Our Little Neighbourhood

Just over ten years ago, we moved back to England from France. And we had a plan. We’d move to Ripon. It’s a smaller town than Harrogate, where we’d lived before, and which now seemed a scarily huge megalopolis (population 160, 000) compared with small-time Laroque d’Olmes (population 2,700). We were quite clear. We wanted to be in town, so we could make use of public transport and be within walking distance of shops and local amenities. But first of all, we’d rent somewhere so we could take our time choosing the right place.

The very first place we looked at ticked none of those boxes. It was just outside a village with not so much as a shop, five miles from Ripon, has four buses a day, none in the evening and on Sunday. The place on offer was the upper floor of a house attached to a gracious 18th and 19th century country house, set among large gardens, a wooded area and pasture. We fell for it. And ten years later, we’re still here, with no plans to move on.

You can see the pitched roof of our house, attached to the bigger house next door.

The gardens, the woodland are not ours, but we can use them freely. Our landlord lives in another house on the same site, while other family members occupy the bigger house.

Our house is probably no longer recognisable as the dwelling it once was, but parts of the original are still here. It was occupied from the 1200s by lay brothers from Fountains Abbey, who managed sheep and some crops. They slept in a dormitory – the first floor. The house was only re-configured so that it had separate rooms in the Victorian era, when it provided living accommodation for the servants working for the residents of the house next door. So much history here, yet most of it remains unknown.

Views from various windows

Our nearest neighbours.

Why would we ever want to move?

For Tina’s Lens-Artists Challenge: Walking the Neighbourhood

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

79 thoughts on “Our Little Neighbourhood”

  2. It looks charming. A part of me envies you. I have to admit though, that we went for all the boxes, 3 minutes walk to the tram which connects us to the whole metropolitan area Weinheim-Mannheim-Heidelberg, large grocery shop within walking distance, an elevator in the house if we ever have problems with stairs, etc. But there is woods close by, a park, history … life is full of compromises.

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  11. Has it been 10 years? I suppose it really has. My how time flies. Sometimes we pick things because it brings comfort and joy. I’m glad you found a place to live and enjoy the things that make you smile. Here’s to another 10 years. Peace.

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  19. The best places are often the places we could not originally imagine. Looks like you have your forever spot. The home is beautiful. Can you imagine if the walls could talk the history it would share with you! thanks for sharing with us.

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  22. OMG – what a dreamy and stunning spot you live in! no envy here at all, but it‘s a real showstopper. And the stories these places could tell – I love old homes, their history, their sturdiness and loveliness…. wise choice; you won‘t ever move again I hope.
    Thanks for sharing your ‚nest‘ – you‘re blessed.

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  23. Idyllic. And how wonderful to have those beautiful grounds and not have the maintenance of them. So do you only have the top floor of the house? Like an apartment? I know we’ve discussed the merits and cons of living in an isolated place previously. I’m sure I’d never want to live in a city or big town again, but being closer to amenities is tempting.

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    1. It’s a bit odd – we do have a downtairs room too – our large study, but we’re mainly upstairs. The rest of the downstairs is various storage areas belonging to the landlord. We don’t feel isolated, being only a mile from a village with an excellent village shop, and we’re equidistant between Ripon and Masham. Now, come the day when we can’t drive, it might be a different story …

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      1. We’re 1.5 miles from a shop, but it’s a heck of a trek up and down pretty steep hills. So a car is a necessity. I learned how much during the period mine was off road.

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      1. Have you thought about a buildings historian? Perhaps the University of York would be interested. If the building dates from 1200 there must be a lot of potential interest!

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      2. In fact the archaeologist with responsibility for Fountains knows more than we have found out, but he’s responsible for a large area and hard to pin down. I’ll catch him sometime!

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  34. Holy moly Margaret – you generated quite a reaction with this one! I love your home, I’d have stayed too!! The grounds are so lovely and who wouldn’t love being surrounded by those adorable little sheep! Looks absolutely idyllic. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

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  36. Indeed it does look lovely. Those stone walls are amazing and the gardens look so gracious some how. Apart from when beautified by snow, I imagine the winters could be tough (even compared to what I am getting used to in a wet-winter part of the country. But really, we are still spoiled with relatively mild temperatures!). I can quite see why you decided to stay. Contemporary buildings can never recreate that charm and character. And I imagine sheep make the best of neighbours.

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    1. They remain rather scared of us, those sheep. And yes, the winters are cold in our house. Those thick stone walls, so good at keeping heat out in the summer, are pretty unforgiving in January (and even now, actually).

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