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It's a home that two brothers lived in with their parents and when their dad died in 1932 nothing was ever changed or disturbed or rearranged after that date. It was frozen in time. The brothers remained bachelors and stayed in the home until death or old age forced removal. With no heirs, the last surviving brother left the house and it's contents to The National Trust. It is now preserved as a museum
When I say they left it as it was in 1932, this includes food in the kitchen pantry, original appliances from the 1920s, all their dad's coats and hats still hung on pegs in the hall, and so on. So a little piece of a historical era has been frozen.
As intriguing and interesting as it is, I find it a tad creepy. Don't get me wrong! I love antiques, in fact our home is filled with them and visitors often remark that it is like entering a museum with so much to look at in our home. And of course I am all for preserving family memories (which these brothers did - perhaps too well?) For me it seems as if the boys (and their mother) were unable to move on after the dad's death. So they too were stuck in time, perhaps never fully grieving his passing. And I think that's very sad.
What do you think? Amazing and a wonderful tribute or just a wee bit disturbing?
This is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIf they left the food from 1932 in the kitchen and pantry, and didn't change anything, but continues to live there for decades, what did they do with the food that they ate themselves?
ReplyDeleteI spend a lot of time in the apartment I live in, and I spend a lot of time in apartments that are preserved as part of a museum, and I personally do not see how you could combine the kind of preservation the article talks about with going about your daily life in that space.
Sounds like the father was a tyrant and the family was afraid to touch anything in the house. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteThis happened with a house in our extended family, and when the last relative died and the house was up for sale, there was a treasure trove of genealogical information there: letters, photos, genealogies all going back hundreds of years. The last relative was a family historian.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do find abandoned houses creepy. Like "The Shining." Makes me think of Jack Nicholson.
I found this so fascinating! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/07/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-july-19-2013.html
Have a great weekend!
I agree that it is sad. But they have also left a very interesting look back into time. I wonder which member of the family was the driving force in keeping things the same?
ReplyDelete