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Anyone ever asked to look inside someones house?

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  • Anyone ever asked to look inside someones house?

    Hi

    next year we are going to do a trip around the UK and one of the places we intend to go to is Edinburgh where my grandad was born, who passed in 1997. My nan is going to come with us and she said she would love to see Edinburgh to see what my grandad would of seen, but I was thinking of maybe writing to the person who lives in the house (if it still exists) that he was born in and see if we would be allowed to pop in? I know its a bit of a cheek but she is getting more immobile and is never likely to visit again
    Robyne


    Name interests: Alderton, Osborne, Danslow, Hanley, Bowkett, Lakin, Elliott, Banner, Walters, Reed, Deighton, Sleight, Dungar ;)

  • #2
    better than just dropping in and asking. at least the person would have notice if they agree!

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    • #3
      No i would never just turn up, i just wondered if anyone had actually asked before
      Robyne


      Name interests: Alderton, Osborne, Danslow, Hanley, Bowkett, Lakin, Elliott, Banner, Walters, Reed, Deighton, Sleight, Dungar ;)

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      • #4
        I know some in real life who do ask and was allowed in . always worth a letter .. vic reeves did it on his "who do you think you are"
        wye surrey/london/birmingham
        lawrence/laurence berkshire/london/norfolk
        hall harrison cook/e pratt surrey
        ebbage maltby pratt norfolk
        herbert pratt yorkshire/hampshire
        armstrong/rickinson/harrison/beddington yorkshire

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        • #5
          My mother went to the outside of her grandfather's house. She was able to point out to the owner the stone that her grandfather had set on the property - the owner had never realized it was there.

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          • #6
            Twice I've knocked on doors to ask permission to photograph a house and been invited in. I followed up with a thankyou card and a copy of the photo of the couple who lived there in 1881. The 2nd time I went armed with a copy of the ancestors photos, the house is now part of Goldsmith's College and the technician who answered the door showed us round and thought maybe my ancestors were responsible for the odd noises she heard there after dark! I've never tried to arrange a visit beforehand, but those that don't ask, don't get, so good luck with your request.

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            • #7
              excellent thanks. Once she confirms she definately wants to come and we have dates set I will drop a note to the owner (if they exist) and if they agree make it a little surprise for her
              Robyne


              Name interests: Alderton, Osborne, Danslow, Hanley, Bowkett, Lakin, Elliott, Banner, Walters, Reed, Deighton, Sleight, Dungar ;)

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              • #8
                I was was once in the area were my ancestors lived so I found the lane then looked for the house.. couldn't see it so asked where it may have been.. the lady asked for the name that I was looking for and said that they still live here.. the house was hidden behind trees and the family have lived there since the 1700s
                I did knock on a door in Swansea but as it was a muslim female I asked if she could pop upstairs and take a photograph of the view of the bay which she kindly did..sent the photograph to NZ where the family moved in 1922

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                • #9
                  No harm in writing to ask. My mum did just knock on a couple of doors & was asked in but she was quite elderly & probably didnt look dangerous.

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                  • #10
                    I was up in Edinburgh 2 weeks ago for the Tattoo,its a wonderful city.
                    Try this Google Maps link to find and view the house you are interested in. (as you say "If it still exists".) I used it to check out the car parking at the B&B
                    we stayed at.


                    Rgds Matt
                    My avatar is my fathers father,name unknown.............................

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My Granson was once approached by people who had come from Canada and saaid they had lived there as children but daughter was at work and neighbours were minding GS but they never came back to ask again so best to write first.

                      Edna

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                      • #12
                        Ive just found my grandad's birth cert and the house, which is mighty impressive however it appears to now be flats unless I can find out of it was flats to begin with (although not sure which flat it would be then as it just states a number not any flat details etc)
                        Robyne


                        Name interests: Alderton, Osborne, Danslow, Hanley, Bowkett, Lakin, Elliott, Banner, Walters, Reed, Deighton, Sleight, Dungar ;)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I also knocked to ask if I could photograph of the front of my Great Grandfather's house near Tunbridge Wells and was asked in. I had been there once as a very young child, in the 1940's, with my Mum and couldn't remember anything till they took me in the room leading off the kitchen and it certainly stirred up some long forgotten memories. He had died but his unmarried daughter lived there, she was in her 80's.

                          Yes definitely write, as they may not be in if you just knock on the day. I hadn't thought about going in the house but I would certainly write if I went anywhere again.

                          Good Luck

                          Linda

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                          • #14
                            I have been to Astley ,Shropshire 3 times and have knocked on the door where my g grandmother lived ...no answer each time.....then another descendant went - and knocked - and they were invited in ....I was so jealous because I was desperate to see inside my "little Grans " house ...she died aged 96 in 1959 when I was 8 and she used to fascinate me with her stories of the late 1800`s ....I just wanted to see inside her Cottage ...and isn`t it ironic ??....that cottage was considered a dingy little abode 50 years ago....now...it would cost a fortune to buy because it`s in a tiny quaint village away from the hustle and bustle ....how times have changed
                            allan
                            Allan ......... researching oakes/anyon/standish/collins/hartley/barker/collins-cheshire
                            oakes/tipping/ellis/jones/schacht/...garston, liverpool
                            adams-shropshire/roberts-welshpool
                            merrick/lewis/stringham/nicolls-herefordshire
                            coxon/williamson/kay/weaver-glossop/stockport/walker-gorton

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                            • #15
                              Allan- have you tried rightmove or zoopla or even mouseprice(?)to see if the house has been sold in the past ten years and the details up on these websites? if you are lucky they may have internal photos so you can nosey around.
                              Angelina

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                              • #16
                                When we visited the UK several years ago, we went to one of the streets in Leeds where my husband had lived as a child. We hadn't intended to do anything or approach anyone, he was just showing me where he had lived. We sat in the car, looking across the street, and he was saying which was his bedroom window and so forth, and a woman crossed over and asked if we were alright, and if she could help us.
                                Clive told her that we were visiting from Australia and that he used to live there. "Well that is funny," she said" the lady who lives there now is visiting her daughter in Australia, and I am keeping an eye on the place for her". She thought we were 'casing the joint', and was taking her duties as 'watchful neighbour' very seriously.
                                Not anything to do with anything really, but in most cases someone will talk to you. They are usually a friendly and helpful lot over there. good luck with your searches.
                                ann

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                                • #17
                                  While in the Uk i visited the little village that a lot of my family came from on my dads side, the house my G grandparents lived in is still their & is very impressive, its the largest house in the village & I was thrilled to bits to see it,but decided against knocking on the door as I didnt want to scare anyone,I decided the best way was to write a letter,which I did including a copy of an old photo of the house & a stamped self addressed envelope, I was dissapointed to never receive a reply & it was months later I found out a good reason why, the house had been converted into flats for the blind...
                                  Jenn

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                                  • #18
                                    I can remember a person on another site I was a member of was upset that he had seen on a show about auction sales of houses that he saw his recently bereaved Grandmothers house on sale and was not happy about what had been recorded or said about the house prior to sale.

                                    Imagine what he must have felt to hear the commentator running down the state of that house that he had fond memories of, its a bit like knocking on the door and seeing a whole massive mess or a sparkling big change from what it had been in your memory or imagination of dear old gran.

                                    Edna

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                                    • #19
                                      Originally posted by angelina View Post
                                      Allan- have you tried rightmove or zoopla or even mouseprice(?)to see if the house has been sold in the past ten years and the details up on these websites? if you are lucky they may have internal photos so you can nosey around.
                                      A few years back I was mucking around on the computer doing a bit of googling and I put in the address my grandparents were at when I used to visit them as a child - I was delighted to find that the house was "on the market" and I got internal pictures of all the rooms and the outside.
                                      Unfortunately the place had been completely refurbished and I didn't really recognize it at all.
                                      Still, I was fair chuffed.
                                      herky
                                      Researching - Trimmer (Farringdon), Noble & Taylor (Ross and Cromarty), Norris (Glasgow), McGilvray (Glasgow and Australia), Leck & Efford (Glasgow), Ferrett (Hampshire), Jenkins & Williams (Aberystwyth), Morton (Motherwell and Tipton), Barrowman (Glasgow), Lilley (Bromsgrove and Glasgow), Cresswell (England and Lanarkshire). Simpson, Morrow and Norris in Ireland. Thomas Price b c 1844 Scotland.

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                                      • #20
                                        I found recently the exact house where my GG Grandmother was born in 1851. As I was looking at it preparing to take a photo someone came out of the house and asked if he could help .When I explained he offered to ask his grandparents who actually owned the house if they had any photos of the house and interior before they renovated it . I am sending them to a descendant in Australia . An amazing coincidence happened to me last year . I was actually passing my grandparents house when a girl stopped me and asked for directions to her gg grandparents address . She had come up from England and had only a vague idea of the location . She had stopped one of the few people in the whole of my town who was related ! What are the chances of that happening ? My grandparents were no longer living so it could have been anyone .Wasn`t she lucky ?

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