Please tell me this is a joke...

[Becka]

Don't worry Penners, too attached to my own little cottage in Walden to move back to Haverhill.. (I used to live there too.. 1st house was a Wilcon homes ticky tacky box near sainsbury's with a big mistake boyfriend.. reason number 2 it would take something pretty special to get me back there ) but it is awful to see something being ripped down like that when I'm sure someone could easily save it.. just to build an identical new old looking one!

 

[Penners]

Becka - my memories of Haverhill are somewhat mixed, too!

 

[Nemesis]

Cornerstone, Journal of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings:

News Briefing (two full colour pictures) page 5
Heritage Groups angry at on-line auctions of historic architercture; listing policy in East Anglia attacked

OUTRAGE OVER INTERNET SELL OFF

The SPAB, SAVE Britain's Heritage and the Georgian Group have voiced extreme concern over the recent sale of an entire historic house - apparently in fair condition - by an owner who wishes to demolish it and build a new house on the site.
The impressive, large, timber-framed farmhouse - which is probably Georgian but may contain older elements - is near Haverhill, near the Essex-Suffolk border. Amazingly, it seems that not only is it unlisted, but that consent has allegedly ben given for its demolition. As such, the vendor, whose family, it appears, have lived in the house for many years, is entirely withinh his rights to demolish the house and sell its parts to the highest bidder. The vendor says that the house has severe structural problems.

The sale has appalled heritage groups, concerned at the growing number of swift internet auctions of architectural pieces. As Cornerstone was going to press, James Darwin, regional caseworker for the Georgian Group, was pushing for a spot - urgent - listing on the building. This, he says, highlights a particular problem in parts of East Anglia, where many important or valuable historic buildings are left unlisted. "There are an awful lot of good Georgian buildings in this area which aren't listed" he says. "We are concerned about the increasing number of things appearing on the internet for sale, with no provenance. There are parts of East Anglia where the local authorities are not interested in Georgian or Victorian buildings. This is a worry, with the pressures of redevelopemnt in the area."

The placing of the advertisement has been met with some derision and anger by some on the internet. "For your next project, how about selling off one-square-inch pieces of a Gainsborough painting?" said one. The vendor is unmoved. "To restore would have meant a large open chequebook with no light at the end of the tunnel," he said. This way we can build a new house, designed to mirror the old, using some of the old materials and details"

 

[Lynn]

"To restore would have meant a large open chequebook with no light at the end of the tunnel," he said. This way we can build a new house, designed to mirror the old, using some of the old materials and details"

Sort of a Disneyland version of the old. The trouble with the times we live in is the element of unreality and lack of quality that has seized us.

I'm glad this organization objected in an official way. I'm sure if priorities were in order the old house could have been preserved and it would have been a valuable part of the landscape and asset to the local community.