# Big House, Scotland, April 2012 (Pic Heavy)



## Stussy (Apr 17, 2012)

An 18th Century Georgian Country Mansion in the wilds of Scotland.

Not a lot is known about this mansion, it was originally a replacement for an ancient castle. It was used in WW2 as a house / school for evacuees.

It was once a holiday home, but now left abandoned with lots of children's toys and clothing left behind. Its quite spooky going around this place by yourself on a dreek drizzely day!

There is a lot of mould and fungus growing in most rooms, some of the floors are getting fairly rotten, my heart stopped upon hearing the floor giving way when I went near a window!

Massive thanks to Lost for the help on this one!

My best explore yet, could have spent hours going through the items, another trip is needed and hopefully better weather! Pics are not the best, but have to share!


Externals facades










Cool little barrel on a rotten seat






Many food stuffs left in the kitchen (my favourite sauce too)






Dining Room










Oval entrance






Entrance Bell






Lounge






Little white elephant :wcool:






Book for Snobs






Possible Family Photos






Most cupboards were full of items






One way of sealing the back door, cool comfy seat though 






There were a lot of these old fire extinguishers going around! 






Another entrance blocked up with yet more furniture






Main stairwell, lots of debris from falling plaster










Master Bedroom














Smaller Kids Bedroom














Another interesting room, with loads of books and a piano!














Peely door 






Comfy chairs, no chance going near it though, the floor is very rotten here!










Old School music player, didn't risk going near it though 






This mould freaked me out a bit, it was just like cotton wool / insulation!!






The bathroom where my heart stopped!! 






Onwards to the 2nd floor, the roof had caved in here through water ingress, pretty tricky going up here!










Second Floor Landing






The view down the stairs






Second Floor Bedrooms


















Poor Teddy left behind 






Another of the four bathrooms






Cool kinda green light






There are a few more photos on my Flickr if you want to see more.

The place is huge around 9 bedrooms and so much personal possessions left behind, such a shame its as the floors are rotting because a few windows are broken and the roof degrading. Also no scumbag thieves or copper grabbers have been in yet thankfully, hope it stays that way!! :icon_evil


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## Silent Hill (Apr 17, 2012)

Amazing mate. What a fantastic explore that must have been. Love it.


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## oldscrote (Apr 17, 2012)

What a find. I do wonder what the kid felt like when he lost his or her teddy would hate to lose mine even at my age.The green bottle is an old Coates cider bottle from the 60s-70s very common to convert them to lamps the base was normally filled with sand to keep 'em stable.It's certainly a long way from home.


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## Stussy (Apr 17, 2012)

oldscrote said:


> What a find. I do wonder what the kid felt like when he lost his or her teddy would hate to lose mine even at my age.The green bottle is an old Coates cider bottle from the 60s-70s very common to convert them to lamps the base was normally filled with sand to keep 'em stable.It's certainly a long way from home.



Ah cool thanks for the info on the bottle! I kinda wondered what it came from 
There are so many kids toys but the teddy, with its head hiding gave it the sense of being lonely and lost too, shame.


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## deathhormone (Apr 18, 2012)

This looks like a amazing place. Bet hearing that floor about to break was pretty scary.


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## sj9966 (Apr 18, 2012)

A great looking place, nice one!


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## Stussy (Apr 18, 2012)

deathhormone said:


> This looks like a amazing place. Bet hearing that floor about to break was pretty scary.



Aww it was so scary, afterwards I trod very carefully, that was my first ever experience of the floor crumbling under my feet, being there all alone didn't help


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## flyboys90 (Apr 18, 2012)

Amazing house and even more amazing damp! great photos.


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## eggbox (Apr 18, 2012)

Fabulous stuff, Stussy. What an awful waste if the owner lets it rot; the ladders/paint suggest someone was biginning to do it up then came to a halt.


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## Bax__ (Apr 18, 2012)

Great photos amazing that it's been left in this way with the kids toys etc! Maybe this could be Sarah Beaney's next project!


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## brian puddifer (Apr 18, 2012)

Fantastic, wish I had possession of this wonderful BIG House!! and the money to do it up!!. Wonder how much the Piano is worth?

Best wishes Brian


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## kellisurbex (Apr 18, 2012)

Awesome find!


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## Stussy (Apr 18, 2012)

brian puddifer said:


> Fantastic, wish I had possession of this wonderful BIG House!! and the money to do it up!!. Wonder how much the Piano is worth?
> 
> Best wishes Brian



I had that exact discussion on my facebake, some people reckon it could be in the thousands!


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## UrbanX (Apr 18, 2012)

What a gem! Sites like this are so rare! 
I love the contrasts, e.g. old fashion lounge with a TV, also seems like a couple of generations of condiments! 
Thank you for sharing!


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## onthebusescrazy (Apr 19, 2012)

i can't see the photos


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## Stussy (Apr 19, 2012)

onthebusescrazy said:


> i can't see the photos



The photos are working fine for me, if you still can't see them you will find them on my flickr page


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## spacepunk (May 20, 2012)

Supercoolfunky!!.


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## RichardH (May 21, 2012)

Stussy said:


> I had that exact discussion on my facebake, some people reckon it could be in the thousands!



This is an excellent set of photos. Such a shame that the building has been allowed to rot. 

Schiedmayer of Stuttgart made their first pianos in the latter half of the 19th century, and went out of business in the 60's. They were bought out by another company (can't remember who), which promptly stopped making them. A shame, because they were well-made and have a distinctive sound.

A fully working Schiedmayer can fetch anything from £5,000 to £15,000. Quite a sum, but I've seen pianos on here, rotting in derelict buildings, that would have once been worth considerably more. The biggest problem with restoring a Schiedmayer is that several parts are completely nonstandard, rather than variations on an established design. This makes replacement parts hard to get, and expensive.

Hate seeing musical instruments going to ruin.


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## brian puddifer (May 21, 2012)

I also hate the thought of wonderfull musical instuments and furniture like this, going to decay. Should be a Law against it. I love Piano Music and as you say, I bet it had a wonderful sound in the right hands eg. Alfred Brendel playing - Subert, Liszt, Mozart or Beethoven. It would be a wonderful experience to hear that Piano restored, where it is. That great House resored too and music filling it once more.

Best wishes Brian


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## Breesey (May 31, 2012)

Nice place, and cool pics too. Looks like you had a very interesting time.


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## scribble (May 31, 2012)

i love the oval room. Are the doors curved too? The chesterfields look in good nick - better than mine!


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## smiler (May 31, 2012)

That’s a great find I love nosing around these places trouble is you never notice the time passing you think you’ve only been there for an hour and then look at your watch and realise its been three, with your find I’d probably still be there , I loved it, Many Thanks.


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## tossom (May 31, 2012)

RichardH said:


> This is an excellent set of photos. Such a shame that the building has been allowed to rot.
> 
> Schiedmayer of Stuttgart made their first pianos in the latter half of the 19th century, and went out of business in the 60's. They were bought out by another company (can't remember who), which promptly stopped making them. A shame, because they were well-made and have a distinctive sound.
> 
> ...



You have summed up my feelings, my heart sank when I saw the maker name on the piano. Such a shame it is being left to rot. Great pics though.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Jun 1, 2012)

Is this house situated anywhere near a loch or other stretch of water? Your 'Cool little barrel on a rotten seat' was originally an early Victorian mooring buoy or mooring line float. The only place I have actually seen any in the flesh was in the grounds of a largish house some miles outside Wick - they had been converted into swing seats by hanging them from a very large iron frame.


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## spankysanta (Jun 1, 2012)

Those pics were lovely! Wish i could have seen them! New to the forums, was origionaly looking for run down/derelict places for wedding venue! Its so sad to see it like that! Sad thing is its my type of house, does anyone know anything about if someone is doing something with it? 

It is such a shame! Should be filled with life, nurtured, children and dogs running around with muddy paws and dirty little fingers!

My next house has to be something like this where your blood and sweat goes into it... something with a heart!

Absolutly beautiful photos


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## Stussy (Jun 1, 2012)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> Is this house situated anywhere near a loch or other stretch of water? Your 'Cool little barrel on a rotten seat' was originally an early Victorian mooring buoy or mooring line float. The only place I have actually seen any in the flesh was in the grounds of a largish house some miles outside Wick - they had been converted into swing seats by hanging them from a very large iron frame.



Yes the house is fairly near a loch, si that kinda makes sense, u thought it was a wee novelty whiskey barrel or something haha


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## glass (Jun 2, 2012)

Shame, the exterior is not very pretty but the interior is fab, love the photos

As it has been abandoned all these yeas you would think it be overgrown also.


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## Sshhhh... (Jun 2, 2012)

What a fantastic place! Such a shame its been left to rot, breaks my heart. Looks like you had a great explore and i would have also spent hours in there, maybe one day. great pics and thankyou for sharing


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## mercury-rev123 (Jun 18, 2012)

hi,
i took a run over to big house a couple of weeks ago. I didnt go up to the 3rd floor as i was unsure of its safety,i now am annoyed with myself for not venturing up lol but other than that it is in the same condition as u saw it. The setting is fantastic, returning there in the near future is a must for me. I only hope it doesnt get ransacked. 
"The only thing i take from my visits r images"  ........ just as it should be x


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## lizzibear (Jun 19, 2012)

Great photos, what an excellent explore! Jealous!


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## sonyes (Jun 19, 2012)

Now that is one fine explore!!!! Stunning place and some excellent pics. Cheers for sharing


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## Scattergun (Aug 31, 2012)

This place looks amazing! Well done


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## LairdOfLochaber (Aug 31, 2012)

Judging by the food pantry it hasn't been so long since people lived there. If you see a fine home standing vacant with furnishing inside (but looking picked-over), it's often a case of heirs battling each other. One refuses to sell, or hates the others so much that he obstructs any kind of estate settlement. I know a case where a man restored an 1850s plantation house. After he died, a brother who hated him inherited the place and deliberately let it rot. Hopefully the owners of this lovely house will get their ducks in a row. Looks salvageable, for now.


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## Stussy (Aug 31, 2012)

LairdOfLochaber said:


> Judging by the food pantry it hasn't been so long since people lived there. If you see a fine home standing vacant with furnishing inside (but looking picked-over), it's often a case of heirs battling each other. One refuses to sell, or hates the others so much that he obstructs any kind of estate settlement. I know a case where a man restored an 1850s plantation house. After he died, a brother who hated him inherited the place and deliberately let it rot. Hopefully the owners of this lovely house will get their ducks in a row. Looks salvageable, for now.



If I remember correctly the HP sauce went out of date in 2007 and there was a phone bill dated 2005ish, on another post it was discovered this house was owned by the farmer who was trying to do it up. It is in pretty bad way lots of rot and fungus growing everywhere. The floors are becoming very unstable due to the window sashes breaking.


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## LairdOfLochaber (Oct 17, 2012)

It's a beautiful place. I hope very much it will be saved.


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## mrtoby (Oct 17, 2012)

wow, amazing. I feel a road trip coming on. Good stuff boss


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## Randy-Travers (Oct 22, 2012)

*Cider Bottle*



oldscrote said:


> What a find. I do wonder what the kid felt like when he lost his or her teddy would hate to lose mine even at my age.The green bottle is an old Coates cider bottle from the 60s-70s very common to convert them to lamps the base was normally filled with sand to keep 'em stable.It's certainly a long way from home.



My Mom has some of those bottles, 'decorated' with mosaic tiles.
Big deal in the 60s I believe


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## Judderman62 (Oct 22, 2012)

fabulous explore. thanks for posting it.


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## stmilloy (Dec 21, 2012)

I recognized the TV in the lounge, because we had the same model around five years ago. From a little research I believe the Sony KV 28LS35 was introduced in the second half of 2000. There were other variants of tube size, 32-inch for example - the model number i give is for the 28-inch. The TV was supplied with a matching unit, which is visible in the lounge picture. So this dates the abandonment of this property to anytime after 2001. If anyone wants to tie it down more accurately - the food in the cupboard would be a good place to start.


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## lost (Dec 21, 2012)

Some of the food in the cupboards dates back to 1996...


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## stmilloy (Dec 21, 2012)

lost said:


> Some of the food in the cupboards dates back to 1996...



Yes, i noticed that the mayo was use-by may 00. I've tracked down photos of it and it looks lived in, 1985.


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