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