Is This The MODERN Way to Move House? - DreamTeamDownloads1, FTP Help, Movies, Bollywood, Applications, etc. & Mature Sex Forum, Rapidshare, Filefactory, Freakshare, Rapidgator, Turbobit, & More MULTI Filehosts

Ladybbird · 11-06-20, 07:12

Now THAT'S What You Call Moving House! Can't Stand The Thought of Leaving a Beloved Family Home? Neither Could The Owners of This Elizabethan Manor House - So They Decided to Take it With Them...
And Now it Could be Yours For £1.9m…

John and Angela Hodge could not leave their 16th-century Grade II-listed home
They arranged to move the entire building half a mile up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk
For inspiration they used Abu Simbel, one of the great ancient sites of Egypt
Dubbed 'Britain’s ultimate mobile home' it is now up for sale for £1.9 million

Daily Mail UK, 11 JUN 2020

Moving house is a stressful business.

There’s all that packing up and agonising over what to take, what to throw out, what to give away; then there’s the settling into a new home.

But for John and Angela Hodge there was the additional heartache of knowing that they didn’t really want to leave Ballingdon Hall, their 16th-century Grade II-listed Elizabethan manor house, in the first place.

So, in the winter of 1972, they decided to keep it — but move the entire building half a mile up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk, where they could enjoy commanding views over the Stour Valley and live happily ever after.

John and Angela Hodge decided they simply could not leave their 16th-century Grade II-listed Elizabethan manor house, and so moved it using extraordinary measures

It was an outrageous fantasy and one that made headlines around the world, with many people thinking it was an impossible task. But the Hodges, who acquired the property in 1959, proved that there were mobile homes — and then there was Ballingdon Hall.

‘It was my idea and everyone thought I had gone mad — even my husband,’ says Mrs Hodge, 85. ‘But I loved the house so much and was prepared to do anything to stay in it.’

What prompted moving the whole caboodle was an encroaching modern housing estate on one side of the drive and expanding industrial warehouses on the other, near the busy A131 which was being improved.

The inspiration Mrs Hodges drew upon for her audacious plan was Abu Simbel, one of the great ancient sites of Egypt. For 3,000 years, Abu Simbel’s two temples sat on the west bank of the River Nile.

But, in a remarkable feat of engineering, the entire complex was dismantled and rebuilt on a higher hill to make way for the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s.

‘I thought to myself “if they can do that at Abu Simbel they can do it in Sudbury,” but when we approached various heritage bodies they all said we could not take down the house piece by piece and rebuild it because it was too fragile. The only way was to move the whole thing as it was.

The stunning property now sits half a mile away up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk, where they could enjoy commanding views over the Stour Valley

Pynford (now Abbey Pynford), a firm of engineers, took on the project and said bravely that the job could be completed in a week.

Some promise. In fact, it took almost a year — and, like most building works, cost double what was quoted, amid all kinds of legal wrangling.

Built by Sir Thomas Eden, a wool baron and local High Sheriff, in 1593 — the year in which Britain was threatened by a Spanish invasion — Ballingdon Hall used to be five times bigger than it was in 1972.

Even so, it was a considerable size and weight, albeit made lighter in readiness for the move by removing five huge chimneys, the inglenook fireplaces and some interior walls, all of which were rebuilt once the house was settled in its new position.

First, Pynford cut a trench all around the building, slid wooden beams under the house and started to lift the whole structure by 12-15 ft using hydraulic lifts.

Then, supported by two massive Bailey bridges (portable bridges used in World War II), the 170-ton timber house was rolled on to 26 metal wheels. Two huge caterpillar tractors were deployed to do the heavy dragging when everything was in place and the time was right.

The big day came on Leap Day, February 1972. But leap it did not. In fact, it moved just a few inches for the first few days.

‘I was very nervous and began to wonder if we were doing the right thing, especially because it had to be dragged in an S shape to minimise the gradient of the hill,’ says Mrs Hodge.

‘And people came up and asked what would happen if it started to slide back down.’ Word spread about the extraordinary spectacle unfolding on the Suffolk/Essex border.

Newspapers estimated that 50,000 turned up to watch during over the year. ‘One weekend, we actually charged people sixpence (2½p) to come into the grounds and see what was happening.

'There were loudspeakers telling people not to get too close. If one of the wires had snapped it would have been catastrophic’.

The money raised — around £3,000 — went towards the restoration of the 15th-century tower of the local All Saints Church.

Moving the house proved to be wise. One night, there was a fearful storm, which felled a giant oak next to the house’s old position.

‘If we had been there, the tree would have destroyed the house and killed us and our then two young children,’ says Mrs Hodge. ‘That told me it was meant to be.'

Eventually, Ballingdon Hall was lowered gingerly on to its 20thcentury foundations exactly in the position that the Hodges wanted. The beams were removed one by one, with new trenches built in a reverse process of what happened a year earlier.

It took a further five years to reinstate the chimneys, construct new plinths around the bay windows and restore the fire places and interiors.

That was when the wrangling started, over the cost.

Mrs Hodges doesn’t recall the exact figures. ‘It was expensive, let’s leave it at that.’ At one point, Pynford sued Mr Hodges, a solicitor, for £6,000 in unpaid bills, while he accused the firm of causing more than £75,000 worth of damage.

Mrs Hodge’s husband died last year and she is now finding the 25-room, three-storey house too big. So, reluctantly, she has put it on the market for £1.9 million and hopes to move somewhere more manageable.

‘I have been so happy here and have always realised that we are just custodians of the houses we live in. It’s time now to pass the house on.’

There’s an element of keeping the sale in the family. The Colchester estate agents tasked with selling the property is run by Nicholas Percival, who is married to the daughter of Mrs Hodges.

‘I never lived there myself, but you would certainly never know that it’s only occupied its spot for less than 50 years,’ says Mr Percival. And, if desperate, he could always tempt buyers with the slogan — Britain’s ultimate mobile home.

11-06-20, 07:12	#1
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,548 Thanks: 27,621 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Is This The MODERN Way to Move House? Now THAT'S What You Call Moving House! Can't Stand The Thought of Leaving a Beloved Family Home? Neither Could The Owners of This Elizabethan Manor House - So They Decided to Take it With Them... And Now it Could be Yours For £1.9m… John and Angela Hodge could not leave their 16th-century Grade II-listed home They arranged to move the entire building half a mile up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk For inspiration they used Abu Simbel, one of the great ancient sites of Egypt Dubbed 'Britain’s ultimate mobile home' it is now up for sale for £1.9 million Daily Mail UK, 11 JUN 2020 Moving house is a stressful business. There’s all that packing up and agonising over what to take, what to throw out, what to give away; then there’s the settling into a new home. But for John and Angela Hodge there was the additional heartache of knowing that they didn’t really want to leave Ballingdon Hall, their 16th-century Grade II-listed Elizabethan manor house, in the first place. So, in the winter of 1972, they decided to keep it — but move the entire building half a mile up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk, where they could enjoy commanding views over the Stour Valley and live happily ever after. John and Angela Hodge decided they simply could not leave their 16th-century Grade II-listed Elizabethan manor house, and so moved it using extraordinary measures It was an outrageous fantasy and one that made headlines around the world, with many people thinking it was an impossible task. But the Hodges, who acquired the property in 1959, proved that there were mobile homes — and then there was Ballingdon Hall. ‘It was my idea and everyone thought I had gone mad — even my husband,’ says Mrs Hodge, 85. ‘But I loved the house so much and was prepared to do anything to stay in it.’ What prompted moving the whole caboodle was an encroaching modern housing estate on one side of the drive and expanding industrial warehouses on the other, near the busy A131 which was being improved. The inspiration Mrs Hodges drew upon for her audacious plan was Abu Simbel, one of the great ancient sites of Egypt. For 3,000 years, Abu Simbel’s two temples sat on the west bank of the River Nile. But, in a remarkable feat of engineering, the entire complex was dismantled and rebuilt on a higher hill to make way for the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s. ‘I thought to myself “if they can do that at Abu Simbel they can do it in Sudbury,” but when we approached various heritage bodies they all said we could not take down the house piece by piece and rebuild it because it was too fragile. The only way was to move the whole thing as it was. The stunning property now sits half a mile away up a hill in Sudbury, Suffolk, where they could enjoy commanding views over the Stour Valley Pynford (now Abbey Pynford), a firm of engineers, took on the project and said bravely that the job could be completed in a week. Some promise. In fact, it took almost a year — and, like most building works, cost double what was quoted, amid all kinds of legal wrangling. Built by Sir Thomas Eden, a wool baron and local High Sheriff, in 1593 — the year in which Britain was threatened by a Spanish invasion — Ballingdon Hall used to be five times bigger than it was in 1972. Even so, it was a considerable size and weight, albeit made lighter in readiness for the move by removing five huge chimneys, the inglenook fireplaces and some interior walls, all of which were rebuilt once the house was settled in its new position. First, Pynford cut a trench all around the building, slid wooden beams under the house and started to lift the whole structure by 12-15 ft using hydraulic lifts. Then, supported by two massive Bailey bridges (portable bridges used in World War II), the 170-ton timber house was rolled on to 26 metal wheels. Two huge caterpillar tractors were deployed to do the heavy dragging when everything was in place and the time was right. The big day came on Leap Day, February 1972. But leap it did not. In fact, it moved just a few inches for the first few days. ‘I was very nervous and began to wonder if we were doing the right thing, especially because it had to be dragged in an S shape to minimise the gradient of the hill,’ says Mrs Hodge. ‘And people came up and asked what would happen if it started to slide back down.’ Word spread about the extraordinary spectacle unfolding on the Suffolk/Essex border. Newspapers estimated that 50,000 turned up to watch during over the year. ‘One weekend, we actually charged people sixpence (2½p) to come into the grounds and see what was happening. 'There were loudspeakers telling people not to get too close. If one of the wires had snapped it would have been catastrophic’. The money raised — around £3,000 — went towards the restoration of the 15th-century tower of the local All Saints Church. Moving the house proved to be wise. One night, there was a fearful storm, which felled a giant oak next to the house’s old position. ‘If we had been there, the tree would have destroyed the house and killed us and our then two young children,’ says Mrs Hodge. ‘That told me it was meant to be.' Eventually, Ballingdon Hall was lowered gingerly on to its 20thcentury foundations exactly in the position that the Hodges wanted. The beams were removed one by one, with new trenches built in a reverse process of what happened a year earlier. It took a further five years to reinstate the chimneys, construct new plinths around the bay windows and restore the fire places and interiors. That was when the wrangling started, over the cost. Mrs Hodges doesn’t recall the exact figures. ‘It was expensive, let’s leave it at that.’ At one point, Pynford sued Mr Hodges, a solicitor, for £6,000 in unpaid bills, while he accused the firm of causing more than £75,000 worth of damage. Mrs Hodge’s husband died last year and she is now finding the 25-room, three-storey house too big. So, reluctantly, she has put it on the market for £1.9 million and hopes to move somewhere more manageable. ‘I have been so happy here and have always realised that we are just custodians of the houses we live in. It’s time now to pass the house on.’ There’s an element of keeping the sale in the family. The Colchester estate agents tasked with selling the property is run by Nicholas Percival, who is married to the daughter of Mrs Hodges. ‘I never lived there myself, but you would certainly never know that it’s only occupied its spot for less than 50 years,’ says Mr Percival. And, if desperate, he could always tempt buyers with the slogan — Britain’s ultimate mobile home. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)