Alan Lee 'Illustrated Cottage' for Sale

[Lalwendë]

I see in Yesterday's Metro that an artist friend of Alan Lee has put her £380,000 Devon cottage up for sale. The kitchen has a mural painted by Alan Lee, Brian Froud and Charles Vess of 'Goblin Market'. The current owner is Terri Windling, founder of Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts, and she wants to take the murals with her but obviously can't!

Pictures are here (http://www.metro.co.uk/galleries/gallery.html?in_gallery_id=561&in_page_id=3&in_image_id=20633#gallery) but there's no story unfortunately. :(

The paintings are said to have added £25,000 to the value of the cottage (a beautiful thatch with stone walls) and it is said to be 'magical'. The estate agent pointed out that there is nothing to stop a new buyer from painting over the murals if they so wish, which is quite sad, as all of those artists are amazing.

[Child of the 7th Age]

What a beauty! Let's hope whoever buys this has the good sense to leave these murals intact.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

I should think that it would be stipulated in the contract!

[narfforc]

I've got lot's of spare black paint............................................. ..and some greyish colours I used in my cave.

[Bêthberry]

Those are definitely Froud ears! And shouldn't there be a copy of Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" (http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/gobmarket.html) framed somewhere for the eddyfication of prospective buyers?

Isn't there some kind of English Trust or Royal Trust or Heritage Trust that goes around protecting such sites? Sissinghurst's famous garden (http://www.touruk.co.uk/gardens/gardenskent_siss.htm) is a protected site and if a garden can be protected, cannot kitchen cottage murals?

[Lalwendë]

There's the National Trust and English Heritage, both funded by membership, but they specialise in owning property, rather than having any powers of protection. To protect the murals the cottage owner would have to seek 'listed building' status or be awarded it. And looking at that cottage it will almost certainly already be listed with Grade 1 status as it's 16th Century. However, to protect the murals it would have to be re-examined or re-evaluated - might take years to do. And sometimes protected status can reduce property value if they restrict future use (and they would stop you from having a new kitchen fitted!). The best hope of preserving them is the fact that the cottage has increased in value through having them.

[Holbytlass]

Lalwendë pointed out to the added price because of the murals so hopefully those who want to spend the extra money is because they want the paintings. Of course there are the weirdos out there who would spend the extra money to get their hands on something to ruin it for others.

It's lovely. I love the cabinetry in it also. I wouldn't even mind cleaning the dishes everyday, all day to be in a room like that.

The third picture showing the goblin holding the pears and pomegranet(I think that's what it is) reminds me of Bethberry's avatar but not as pretty.

[Mithalwen]

I really don't like these and wouldn't want them in my kitchen ..or anywhere... if the place were mine I'd cover 'em up before you could say "Farrow and Ball". They just give me the creeps. The one with the pomegranate looks like Rumpelstiltskin.... the stuff of nightmares...

Generally such extreme personalisation lowers the value of the property...unless you find someone who shares your taste.


My friends have recently bought cottage in Somerset and they previous owners were artists and there are pretty but very "tired" looking flowers all over the place which they feel a bit guilty about painting over.

Mush more to my taste is a green man in the local golden stone of the fireplace - it looks just like Envinyatar's old avatar

[Valier]

I thought the goblins looked alot the like the ones in the movie "The Labyrinth" But I like them none the less. The one with the banana is quite odd, but it made me giggle. :)

[JennyHallu]

I think whether or not murals would increase or decrease the value is largely a matter of quality. These are by well-known and skilled painters: the question concerning them is a matter of taste. They can be creepy or adorable, but there is never any doubt whether they look "tired".

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Dearest Miss JennyHallu,
I would not eat that fruit if you,
got it at the market place,
from vendors of a goblin race.

Or even in a cottage rare,
where with painted fruit, those denisons dare,
entreat you to accept a taste,
from goblins or artists whatever the case.

They're bound to haunt you after all,
if they cannot effect your fall.
Those lovely visions placed in your mind,
will spoil all fruit of terrestrial kind.

Sorry, JennyHallu, but with your current location I felt inspired.

[JennyHallu]

I feel so honored...a poem to me...

:D

[Bêthberry]

The third picture showing the goblin holding the pears and pomegranet(I think that's what it is) reminds me of Bethberry's avatar but not as pretty.

Hee hee ha ha. That pomegranate belongs to Persephone and her doom. And that banana reminds me of Tolkien's line in OFS, "But what of the banana skin?" Random acts of irrelevancy, I know.

Hilde, a delight as tasty a treat as any Goblin meat, and without the lingering after affects! Wonderful!


The best hope of preserving them is the fact that the cottage has increased in value through having them.

Hmm. That sounds like precious little hope at all. Over here, there's no correlation between aesthetic or historical appreciation and wealth. And anyone who suggested such would be howled off stage in a deluge of social umbrage at the thought that money is a quarantor of sensibility. There's no guarantee that those with the money to pay such increases actually appreciate the art or are interested in preserving it. In fact, often it is the opposite. We had a gorgeous historical site, prime Art Deco design and architecture, with a concert hall with acoustics that are to die for, and complete with a Lalique fountain, and the owner wanted to tear it down and turn it all into business offices, but couldn't because it was designated an historical site. Money did save it eventually, I s'pose, as it has become a site of fancy galas and high ticket fundraisers and isn't open to the public. It's a little scary having "art" here so thoroughly in the hands of our 'robber barons.'

EDIT: I can see the second, third, and fourth picture, but I can't open the one on page one. :(

[Lalwendë]

Well, I found the estate agent page (http://www.chagford.co.uk/fowchag30.html)and more about the story (http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=20857&in_page_id=2). Lovely house, but thatched cottages often have hidden nasty secrets. However its quite expensive as houses seem to be round there, so someone might want to keep the art, seeing as they'll have paid for it!

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

*Sigh* The story is not showing up, but the pictures are wonderful to see. I particularly like the garden and the attic room. And it is amazing to find how 'updated' the downstairs looks, but maybe that is just from the furnishings.

I don't understand the description of it having a slate and thatch roof, though. Do you suppose that there is a full slate roof under there? If so, I would wonder if the thatch was more of an external insulation.

[the guy who be short]

Somebody else reads the Metro? Great! :D

I think they're "nice" but not kitchen material, as Mith said.

[Mithalwen]

*I don't understand the description of it having a slate and thatch roof, though. Do you suppose that there is a full slate roof under there? If so, I would wonder if the thatch was more of an external insulation.


It looks to me that there is a small slate-roofed extension or dormer to the rear building . I am sure you would not get slate under thatch.

It is a good location and people will pay for thatch despite the increased insurance and high replacement / maintenance costs - and that roof- while it looks in good enough nick, has been clearly up there for a while . Even so I think that they are hoping that the murals will be a plus point for someone because even there, that is an awful lot of money for a very small cottage, with it seems no parking and a tiny garden. I love the way estate agents call it a double bedroom if you can squeeze a small double bed in - even if that is the only item of furniture and you can't walk around it!! I am sure you americans have larger "closets" :p

[JennyHallu]

Not every American lives in a huge home. My entire little house could fit in my parents' ground floor, with quite a bit of room to spare. But yeah, I've seen some pretty big closets.

Frankly, I think the place is unbelievably beautiful. Rather idyllic. I'd live there...and feel spoiled at how much lovely space I had, and the flagstones in the garden are just-- *sigh*

[Lalwendë]

Boring interjection:

Yes, there posibly is slate under the thatch on the offshot - the bedroom opened up to the roof apex will probably have a slate base, and if thatched with water reeds, then it may all be slate underneath due to building regs. Why do I know this? I spend hours perusing the property market. ;)

Anyway, for those who are scared the murals will be lost - this cottage may well go to someone seeking to have it as a holiday home and let it out, in which case, murals like that would be a huge attraction for holidaymakers. Though I would be very scared of spraying my cooking up the walls and ruining them.

I wonder if this is close to where Alan Lee lives? He says he gets his inspiration from the local landscape - check out his illustration of Tom & Goldberry's house (in the illustrated LotR), it's very similar to this one, and he said he drew it as a traditional Devon cottage.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Even so I think that they are hoping that the murals will be a plus point for someone because even there, that is an awful lot of money for a very small cottage, with it seems no parking and a tiny garden.

Yes, I was looking for a parking place also. And the painted woodwork upstairs is an unfortunate shade of green.

Thanks for the observations on the thatched roof, Mith. I wonder if it is hard to find someone to repair or replace them. (Did pehaps Margaret Thatcher's remote ancestors ply that trade?)

But back to the murals, really a kitchen is a bad place for them if you actually use the kitchen. They are bound to get a great deal grubbier there then anywhere else, I should think.

EDIT: Cross posted with you Lal. Thanks also for your input.

[Mithalwen]

Thatcher, like many surnames is occupational in origin... but of course that was her married name .. her maiden name was Roberts..another main group of surnames being derived from Christian names ie Roberts contraction of Robertson.... (others having origin in appearance or location... my own more or less means troglodyte!) Name origins are one of my hobbies so I am more confident than on rooves......


There has been a small revival but it is quite a skill which takes time so learn
.... so good thatchers are few and far between...Thatching is quite a good trade if you can get an apprenticeship thatch (http://www.thatch.org/)


But if you want thatch ...may I give a plug for my own locale (http://www.thewwwsite.com/lyndhurst.htm) (once a Tourist Information Officer always a TIO!).. Swan Green is the classic postcard unsurprisingly.. and there is the most gorgeous one on the way to Ringwood.... I am afraid for me that the muralled one doesn't compare ...

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

What fantastic links, Mith! Thank you. I've had quite a time exploring both, and was very pleased to find drawings that clarified what exactly goes into a thatched roof. It does seem like a lot of work to put one together, but it is suprisingly long lasting.

I do think that the holiday home idea would be a good option for the 'Illustrated Cottage' if the guests there were responsible people. And it is strange that I assumed that it must be close to Lee's home. It seemed the sort of thing that might have been done on the spur of the moment, and at the whim of artistic guests.