Ghost Story

It had been twenty years since I had stepped over the threshold of the old cottage.

Back then the building had been completely derelict.

Even before I could recall the building had been in an advanced stage of decay with skeletal roof frame exposed to the elements and the tumble down gable brickwork just that, tumbling down. The rest of the main walls, in local warm sandstone were cloaked in choking creeper and systematic saturation by rain had left greenish streaks and hues in ugly form.

It had obviously been a very quaint residence and in the Pevsner Guide to the Buildings of East Yorkshire it had drawn a notable comment as being at one time a very fine example of an early 18th Century artisan dwelling.

In 1994 someone had taken on the brave task of renovation and my visit was to report to the Bank as to whether the plans and projections were viable.

In spite of the daunting scale of the project I could see the potential to restore the place to habitation.

It would take a lot of money, time and dedication to rebuild the fallen walls, shore up and underpin in places, reconstruct a roof framework and make watertight along with the multiple other issues required.

All of this would be under the close scrutiny of the Conservation Officer keen to preserve as much of the original fabric and materials as possible.

The west gable was extremely distorted and with a very precarious inward lean. It was however stable and it was an insistence that this character feature be retained, warts and all. Earth floors were replaced and a traditional sliding sash style window adopted for the main openings.

In the absence of a modern kitchen and indoor sanitation it was permissible for a new extension to be constructed but in faithful masonry and tile.

An old gypsum floor to a bedroom fell apart in the stripping out process. This was a common flooring form for an upstairs where domestic beasts were often sheltered in the front room over the winter. Steam from a large cow was not able to permeate and rot away the plaster.

Over a twelve month project period I returned to the cottage on a regular basis. I looked forward to the visits as I had been completely besotted by the character of the place and upon each trip out to the village location good progress had been made.

I did not however see the scheme through to full completion as my workload took me in another direction when I would otherwise have been called upon to carry out a final inspection to confirm full and satisfactory completion.

I did pass through regularly in the following years and even noted a couple of periods of the cottage being up for sale.

There was however unfinished business between me and the cottage.

This was finally addressed today when I returned to carry out a survey for yet another prospective owner.

It was as though I had never left.

The property was so very different from two decades ago but it had not lost any of its essential spirit and ambience. It was like being reunited with an old friend and I felt very much at ease and happy in tramping through the rooms and grounds.

I could finally sign off my involvement.

I stood in the hallway to conclude my inspection and announced to the seller that I was about to leave.

In an eerie silence, at that point, the front door, completely unassisted by man or draught swung open.

I was initially shocked but then felt ultimately calm in the realisation that the cottage was,in its own way, signing me off too.