Mystery House

I've never been to the southeast side of Loughborough before, but had to go this morning. Imagine my surprise when Basil and I came across this derelict house standing at the corner of an upmarket housing development.

Noticing that there seemed to be a footpath leading off round the other side of it, Basil and I went exploring. A free standing six foot high fence has been knocked over in places so we were able to enter the area.

It must have been a rather fine farmhouse in its day. The bricks look old. The chimneys could be mock Tudor. The house stands on the northern side of a square surrounded on the other three sides by stables and outhouses.

The roof slates have been removed and are standing in piles in the courtyard. They were probably falling off. Plastic roof coverings flap in the wind. You can see insulation stuffed into the eaves and rafters. The windows are boarded up. One of the outhouses has merely a skeleton of a roof with just the wooden beams remaining. Brambles and creeping plants are everywhere.

I wonder who owns the land.

Back home, I researched the property. It's called Park Grange Farm and it's a Grade II listed building. Planning permission has been given to convert it into four apartments, five barn conversions, and a new four bedroom house.

For £1,050,000 freehold, it's yours. Seeing that there's a sign saying 'Dangerous Building,' I seriously wonder who would want to cough up that money.