Chapter 1 of 7 · January 2011
The idea
Finding a cinema, bidding, buying
We saw a boarded-up picture house in Thorne and decided, more or less on the spot, that it should be our home. This is the auction, the nerves, the first loose plans, and the moment the building became ours.
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A plan comes together
At some point late last year, we noticed that the seemingly abandoned, boarded up night club was for sale. It's a dump, a massive building falling apart, paint peeling, even trees growing out of the walls! An eye sore if
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What have we done?
On Thursday 6th Jan at about 4pm, we exchanged contracts and now own the old picture house in Thorne. What have we done?
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Auction
I've never been to any auction, never mind one to buy a house, never mind one to buy a disused cinema. The different is, when the hammer falls, that forms a contract to complete. If we bid, we couldn't then back out. We
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Bidding pt1
We asked our friend and builder, Rich, to give us an idea of how much it would cost to bring down the back of the cinema. Without him going into the building, he reckoned £20k off the top of his head. There was no planni
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Bidding pt2
Just before I left the auction house, I just thought I may as well register my interest with them. I told them what I would be willing to bid, and surprisingly they were talking to me. Why, when what I was prepared to bi
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Loose plans
Very, very loose plans! We want to restore the frontage of the cinema, drop the back auditorium, and make it into a lovely family home with a big back garden. That's it. Simple... (!?!?)
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Thorne in danger
I found this article about Thorne on the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8805000/8805035.stm I know our picture house isn't that old, but it would certainly improve a bit of