Gilberts' Fridge

The history of our house...

A question was asked in the comments by my lovely sister Velecia--do we know the history of our house. Well, yes. Sort of.

When we closed on our house, our solicitors sent us all the paperwork they had acquired on it. We spent an evening going through the stuff. We have no idea when it was built, but it is estimated at the beginning of the 19th century. That would make it Georgian, for any history buffs. Based on the other houses in the neighborhood, that's pretty accurate. We do have the deeds from every time the house was sold, though. The first time it was sold was around 1847. We also have copies of the mortgage paperwork, which is quite groovy since the paperwork is all hand written beautifully and in funny old fashioned language. I really enjoy reading outdated legal jargon!

The house changed hands several times, and it was eventually converted to a shop and a flat. I think that happened around the turn of the century. It has been a draper's, a tobacconist, and, most recently, a fish and chip shop. In the early eighties it was converted into two flats and the shop was no more. Somebody died here in the late 80's, because we also have a copy of their death certificate and autopsy report (old guy, natural causes). Then, when we bought the house in 2006 we converted it back into a single dwelling.

So yeah, we know the history of the house. Most of the houses on our street have shop front windows as Fleetgate was originally residential, then it was converted to commercial for a while and is in the process of being changed back to a residential area. Because it is a conservation zone, nobody can make any exterior changes without council consent. So all the shop front windows are here to stay, which is kind of fun and kind of a nuisance. You have to be very creative with your decorating and spend a fortune on curtains and blinds to cover up the huge windows. Not to mention the cost of glass if you need to replace a window! The shop windows are massive, and Georgian windows are really big, anyway. Our front window is about 8'x5' and our bedroom window is almost as big, just tall instead of wide (around 7'x4').

I am really looking forward to moving back to the US, but I have to admit I'll be sad to leave our house. It has so much history and charm, and it will be difficult to find something that is so unique in Utah.

Oh, by the way, this morning Dylan stood up by himself--not leaning on furniture or anything. It was only for a few seconds--just long enough to clap his hands--but it was fun!