As usual, rural Wales delivers yet another lovely abandoned cottage. It seems Wales is littered with them. A drive around on any given day and after a while a new one pops up and this one didn't disappoint. Not a huge ammount of items left inside but a lot of character and original features to keep me happy.

After fighting through the overgrown gardens and down to the the door - trying not to slip over in the torrential rain and steep slope - and avoiding the nettle stings which blight summer exploring I was inside the house. A quick look around and the house was structurally safe and fine to walk on the upper floors. Just one downstairs room had a mini water fall from an overhead leak which caused a small lake to appear in that room.

 

First to catch my eye was the piano in the utility room. Still in nice condition and a gentle tap of the keys showed it to be still playable. Such a shame a beautiful instrument has been left behind and forgotten about. Obviously bought local in Oswestry as indicated by the guild lettering which read 'W.P Jones, Mendelssohn House, Oswestry'. Candlestick holders on the pianos facia made this a rather unusual example as well.

Into the kitchen area and a Rayburn Royal Cooker still remained and in remarkable condition. The horizontal oven door handles suggest a 1970's model or later.

 

The second utility room was my favourite room at the foot of the rear staircase. One wall tiled in pink and lime green tiles adjacent to a deep blue staircase and purple wall. Today these colours seldom get used in the rather generic interior styling of modern homes. One thing I love about old cottages/farmhouses is they are often decorated in a mish mash of colours which have no obvious style pattern but offer wonderful images and mix the light into something magical.

Another highlight was the bubble frosted glass in the main door. This combined with the pink decor on the walls, with blue doors into the dining room and the straight lines of the staircase cried out to be photographed. Simple lines and retro styling.

Upstairs was fairly sparse. A few children's toys seemed huddled together in one bedroom and an old pair of wellington boots remained in another. The main bedroom still had some lovely regal furniture left inside in perfect condition. My favourite being a large crib against the fluttering net curtains. Maybe children once lived here, as in a family home. Where they went is any ones guess.

 

Not really many clues as to the history of this cottage. No obvious farming links, maybe more of a residential than working home.

The name of the house derived from a newspaper cutting. Just that. A copy of The Sun dated 6th August 1990.

The back of the cottage had a conservatory added probably within the last 20 years, which had lots of clothes and bits and pieces however it didn't really fit the style of the rest of the retro feel of the cottage itself so I decided not to photograph it. 

 

Two hours in another Welsh abandoned house. A charming little cottage that no one seems to want. Nature has begun its assault on the exterior and soon a plethora of green will wrestle with the pinks, limes, blues and purples for space in Mandy's House.