The Swenglish Home

Don't judge the book by the cover...

Good morning, dear blog readers.

Some of you have expressed a curiosity about what our house looks like from the outside, so today I thought I would step outside and invite you to join me.

Our house is from the early part of the Victorian era (ca 1850), built in the local Bath stone. It is a semi-detached, i e, we share one wall with another house. The front of the house (below) is a little deceptive, as, over the years, the house has been extended at the back. In the picture above, taken from the garden at the back of the house, our house is to the right of the chimneys on the first and second floor, and includes the conservatory on the ground floor, and of course the recent extension with the arched doors.

When you travel through the UK, you notice how the exterior of the houses change, as the building material, particularly in old properties, will depend on what stone can be found in the local soil of each area. Around here, Bath stone is the most prevalent, with its beautiful, softly sand-coloured hue, but you only have to go a few miles south of here to see the majority of houses built in red brick. Coming from the land of wood, I am slowly beginning to love the stone here. There is something very solid about it.

I might even go as far as to say that - oh, do forgive me the appalling pun - stone rocks.