ASAnnabelle Spranklen

1. Article · Sep 29, 2026 · Annabelle Spranklen

   Squirrels in the loft and a mysterious scrapbook: autumn in our 500-year-old Sussex cottage (opens the original)

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   ‘Almost every local family has lived in it at some time, some have been born, some died. The new young ones turned up their noses at a house without bathrooms, hot water, flush toilets. As it grew more and more decrepit, the village became resentful. The village boys teased it, threw stones, which broke every window, pulled at the thatch, even pulling down the stone wall.’ Poring over these words, written on a typewriter by the cottage’s second owner in 400 years and preserved in a scrapbook tha

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2. Article · Jul 22, 2026 · Annabelle Spranklen

   Weevils, ants and notes from the neighbours: the stark reality of our first summer in a 500-year-old cottage (opens the original)

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   ‘I’m letting you know your beech hedge is blocking the pavement. Your predecessors always kept it trimmed… I am pretty sure it is a legal requirement.’ So read the note that had been pushed through our letterbox by a neighbour we had yet to meet. However well-intentioned it may have been, I couldn't help feeling a flicker of rage at the tone. We'd only been in the cottage for a little over two months, had a tiny newborn, were trying to help our four-year-old settle into his new school with a bou

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