From Farmhouse to Holiday Accommodation |
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Affeton Barton, was constructed between 1646 and 1663 to be the residence for the tenanted farmer of the Barton and had being retained and maintained for that purpose until a dispute between the owner, Sir High Stucley and the tenant, Sidney Gillbard. In 1972 Sir Hugh decided to knock down the traditional stone farm buildings which had become extremely expensive to maintain and were not practical for cleaning with modern machinery., and replace them with a large covered yard. This created a major disagreement between Sir Hugh and the tenant Sidney Gillbard as to who was responsible for erecting the internal partitions. Ultimately this dispute led to the Gillbards relinquishing their tenancy in 1974 and they moved out of the farmhouse leaving it unoccupied. This provided an opportunity for Sir Hugh to move one of his employees, John Tucker, who was a tractor driver and shepherd, and living as a tenant, with his mother, in Stucley Arms Cottage, into the vacated property of Affeton Barton.
His mother die a few years later and John remained living in the house for the next forty years along with numerous cats. When John finally died the Barton was in poor condition. So much so that the smell left by the cats made the house almost impossible to enter. However, builders were found who were prepared to brave the issue and at significant cost the house was brought back to a reasonably high standard and let as a holiday cottage. |
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| of the to be the residence for the tenanted farmer of the Barton and had being retained and maintained for that purpose until a dispute between the owner, Sir High Stucley and the tenant, Sidney Gillbard. In 1972 Sir Hugh decided to knock down the traditional stone farm buildings which had become extremely expensive to maintain and were not practical for cleaning with modern machinery., and replace them with a large covered yard. This created a major disagreement between Sir Hugh and the tenant Sidney Gillbard as to who was responsible for erecting the internal partitions. Ultimately this dispute led to the Gillbards relinquishing their tenancy in 1974 and moved out of the farmhouse leaving it unoccupied.. This provided an opportunity for Sir Hugh to move one of his employees, John Tucker, who was a tractor driver and shepherd, and living as a tenant, with his mother, in Stucley Arms Cottage into the vacated property. His motherdie a few years later and John remained living in the house for the next forty years along with numerous cats. When John finally died the Barton was in the most appalling state. So much so that the smell left by the cats made the house almost impossible to enter. However, builders were found who were prepared to brave the issue and at significant cost the house was brought back to a reasonably high standard and let as a holiday cottage. | |