Cartwheel penny 1797 found at Soggibottom

This is a cartwheel penny, found under our door when the cottage was rebuilt in the 70's. The penny is dated 1797.
This very penny came back into the cottage 2 days ago.
Large and heavy, I can't imagine saving many of these in an old sock.
You would have had to have a huge piggy bank.


The paper work we have about the cottage dates back to 1668.
At the time it was a main road. That's the single track bridge in the picture we still cross to get here. You can just see the cottage in the bottom right of the picture.

An ideal place for a Smithy and we understand that is why the cottage was built.
From the amount of horse shoes and nails we still find in the garden maybe we could re- start the business.



Over the years the cottage had another house built onto the side of it. It was removed in the late 1960's as it began to be unsafe.
This is a picture taken about 1900.

Soggibottom cottage is still there. That is our chimney in the middle of the picture.
The house had at some point been made into two cottages and at one time a family of 13 lived here.
The spring is still here and now we have gas and electricity and running mains water.
Before anyone asks.......

The downhill slide for the cottage took a few years. It became one building again.
Made into a store and builders yard.


Until the builder decided to turn it back into two cottages once more.
Finished cottages 1970.
We know it took 30 tons of sand to re render the outside. Most of the original features, oak lintels over the windows were taken out by order of the council. AWWWWWW!
How times have changed, now they wouldn't be allowed to have taken them out.


I feel I must now edit this slightly as one kind soul out there has noticed that we had the date on the penny wrong. I have amended the date to the date that is on the penny.... 1797......


Next posting how it is today.

soggibottom cottage 1960's

The electricity pole on the left is still on the other side of the Soggibottom garden.

No electricity until the 1960's, then only because of the guy who used to run his building business from the building added electricity.

You are also looking at the side view of the cottage.

Also a listed Chimney that someone it seems.......... knocked down.

I know your very tempted to look at the one in the middle of the picture, but its the small one on the end of the small building. Covered in ivy.

I think you can say the building had no where else to go but UP........

Soggibottom Cottage 1970

Poor old lady..............

We had such an interesting couple who visited the cottage today.

The guy and his wife who used to own the cottage.

This cottage.... the one in the above photo.

WE HAD A HISTORY LESSON.............. all to come during the week...............

The window on the right is where the bear, Frank, Mew and Amie now sit..........keep watching....

Paua Numbers

Paua from New Zealand .............

Rebeccaswayround Soggibottom Quilt

Way back in the Spring Becca sent a parcel from the first stop on her journey.

Rebeccas way round has amazing pictures you just need to click.

I had cheekily suggested she would love to bring back some real Indian Cotton.

She sent a double panel of material and Becca said I could always cut it up.



With a little thought Fluffs and I decided she might like to have a quilt made from the material.

On chilly Winter nights. back here in England it would be a reminder of all her travels.

I carefully hand washed the dye out.

I carefully dyed my hands orange and red and then back to orange again.

I carefully loaded the soggy raggy orange and red Indian cotton into the washing machine.

As Becca made her way around the Southern Hemisphere, I quilted.

I finished it ages ago. But until she came back to the cottage couldn't show you.



It took ages for the dye to come out from my hands.

The washing machine still blushes slightly pink.........


No patchwork, straight sandwich quilting.

It went back into the washing machine after Fluffs and I had finished.

I think Fluffs might have been a bit annoyed...........

Bessie of Budleigh farm

This is our good friend Bessie.



She is a hard working old lady of the dog world.



Here is Tony of Soggibottom being mugged for a cookie. She hears the car as we turn into the farm drive and before we have stopped she sits and waits patiently for one of Amie's cookie stash we keep in the car.



To be honest she has more than one....................
Or we can't get out of the car.................................

Hot and hazy in a Devon garden

Mew is always good at finding shady spots.




This was filmed yesterday.

Today the garden water butts are filling up fast.
Steady drizzle.

For every one sizzling away in the heat wave watching tennis.
Be cool...........