It's quite difficult to tell the age of our local buildings, other than by the pitch of the roof or the cut of the stone openings.
Because building techniques have remained much the same for centuries, and old cut stones being often recycled, one could easily make mistakes.
When I bought this little house, about 38 years ago (we were living about 300 metres away at the time), I asked a friend to look at it and give an idea of how old it was. He said there was only one way to determine the age of domestic architecture, and that was by measuring the front door.
We measured the height (200 cms), we measured the width (95cms), and we also measured the depth of the wall (60cms). His conclusion, at the time, was between 250 and 300 years old; leaning towards the latter.
Having now totted-up the passage of time plus his initial estimation, I am pretty certain that my little cottage is at least 300 years old; built around the early 1700's.
This means that the first family to have lived here would have done so under the reign of the much loved Louis XV (1710-1774). As Louis became king aged 5, the cottage was almost certainly built in the days of a pre-pubescent king.
Now THERE's a thought!
This means that the first family to have lived here would have done so under the reign of the much loved Louis XV (1710-1774). As Louis became king aged 5, the cottage was almost certainly built in the days of a pre-pubescent king.
Now THERE's a thought!
Our home before our present one was a cottage built in the early 1600's when Charles 1 was on the throne and before the Great Fire of London ….. that always amazed me and, in the deeds there was a covenant that anyone could knock on our door and graze their sheep on our lawn ….. no-one ever did though !!!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteBoth our pub and a building right opposite it appear to be younger than they are, simply because someone stuck a 'modern' facade on them, or enlarged them by making the external front wall the internal back wall. One is around 1680 but appears to be 1850, and the pub is 1704, but seems to be 1740.
ReplyDeleteOur cottage originally was built in 1764 and then
ReplyDeleteRebuilt in 1874
I doubt I would recognise the original building
Ain't Europe wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWell it could be older as the thickness might have decreased from corrosion during the very fierce winters?
ReplyDeleteYou've just missed Craig; he was sorting a wee problem for me.
DeleteAlthough the US is considered young, I live in an area where many homes date back to the early 1700s. The house on my header picture is early 1800s, although much has been added on and modernized. I would have loved to live in one of these historic homes, but alas, they are usually a lot of work, a lot of red tape and therefore a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteI love the history of buildings. I grew up in a house with a preist hole and a small bell tower! It's amazing to think what went on there in the past!
ReplyDelete