# Watchmakers House (pic heavy)



## BikinGlynn (May 22, 2017)

Hasn't appeared for a few weeks so thought Id share my take on this little gem.

I would love to credit this find to myself however the watchmakers appeared on here a while back and I am ashamed to say I needed a bit of help with location. Thanks to the coopers this help came forthwith!
However once located it was with mixed emotions that I realised I sat outside this nearly a year ago trying to decide if it was derelict.
According to prev posts this has been unoccupied for several years BUT I walked the fence line on that visit to be met with a barking dog, which in turn led my old dog to shout back from inside my van so a hasty retreat was made!
So is the history correct? Im not really disputing but maybe this fella was left there as a guard for a time. 

It is certainly true that the owner was a clock / watch maker & the engineering artefacts particularly appealed to me. The story goes that the house was inherited then sold off for development where it has not moved for 2 years!
This is ludicrous, the house is structurally pretty good and while I found the building itself a bit of an odd set up it dose have just about the best views in the area you could hope for.

The Explore

The pics are over 2 visits, the first made with my young lad which was very relaxed explore.
The second was with my girlfriend who had agreed to do something "different" for an Easter Sun treat. Now she is the sort of lady who really doesn't like to get in trouble, so I explained the morals of our pastime & convinced her it would be really relaxed & no one would be about on Easter anyway.
Of course the inevitable happened, we were playing cat and mouse with a farmer and our escape eventually led to us jumping through a hedge and walking casually past said farmer playing all innocent lol.
Fortunately we had spent a good time in there & were ready to leave anyway at this point. 
I am however disappointed to say things appeared to of gone walk about between my 2 visits of barely 2 week gaps. I really hope this place stays under wraps for as long as possible before the inevitable plundering starts.

On with the pic, I have tried to keep these a bit different from prev reports. Enjoy!



IMG_4789 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5263 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5278 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5236 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_4949 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5215 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5200 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5173 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_4812 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5187 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5184 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5246 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5250 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_5285 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5289 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_5207 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_4868 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_4858 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr



IMG_4786 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


I couldn't resist another one of this though!

IMG_5174 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr

Plenty more here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/with/34391599600/


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## HughieD (May 22, 2017)

Love that type-writter shot BG.Fab set.


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## jsp77 (May 22, 2017)

Nicely Captured captured Bikinglynn  

I wonder if it was Mince that was barking?

Funny thing i was just looking some of my photos from here.


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## BikinGlynn (May 23, 2017)

Was that u been in "staging" things between my 2 visits jsp?
looked like it was just explorers been in, but as mentioned one of the singers appears to of gone already which is a shame!


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## Sam Haltin (May 23, 2017)

That's a few photos that were not taken in previous posts so that makes your post interesting. I noticed a photo of a dog and two children, so I take it that the dog must be Mince. I couldn't make out the brand name of the typewriter because I wanted to see how old it is.


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## BikinGlynn (May 23, 2017)

Hugh Jorgan said:


> That's a few photos that were not taken in previous posts so that makes your post interesting. I noticed a photo of a dog and two children, so I take it that the dog must be Mince. I couldn't make out the brand name of the typewriter because I wanted to see how old it is.



There is loads of photos of children & dogs which gives a saddening feel.
There was some of a dalmation in the house which , having to say goodbye to our dalmation in a marriage split last year I found particularly interesting.
There is at least 3 dog beds in the house & stacks of old dog food bags, so I would say there was more than one...perhaps Mince did something wrong to get stuck out in the yard


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## smiler (May 23, 2017)

I enjoyed your take on it Glynn, the external shots were a bonus, Thanks


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## Brewtal (May 24, 2017)

That is a really nice take on this lovely place. Great stuff, thanks for sharing.


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## Dirus_Strictus (May 24, 2017)

Typewriter is an Underwood's Standard number 5, made in various forms from mid '20's.

'perhaps Mince did something wrong to get stuck out in the yard' - Not necessarily. Judging the time line from the photographic evidence; if Mince was a large dog, it was very common to have such a dog loose in the grounds at night. Especially in out of the way places. We had a flock of Geese and two Lakelands roaming the immediate land around the family farm. Guaranteed to warn off and warn you at the same time of any trespassers!


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## krela (May 24, 2017)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> We had a flock of Geese and two Lakelands roaming the immediate land around the family farm. Guaranteed to warn off and warn you at the same time of any trespassers!



Attack geese are more effective than any large dog. Pure evil.


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## smiler (May 24, 2017)

krela said:


> Attack geese are more effective than any large dog. Pure evil.



Plus they taste nicer


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## prettyvacant71 (May 27, 2017)

Love the low angle pool shot and balcony shadows


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## Urbex Fam (May 29, 2017)

I loved exploring this place. Just full of interesting little curios. Liked your take on it


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## Hayman (Jun 2, 2021)

HughieD said:


> Love that type-writter shot BG.Fab set.


Attached is photo of one for sale.


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## Hayman (Jun 2, 2021)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> Typewriter is an Underwood's Standard number 5, made in various forms from mid '20's.
> 
> 'perhaps Mince did something wrong to get stuck out in the yard' - Not necessarily. Judging the time line from the photographic evidence; if Mince was a large dog, it was very common to have such a dog loose in the grounds at night. Especially in out of the way places. We had a flock of Geese and two Lakelands roaming the immediate land around the family farm. Guaranteed to warn off and warn you at the same time of any trespassers!


Attached is photo of one for sale.


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## kathyms (Jun 3, 2021)

Hi, is this place still there, I don’t get out much but my son said he would do a photo shoot for me, he is my eyes .


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## BikinGlynn (Jun 4, 2021)

kathyms said:


> Hi, is this place still there, I don’t get out much but my son said he would do a photo shoot for me, he is my eyes .



Unfortunately not, its long gone


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## Darklldo (Jun 4, 2021)

HughieD said:


> Love that type-writter shot BG.Fab set.


Great to see the old Underwood. It's been 65 years since I learned to type, I bet I could still find my way around it despite now using a computer.


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## Hayman (Jun 5, 2021)

Darklldo said:


> Great to see the old Underwood. It's been 65 years since I learned to type, I bet I could still find my way around it despite now using a computer.


I had a Mettoy or similar name toy typewriter as a boy. In 1959 I progressed to Underwoods and Imperials as a Movement Control Clerk in the Royal Engineers. In 1962 I was bashing out letters in a tent in Aden! Then it was on to electric typewriters including a golfball typesetter's machine on which I could vary the leading (gap between lines) and pitch (gap between letters). Then came a machine with its built in eraser tape. Now I'm on a computer keyboard, and less careful knowing I can always delete any errors. Progress?


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## Westparkveteran (Jun 5, 2021)

Love the tap and dye set


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## Hayman (Jun 6, 2021)

Westparkveteran said:


> Love the tap and dye set


"tap and die"; and I bet it was Imperial.


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## Darklldo (Jun 7, 2021)

Hayman said:


> I had a Mettoy or similar name toy typewriter as a boy. In 1959 I progressed to Underwoods and Imperials as a Movement Control Clerk in the Royal Engineers. In 1962 I was bashing out letters in a tent in Aden! Then it was on to electric typewriters including a golfball typesetter's machine on which I could vary the leading (gap between lines) and pitch (gap between letters). Then came a machine with its built in eraser tape. Now I'm on a computer keyboard, and less careful knowing I can always delete any errors. Progress?


No, not progress at all is it. We get lazy over time now we don't have to type with great accuracy. Sad really. I did shorthand as well and lost that as dictaphones appeared. The golf ball was an interesting invention but it didn't really take off did it or was it another casualty of the computer?


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## Westparkveteran (Jun 8, 2021)

“Die”of course x try to avoid using the word at my age x senior moment !!!


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## Hayman (Jun 8, 2021)

Darklldo said:


> No, not progress at all is it. We get lazy over time now we don't have to type with great accuracy. Sad really. I did shorthand as well and lost that as dictaphones appeared. The golf ball was an interesting invention but it didn't really take off did it or was it another casualty of the computer?


The only advantage of the golfball seems to have been the ability to change fonts and point size quickly. My wife learned Pitman's shorthand as soon as she left school, and was still using it occasionally in her 60s for making notes. In my army typing test I was allowed three mistakes. I recall typing Daily Orders on duplicator 'skins', where the keys - without the ribbon in then way - cut into the wax sheet so that the thick duplicating ink oozed through to make the copies to go to the messes, guard rooms, notice boards, etc. And any mistake needed a dob of the red nail varnish-like lacquer to fill the cut before retyping with the correct letter. You could get high on sniffing it!


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## Hayman (Jun 8, 2021)

Westparkveteran said:


> “Die”of course x try to avoid using the word at my age x senior moment !!!


No worries! I'm in the same club.


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## Darklldo (Jun 19, 2021)

Hayman said:


> The only advantage of the golfball seems to have been the ability to change fonts and point size quickly. My wife learned Pitman's shorthand as soon as she left school, and was still using it occasionally in her 60s for making notes. In my army typing test I was allowed three mistakes. I recall typing Daily Orders on duplicator 'skins', where the keys - without the ribbon in then way - cut into the wax sheet so that the thick duplicating ink oozed through to make the copies to go to the messes, guard rooms, notice boards, etc. And any mistake needed a dob of the red nail varnish-like lacquer to fill the cut before retyping with the correct letter. You could get high on sniffing it!


You bring back memories Hayman, I used to make the wax copies of TV scripts before they were handed out to actors of various television series. Keeping the keys free of wax was one of the things that was most important. Yes, it was Pitman's shorthand I learned too. top marks to your wife for keeping the skill.


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## Hayman (Jun 19, 2021)

Darklldo said:


> You bring back memories Hayman, I used to make the wax copies of TV scripts before they were handed out to actors of various television series. Keeping the keys free of wax was one of the things that was most important. Yes, it was Pitman's shorthand I learned too. top marks to your wife for keeping the skill.


Yes, you're right about the wax coming off the stencils and building up on the keys. We had what might be called very stiff toothbrushes dipped in acetone cleaning fluid to scrub the gunge off . And, yes, we did sniff it! See the attached photo – found on Ebay, for £10. The brand name is not an instruction.....

Was there any other generally used shorthand system than Pitman's? At least it wasn't condemned for being popular, as Amazon and Google are today.

Where are you in Tassie? I was travelling through and working in Oz in 1977-1978 - then single - and visited the Apple Isle. I recall seeing Slim Dusty performing to a packed hall one evening. I was there again in 2010, then with my wife. 

Would you call Port Arthur 'derelict'?


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## Suziqed (Jun 22, 2021)

Hayman said:


> Yes, you're right about the wax coming off the stencils and building up on the keys. We had what might be called very stiff toothbrushes dipped in acetone cleaning fluid to scrub the gunge off . And, yes, we did sniff it! See the attached photo – found on Ebay, for £10. The brand name is not an instruction.....
> 
> Was there any other generally used shorthand system than Pitman's? At least it wasn't condemned for being popular, as Amazon and Google are today.
> 
> ...


Re other shorthand systems - I learnt Gregg Shorthand in the early 1970s at the American Secretarial College in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s the preferred version in the USA, having being invented there in the late 1800s. It’s a very flowing script and I still use it occasionally.
Although originally from the UK, I live in Ballarat, Australia now, and also spent 30 years in Tasmania. Port Arthur has been well and truly tidied up since the massacre there in 1997. I don’t think it would be described as derelict; rather, it’s considered an historic site and the buildings are all well cared for.


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## Hayman (Jun 22, 2021)

Suziqed said:


> Re other shorthand systems - I learnt Gregg Shorthand in the early 1970s at the American Secretarial College in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s the preferred version in the USA, having being invented there in the late 1800s. It’s a very flowing script and I still use it occasionally.
> Although originally from the UK, I live in Ballarat, Australia now, and also spent 30 years in Tasmania. Port Arthur has been well and truly tidied up since the massacre there in 1997. I don’t think it would be described as derelict; rather, it’s considered an historic site and the buildings are all well cared for.


Thanks – I’d not heard of Gregg shorthand. I’ve just been looking it up – very different from Pitman’s.

Yes – between my first visit in 1977 and again in 2010, Port Arthur had gone through a lot of ‘tidying up’. It had lost a lot of the feel it had for me the first time I was there.

My memory of Ballarat was snow! I got a lift with a chap who was driving his VW Beetle from Melbourne to Perth. Rain turned to snow by the time we reached Ballarat, and the chap had never seen snow before. We began throwing snowballs at each other!


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