'To the finder'

[RogerS]

While demolishing a non-structural wall up in the attic, a brown envelope fell out addressed 'To the finder'. Rather a nice touch, I thought.

Here it is - redacted

 

[duke]

Neat, only things I have found in walls were bottles, newspaper and construction waste.

 

[Woodbloke]

Reminds me of the chippy's note found in one of the green Huts at Bletchley Park when they were being refurbished recently. I can't remember the exact date but part of the pencil text said ...."there's a war on" - Rob

 

[Cabinetman]

Yes that must have been nice to find, helping Dil with that attic strip out that I mentioned on here, we found all sorts of stuff and depending where in the layers of insulation she was able to get the dates.
There was a medical book from a long time ago and also a key to one of the bedrooms, that made us think!

 

[fuse]

Thats a nice find - people rarely appreciate the amount of effort thats put in
Needs putting back
I restored an old stone and timber cottage at Yarkhill and found old pennies jammed into the timber joints.
Apparently to ward off malevolent entities
Didnt stop the ex inlaws though

One previous property yielded miniature brass peaked caps ( army officer style) made from shell casings borrowed from the local ammunition factory.

Another provided the remains of a 1933 copy of the Daily Mail
The classifieds were fascinating , and the copy would have the PC brigade spitting nails with its casual racism and misogyny.
The editorial spoke with a slight edge of caution regarding a certain Mr Hitler becoming a loose cannon.

 

[Lons]

We usually put a coin in the stonework, usually lower corner and always signed and dated the back of plasterboard somewhere. On some of the special builds we hid a time capsule as well.

 

[Eric the Viking]

I have done a few marble fireplace restorations in the past (presently couldn't lift even a corbel on its own, <grrr>), I used to embed small coins in the plaster of Paris bed for the top shelves. There was a practical purpose, to get a nice thin but parallel 'grout' line under the shelf, but if anybody dismantles the fireplace at some future point, the coins would be immediately obvious. I used mostly new pennies and American 1 cent pieces (to cause bemusement).

 

[RogerS]

Neat, only things I have found in walls were bottles, newspaper and construction waste.

I love finding old newspapers during renovations. Apparently ‘lessons will be learned’ have not.

 

[RogerS]

Thats a nice find - people rarely appreciate the amount of effort thats put in
Needs putting back

Afraid it would not have any future relevance as needs must and it’s all gone

The builder at our last place was doing a complete renovation of a large country house. The owner removed all the contents they wanted and told the builder that anything left was his. A few months later the builder discovered a hidden room and walled up inside it was a rather valuable vintage motorcycle

 

[Sheffield Tony]

In the course of renovations on our house, built 1938ish, I have found:

A pair of old boots in a boxed in area - I think this was a tradition.

Decorators marks in pencil under the wallpaper. One had a union jack, and something to the effect of "Germans massing on the coast of France for the invasion of England". Also a longish chain of "The last time" with a date. I presume he lived longer than he expected. All signed by the former owner.

A nice Philips screwdriver.

A wig.

 

[Distinterior]

About 30 years ago, I was working on a very old house in Suffolk that was undergoing a major refurbishment.
Part of the project involved running pipework in the large loft area ( The property was originally 3 x Tied Cottages)
The client had informed us to keep an eye out for ancient "graffiti" that had been carved into some of the original roof beams.
We found, carved into one of the purlins, ...." Down with Bony" and it was in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte.....

More recently, whilst installing a new bathroom at home in 2024 in my 1969 house ( we bought the house about 30 years ago....) , I found a small package under a load of original roof insulation.
The package was about 100mm square and about 20mm thick.....Wrapped up really tightly in brown paper and covered in thick sellotape......No writing or any kind or identification on the package whatsoever......It was clear that it was fairly "old".
Intrigued, I tore it open to find about 30 amateur Polaroid Instamatic photos of a lady posing in nothing but a fur coat and very little else......if you get my drift.....!!!!! Considering how old the pictures were, the images were in good condition without any degradation.
The pictures had been taken in the house, as we recognised the rooms and the old wallpaper that we had found whilst doing previous decorating work.....My wife was appalled, but I found it funny.
The lady looked in her mid twenties when the pictures were taken , but I've resisted the temptation to post them on local Social Media, asking if anyone recognises there potential Grandma.....

 

[Cabinetman]

About 30 years ago, I was working on a very old house in Suffolk that was undergoing a major refurbishment.
Part of the project involved running pipework in the large loft area ( The property was originally 3 x Tied Cottages)
The client had informed us to keep an eye out for ancient "graffiti" that had been carved into some of the original roof beams.
We found, carved into one of the purlins, ...." Down with Bony" and it was in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte.....

More recently, whilst installing a new bathroom at home in 2024 in my 1969 house ( we bought the house about 30 years ago....) , I found a small package under a load of original roof insulation.
The package was about 100mm square and about 20mm thick.....Wrapped up really tightly in brown paper and covered in thick sellotape......No writing or any kind or identification on the package whatsoever......It was clear that it was fairly "old".
Intrigued, I tore it open to find about 30 amateur Polaroid Instamatic photos of a lady posing in nothing but a fur coat and very little else......if you get my drift.....!!!!! Considering how old the pictures were, the images were in good condition without any degradation.
The pictures had been taken in the house, as we recognised the rooms and the old wallpaper that we had found whilst doing previous decorating work.....My wife was appalled, but I found it funny.
The lady looked in her mid twenties when the pictures were taken , but I've resisted the temptation to post them on local Social Media, asking if anyone recognises there potential Grandma.....

At last, something useful lol.
The down with Bony was a bit mild to our ears?