choice and your right to post, sometimes we have to learn from our own mistakes.
Stay Safe.


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## themousepolice (Jun 14, 2011)

went today. anything of relative value is missing from the house (1960's reel to reel porn, various projectors, nik-naks, old toys, boxed games etc). this is recent, last 5 days.
took the oppotunity to record all registration numbers of vehicles and where i could all details on plate inside the bonnets
someone has attempted to 'dig out' the mk 1 capri from where it sits and the citroen DS as been disturbed and maybe poised to go next.
stopped short of contacting CID but through some disscussions with locals and the 2 nearest dwellings i learnt alot and things are progressing. thats all about i can say.

have lots of pictures and may if its the correct thing to do, post them on here. may omit the car pics as theives riding on the back of 'our' site doesnt sit too well with me


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## Potter (Jun 14, 2011)

Pure wow.

I'd rather stuff be saved than destroyed.


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## sYnc_below (Jun 14, 2011)

themousepolice said:


> went today. anything of relative value is missing from the house



Inevitable really, it was doomed the minute it got outed.


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## themousepolice (Jun 14, 2011)

tocsin_bang said:


> Inevitable really, it was doomed the minute it got outed.



yes ive been through the emotions of what is correct and the why and should we shouldnt we etc. the enevitablity of it all is the only answer wether we are part of it or not. doesnt make it right but hey what can we do................
so before everyone is pig sick of the subject and the location i will post some pics from today in a minute and give jolly mooksters page a rest. thank you Bang


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## neill (Jun 14, 2011)

This was the best find of an abandoned house I've seen this year. I too loved the pictures of classic toys and vintage porn. The 50's TV was a gem.

I have been watching the debate raging over the last few days about the items taken taken / stolen from the site, not to mention the cars that have been taken, and should such special finds be posted or kept secret 

The great thing about DP is that these finds* are *shared and posted. However, I think we could all learn a lesson from this. I personally would have posted the interior pics of the house without any reference to the cars, so that the light fingered lot would not be give a clue as to where it. 

As for posting the cars I would have made a separate post at a later date. These cars would have been taken away at some time or other, by someone or 'others'. The one occasion I found a rare car that had been abandoned and forgotten, I contacted someone I knew who would do the right thing and see it was rescued by a restorer.

Keep the reports coming, we just all have to* think *about how we post finds!


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## Acebikerchick (Jun 14, 2011)

WOW!!! You are so lucky to have seen this when you did.....wonderful photos...


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## mookster (Jun 14, 2011)

The bottom line is though this place would have had the same outcome if I posted it or the next bugger who stumbled across it posted it, the place wasn't unknown about this has just dramatically accelerated it's decline.

But where is the fun in not sharing things? Keeping them hidden away on a hard drive because you deem them 'too good' is just selfish. I go to places for them to be seen, I don't keep photos tucked away because half the fun is sharing what we find with others. Those who post saying 'oh I go to places but don't post them up' are either full of bullshit or just purely selfish.


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## mookster (Jun 15, 2011)

*edit* now resolved. Proved not guilty by association.


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