These photographs were taken before work had begun on the cottage (~Jan 2005)

• Living Room

The old tiled fireplace - we didn't know it at the time - but an absolute gem lay behind this monstrosity
A shot into the kitchen.  Notice how uneven and bowed the ceiling is.  The cupboard door in the kitchen hides the staircase.
This is a shot inside the electric cupboard to the left of the fireplace - look at the damp and spalled brickwork.

• Bathroom

Nice avocado bathroom suite!
A shot of the basin, shower tray and power shower ;o)

• Master Bedroom

 

Master bedroom showing the chimney breast.
Another angle - showing the extremely bad condition of the ceiling.
And another

• Bedroom 2

 

Shot of the second bedroom showing the plasterwork patched up with cement render (the orange stuff).  The timber below this window was completely rotten as was the window frame
Another shot of the second bedroom.  The wall on which the door is hanging is simply a very light stud wall covered in fibreboard.

• Stairs

 

A shot of the rickety old stairs in the cupboard.  We were advised to leave then as they were - but actually fell through them about 1/4 of the way through the build.  Luckily we already had our new staircase on order.
A shot going up into the master bedroom.
And going down.  Notice how you have to step out of the second bedroom right onto the stairs - somehow I don't think building regs would approve.

• Gardens

 

This is the small garden near to the cottage - its actually a thoroughfare for the other cottages in the row as the main gardens (allotments) run perpendicular to the row of cottages.
A view of the top garden.  This land totals nearly 0.1 acre.  The nearside boundary runs along the ridge of grass in the photo (from the small wooden stake at the left).  There is loads of wildlife visiting the garden including pheasants (a pair of which actually perch in the tall tree in the centre of the picture), roe deer, rabbits, hedgehogs etc.
Another shot from the top end of the garden.  Turning 90 degrees to the right would give you a nice view of Shillington's church - across the fields which boarder the garden.