Hell-Hole House

"Hell-Hole Farm" is hidden away in deep undergrowth in semi-rural Cheshire.

 This long-abandoned farmhouse was bought by what was then Cheshire County Council in 1975 so that a bypass could be built. The house has been left to rot and decay and in 2011 Cheshire East Council decided that the land could be used to create much-needed "affordable" housing. This plan hasn't materialized yet but the council seem to still be generally in favour of the idea. The average detached property currently sells for over £500,000, so I guess that affordable housing is needed.
In any case, Urban Spaceman and myself turned up to have a nosey. (Mr. Spaceman now being one of the "Cheshire Set" had passed this place several times before.) This was our "Plan B" after a failed attempt at getting anywhere near an old Cheshire Hospital. After scrambling through the undergrowth we came to the back of the property and found a wheel-less car parked up. Not the sort of vehicle one is accustomed to seeing in Cheshire. 

We found a half-open rickety door leading to a couple of ground floor rooms and some very unsafe stairs leading upstairs which was deemed not worth the risk. There was a yellowing newspaper on the floor, dated May 27th 1963 but not much else. 

We came out and climbed through the window pictured above to gain access to the main part of the house. Again, the rooms appeared to be quite completely trashed with dark, with boarded up windows, making photography quite tricky. 

Upstairs to four empty bedrooms and the remains of a bathroom. (Bathroom suite long-gone with the scavengers.)

Bedroom One (The Lilac Suite) 

Bedroom Two (with a unique "Skylight" feature!)

Bedroom Three (nice curtains!)

Bedroom Four and the Bathroom were just too dark to even bother photographing.

Back downstairs . . . 

No wonder nobody's bothered hoovering for some time!

Living room curtains (all the rage in the 1960s!)

 The hallway, nicely decorated with illiterate scrawl!

Remember how we accessed the building? Well we could have just gone round the front and walked straight in but that wouldn't be half as much fun!

 The house from the front.

This place is long past its best, as the council decide what to do with the site, which is really sad.

Despite the trashed state of the place it was O.K. as a "Plan B". I guess it will eventually be flattened and several box-like starter homes will be built. Or maybe Yaya Toure will use some of his £220,000 a week to build a Space-age "Eco-home?"

The Abandoned "Dog House"

This abandoned house earned the nickname "Dog House" thanks to this warning inscribed into a stone notice by the door. However, it doesn't much look like a dog anymore . . . !

The house was on the market in 2013 for £369,950. It didn't sell and has fallen into a rapidly declining derelict structure. Set in rural greenbelt land, the site contains 11 acres. The house is believed to date back 400 years with later additions. It must have been quite a house in its day, with three reception rooms and four bedrooms.

                              I visited on a murky, drizzly February Sunday with Judderman.  
                          Entry was round the back. Firstly the garage.

The living rooms were extremely dark and not much left behind. There were quite a few children's toys scattered around the house, and, quite disconcertingly, bolts on the outside of the bedroom doors!

Then upstairs, where light was not a problem, mainly because the roof was so badly destroyed.

This was the entrance to what was once a balcony on the upper floor.

 

This last bedroom was accessed by going down a couple of steps and then up another step. The roof was almost non-existent and so open to the elements. There was foliage growing on the floor and on the rotting mattresses left behind.

 Back outside.

 This was a weird Robin Reliant which appeared to have been converted into a rather basic caravan.

And finally, the view from the house. Idyllic. Such a shame for it to rot into its present state.