Sunday, June 13, 2010

A piece of history


This Building is call Stratford House
and it is in Birmingham in the UK



It is listed as a grade ll* building which means
particularly important building 
of more than special interest


and has been scheduled as an ancient monument


 Now it is offices

but in 1601 it was built by Ambrose Rotton as a home
for him, his wife Bridget and their children.
The initials of Ambrose and Bridget are carved over the porch
and they called it Camp Hill Farm  


I wonder if it looked something like this 


or perhaps this in 1601



If, it was still a home
 perhaps the staircase would look more like this today



Was the dining room of those years


served from a kitchen like this?


and could it look like this now?


Would Ambrose and Bridget
 have had their living room looking like this?


and would current owners have it more like this?


Would a new dining room have looked like this

         

When once it was this?

         
Perhaps it would look more like this today.

***

It doesn't really matter though

 because

 what matters is

that we have a family tree on my Mothers side
 that goes unbroken back to 1216
and smack dab in the middle of that family tree sit

 Ambrose and Bridget Rotton!

The Rotton family lived in this house for 95 years
 before the farm was broken up and sold
Apparently the City streets of Birmingham
 are built over the paddocks that Ambrose's cattle once ran in.

Now isn't that a fascinating piece of history for my family?

UK daughter doesn't yet know
 that she is going to try and get photos of the interior
 but she will when she read this. LOL!!!      

Goodnight

           




9 comments:

  1. i love the place.
    but...
    what stands out in my head is the name 'Bridget' and the year 1601.
    that is some old name eh?
    xx

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  2. Fascinating! I can not imagine have my heritage traced back that far. I think it is so wonderful that you can. Thanks for the visit to my blog,ever faithful blogging buddy,Kathysue

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  3. That is fascinating! I would love to trace my family tree, maybe someday I will actually do it. How exciting your family lived in the home for 95 years!
    Have a pretty day,
    Kristin

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  4. How cool is that?! Hope you get some interior shots of the old homestead.

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  5. That is so exciting - I love the old buildings like this in England and the interiors are just as lovely too... How wonderful that your daughter is in Uk and can investigate further too. x

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  6. Ooh, I feel the daughterly pressure!! Haven't had a chance to go up there yet, but a little bit of finger work on the computer has discovered something quite lovely! I do regret to inform you Mama, that the house appears not to look like any of the above anymore and is not somebody's homestead. Instead, it is being used for something quite special - a charity centre for arts therapy. You can read about it on their website - http://www.bcat.info/index.asp
    With such an artistic streak in our own family, I suspect Ambrose and Bridget would be delighted that their beautiful homestead survived so many years (against many odds) to provide those in need with help in such a beautiful and creative way. xxx

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  7. love a piece of history, thanks for sharing julienne. hope you had a great weekend! verbena cottage

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  8. It is only on my Mother's side that we can go so far back the rest stops just prior to world war one when my Father's German ancestors fled Germany and we are still trying to find information on my French Grandfather's family.
    Fortunately on the Rotton side of the family the family tree has always been there so we didn't have to search.
    James thanks to Pink Faerie's message and the address there I have seen some inside photos...Not exciting...but the use to which the house has now been put is.
    Thank you all for visiting and your comments. This post was one for the family!!!

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  9. Hello Julienne
    I too am descended from Ambrose and Bridget, my 10 x great grandparents. I was in the house in 2003 when I visited England. At the time it was the offices of the lawyers for the Pakistani cricket team and they had done a lot of work to restore things internally. Stood in the massive fireplace, what a great feeling. I wonder how you and I are related?
    Regards
    Samantha (brummiesammi@gmail.com)

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I get such a kick out of your comments so please leave one. Its like finding that extra present under the Christmas tree!

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