We received this letter from the owner of a 1914 home in England that was a prefab shown in our book: The Gardeners’ Poultry Keepers’ Guide. This was a turn-of-the-century catalog from London of prefab greenhouses, farm buildings and — in this case — homes.
Hi,
I have just bought Ballintomb Cottage, a 1914 William Cooper Corrugated Iron house.
After searching for an Old William Cooper’s catalogue, I came across your reprint of it, and to my delight, Lloyd’s forward mentions the cottage sale in 2007.
In the last 10 years the previous owner has done nothing. The sale photographs are identical between 2007 & 2017.
Inside the building is pretty much sound. All but the lounge is still original wood panelling. The lounge was knocked through into the kitchen in the 1970s, and all the timber cladding removed and replaced with gyproc board.
I would like to restore it back to timber.
Keep up the good work — I have and often re-read most of your publications.
Regards,
–Ian Gilbert
