Big House, Scotland July 2012

[Ha.zel]

Did you take any more pictures?

Got a few samey shots but that's about it i'm afraid.
I'm sure there was plenty more to capture as well!

 

[UrbanX]

Blimey, you don't see reports like that every day! What a find! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ha.zel]

Thanks guys
These houses really are hidden gems

 

[Alexander1683]

Fantastic photographs!

How bad is the dry rot and did the farmer man say he OWNED the house?

 

[NakedEye]

Well done not only for finding this place but for capturing it so well...the personal possessions for me create the 'frozen in time' element of a life / lives that once existed there but have ceased...the doll by the bed is a dream! i want to go there now! bravo my friend...

 

[techmylife]

Just... wow! The 2nd picture of stairs (with the tall arched window) - They look really unnerving...

Great set of pics!

 

[Ha.zel]

Fantastic photographs!

How bad is the dry rot and did the farmer man say he OWNED the house?

Thanks
It's pretty bad in the stairwells mostly, much of the rooms aren't too bad apart from one infested by pigeons. He didn't say he owned it, he said something like "this is someone's home... how could you just walk into it like this?!" which suggests to me it isn't his home, but who knows.

 

[Judderman62]

liking that lots

 

[tossom]

Wow. Piano got me again on this set. A schiedmayer can sell for over £15k if restored.

 

[explorer101]

gorgeous looking place and such beautiful photos (until i got to the naked doll by the bed and the child in me giggled!)
such a shame its got into that state!

L x

 

[darkside]

great report my friend sounds a good place to have a look around ,many thanks

 

[Alexander1683]

Thanks
It's pretty bad in the stairwells mostly, much of the rooms aren't too bad apart from one infested by pigeons. He didn't say he owned it, he said something like "this is someone's home... how could you just walk into it like this?!" which suggests to me it isn't his home, but who knows.

Thank you so much for the information and the pictures!

My family and I are looking for a grand place to buy and restore to its former glory and when we saw this place, we wanted it!

We did so much digging, found out where it was relatively easily and got numerous phone numbers for councilors and for the farmer who you encountered. We also bought the title deeds for the home.

Apparently (the councilors told us this) they have been harassing the farmer (who does indeed own the home) for ten years to do something about its dilapidated state. However, he hasn't returned their calls. I thought for a very long time during our research that he didn't own it - despite him claiming to on the phone after our friendly (no sarcasm) conversation.

Alas he does. Last time we spoke to him he said that he was in the beginning of "doing it up". I hope he does and I hope he restores it to its former glory. It is a home of great historic interest too.

We were quite disappointed when we read that his name was on the title deeds. Oh well! There will always be another one!

Again, thank you so much. This website is absolutely fantastic to a) look at the beauty of properties, whether they be ruinous or 'stuck in time' and b) for people like us who have a genuine passion for restoring old properties and making them into a family home again. Note, we are not evil property developers who would wish to split a home up into flats for a mean profit. Such sacrilege is unthinkable! Rather we have a modest budget and a lot of love, passion, taste and ambition!

It was a great adventure whilst it lasted! Keep up the good work!

 

[Ha.zel]

Thank you so much for the information and the pictures!

My family and I are looking for a grand place to buy and restore to its former glory and when we saw this place, we wanted it!

We did so much digging, found out where it was relatively easily and got numerous phone numbers for councilors and for the farmer who you encountered. We also bought the title deeds for the home.

Apparently (the councilors told us this) they have been harassing the farmer (who does indeed own the home) for ten years to do something about its dilapidated state. However, he hasn't returned their calls. I thought for a very long time during our research that he didn't own it - despite him claiming to on the phone after our friendly (no sarcasm) conversation.

Alas he does. Last time we spoke to him he said that he was in the beginning of "doing it up". I hope he does and I hope he restores it to its former glory. It is a home of great historic interest too.

We were quite disappointed when we read that his name was on the title deeds. Oh well! There will always be another one!

Again, thank you so much. This website is absolutely fantastic to a) look at the beauty of properties, whether they be ruinous or 'stuck in time' and b) for people like us who have a genuine passion for restoring old properties and making them into a family home again. Note, we are not evil property developers who would wish to split a home up into flats for a mean profit. Such sacrilege is unthinkable! Rather we have a modest budget and a lot of love, passion, taste and ambition!

It was a great adventure whilst it lasted! Keep up the good work!

Wow, what an interesting post my friend!
The house is indeed in a very bad state, it didn't look to me like he was doing it up nor making any attempt to secure the place. It's a bit strange that he owns it too as I really didn't get that impression from they wa he spoke, very strange!

Is there any chance of you buying the house off the gentleman or is he just not willing to sell up?
You obviously have a passion for grand old buildings and I would love to see a gem like this brought back to life by someone like yourself! It will be such a shame if it gets into such a state it can't be saved.

 

[Alexander1683]

Wow, what an interesting post my friend!
The house is indeed in a very bad state, it didn't look to me like he was doing it up nor making any attempt to secure the place. It's a bit strange that he owns it too as I really didn't get that impression from they wa he spoke, very strange!

Is there any chance of you buying the house off the gentleman or is he just not willing to sell up?
You obviously have a passion for grand old buildings and I would love to see a gem like this brought back to life by someone like yourself! It will be such a shame if it gets into such a state it can't be saved.

Well, despite having numerous reasons to believe that he doesn't own the property, his name is on the title deeds and they're legal documents.

He took a mortgage out on the home in 2010. How he got a mortgage on a house in such a state is beyond me! We're assuming that he's using this money to do up the property, but the estate the house is situated on has had some pockets of land sold off for quite a bit of money.

It's a bizarre one, but hey ho! Perhaps in a year's time I'll take the long drive from Edinburgh to its location and find out whether he has done anything or not.

He was very defensive on the phone at first. He asked if we were property developers in a feisty tone, but as soon as he knew we wanted to make it into a family home he was far warmer.

What age was this farmer? He sounded as if he was in his 40s on the phone.

 

[Ha.zel]

Well, despite having numerous reasons to believe that he doesn't own the property, his name is on the title deeds and they're legal documents.

He took a mortgage out on the home in 2010. How he got a mortgage on a house in such a state is beyond me! We're assuming that he's using this money to do up the property, but the estate the house is situated on has had some pockets of land sold off for quite a bit of money.

It's a bizarre one, but hey ho! Perhaps in a year's time I'll take the long drive from Edinburgh to its location and find out whether he has done anything or not.

He was very defensive on the phone at first. He asked if we were property developers in a feisty tone, but as soon as he knew we wanted to make it into a family home he was far warmer.

What age was this farmer? He sounded as if he was in his 40s on the phone.

Haha I wonder what he would have said if he knew you had found it on this forum, from the very intruders he came across

Well the inside doesn't seem to have changed at all from previous reports on this forum. If he did buy it in 2010 it doesn't look as if he has started yet. Very strange! If I had my hands on that house I would probably become obsessed with making it look fantastic again.

 

[whitelaw]

Shame that people always seem to think the worst of others - but then thats the world we live in thanks to the chavs, pikeys and others who will smash up or rob anything that isnt nailed down.

It's a shame that urb-exing can't be regulated in some way with a charter of standards for members so that we can explore with some credentials. Maybe the world isnt ready for it yet, but hey its a thought.

Nice post - sorry you got scared though.

 

[krela]

It's a shame that urb-exing can't be regulated in some way with a charter of standards for members so that we can explore with some credentials. Maybe the world isnt ready for it yet, but hey its a thought.

Try the National Trust or English Heritage. :skeptical:

 

[Fury161]

great stuff, shame the farmer turned up when he did, if you ever go back you got to see whats at the bottom of them stairs? there's a place like this near me, old farm house, looking on google it looks like there could be 2 farm houses on the same site, has been empty for a few years, no one know anything about it or why it's empty. just got to plan my route first!

 

[darbians]

This is great. I really like the tones on some of the images. The oval hallway looks like they packed for departure, but never returned to collect.

 

[LairdOfLochaber]

It's odd that he said, "This is someone's home." If he had said, "This is someone's property," I would understand. However, it's clear that no one is living here? If it still is someone's home, perhaps that someone is elderly and being cared for elsewhere? Or, perhaps it's tied up in an estate settlement & the heirs can't agree? Mysterious.