# Ruined Manor and stables



## tumble112 (Apr 29, 2014)

This is Milkbank House, built in the 19th century for the Bell-Irving family who were wealthy Glasgow merchants.
The house took its name from the strangely named Water of Milk river which flows just a coule of hundred yards to the east. ( Castle Milk house which is still inhabited sits a mile and half to the east of here was used as a location in the 1979 film version of The 39 Steps).
History of te house is scarce but it would appear that the building was requisitioned for use during WW2 and afterwards the family either refused, or could no longer afford to live here. The house lay derelict until 1960, when the roof was removed. Some websites mistakenly say the house was demolished then.
I have included the stable/kennel block as well and also the attached house which seems to have been lived in until the 80's or 90's. 
More here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157644246353966/

The old girl in her prime



download by tumble112, on Flickr



028 by tumble112, on Flickr


021 by tumble112, on Flickr


022 by tumble112, on Flickr


025 by tumble112, on Flickr


027 by tumble112, on Flickr

I can imagine the servants having to keep this mosaic floor clean


026 by tumble112, on Flickr

Stable/kennel block



001 by tumble112, on Flickr



003 by tumble112, on Flickr


005 by tumble112, on Flickr


009 by tumble112, on Flickr


012 by tumble112, on Flickr


014 by tumble112, on Flickr


015 by tumble112, on Flickr


017 by tumble112, on Flickr


018 by tumble112, on Flickr


031 by tumble112, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.


----------



## Stealthstar79 (Apr 29, 2014)

What a beautiful building that floor is lovely!
Great stuff, thanks


----------



## Nighttemptress (Apr 29, 2014)

Thanks for sharing that!! Bet that was a stunning building in it's prime!!


----------



## Infraredd (Apr 30, 2014)

That is a beautiful ruin


----------



## mockingbird (Apr 30, 2014)

that orange wallpaper is on this years christmas list lol
Cheers for sharing that, I do like a good ruin


----------



## Stealthstar79 (Apr 30, 2014)

Infraredd said:


> That is a beautiful ruin



I thought of you as soon as I saw this!


----------



## krela (Apr 30, 2014)

Oooh victorian model stables... lovely!


----------



## billygroat (Apr 30, 2014)

Utterly gorgeous, thank you!


----------



## Poltergeist (Apr 30, 2014)

Pure history....fantastic pics!


----------



## flyboys90 (Apr 30, 2014)

Bet this was a cracking place in its day! amazing features still here and the floor is ace,thanks for sharing.


----------



## Sirannon (Apr 30, 2014)

wow! love this


----------



## smiler (Apr 30, 2014)

Outstanding Site, Beautifully Portrayed, I loved It, Many Thanks.


----------



## Dirus_Strictus (Apr 30, 2014)

This house was one of a fairly large number, where the pre-war residents/owners complained to the then War Ministry about the state they found the interior in when the building was returned to them. Don't know the extent of the damage here, but in other well documented cases the wartime residents pulled up wooden floors and removed wooden panelling to use as fire wood. Roof was removed in 1960 to remove the liability for Rates and any other duties that might be owing on a habitable residence.


----------



## tumble112 (Apr 30, 2014)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> This house was one of a fairly large number, where the pre-war residents/owners complained to the then War Ministry about the state they found the interior in when the building was returned to them. Don't know the extent of the damage here, but in other well documented cases the wartime residents pulled up wooden floors and removed wooden panelling to use as fire wood. Roof was removed in 1960 to remove the liability for Rates and any other duties that might be owing on a habitable residence.



Thank you. History on this house is quite hard to come by and I am not native to this area so my write up was rather patched together. I did come across one mention of the wartime inhabitants leaving the building in such a state that the family refused to live here after the wars end but was unsure if this was accurate, but what you say here backs this up. I had never heard of this before but it appears to have been a relatively common occurence.


----------



## tad102 (Apr 30, 2014)

mint find


----------



## Dirus_Strictus (May 1, 2014)

tumble1;286426 I did come across one mention of the wartime inhabitants leaving the building in such a state that the family refused to live here after the wars. I had never heard of this before but it appears to have been a relatively common occurence.[/QUOTE said:


> Very common, especially where the country mansions and grounds were used to house whole Units/Companies of a Regiment. Where the building was used as a Regimental HQ and housed offices and radio command post etc, any damage reported when ownership was returned to civilians seems to have been minimal at worst. i.e. floors marked by army boots or the odd broken wall mirror or damaged mural/painting. However houses used by allied troops who escaped prior or during Dunkirk and property used by our allies during the build up to D-Day really suffered. In some respects one can understand the wholesale cutting down of ornamental trees and chopping up floor boards and wooden wall panelling for fire wood in the period after Dunkirk, the whole country was in turmoil. ( My mother used to tell of seeing whole lines of bedraggled French Troops, some colonial, trudging along the top of our road in Doncaster on their way from the Station to temporary accommodation on the Race Course. She never could forget the look of sheer helplessness on many of the faces). The damage to properties used to house the build up for D-Day seems harder to reconcile - but then these were young men, an ocean away from their home countries and doing something that people of my generation have never been forced to do. So I am in no position to judge.
> 
> In the broad scheme of things, the loss of a bit of wainscotting or a latrine being dug in the rose terrace (I kid not) of a house, was nothing compared to the horrors that went on in occupied Europe. At least these people had property and land to come back to. Many of the books written about the country mansions of the UK over recent years do sometimes mention the wartime histories and what happened to the fabric.


----------

