Mr Straw’s House

The ordinary looking exterior of Mr Straw’s House hides a secret.

This week’s Curiosity is not really all that unusual from the outside, in fact it could be easily missed if taken at face value.  No. 5-7 Blyth Grove in Worksop aka Mr Straw’s House is an Edwardian semi which, due to unique circumstances, has become a time-capsule.

The story of this home is a rather eccentric one but now enables visitors to glimpse into the life of a family in the 1920s and 30s.  The Straw’s first moved into the house in 1923 and quickly set about making it their home.

Mr Straw, a successful grocer, died suddenly in 1932 whilst busy gardening.  The grieving family decided not to change anything from that moment onwards and resisted the urge to modernise the home in any way, not even changing a lightbulb!  For 60 years the family remained living this way without any of the conveniences of modern life and barely throwing anything away.

This strange behaviour has led to the house becoming a time-capsule of life at that moment in history.  Although the house is furnished with ordinary belongings and is not exactly grand, unlike most National Trust properties we are used to looking around, it does provide an opportunity to see what life was like for suburban families between the wars.

Mr Straw’s House, a house captured in time.

On view inside this curious property are family letters, photos, clothing, Victorian furniture and random household objects left scattered around the home.

Mr Straw’s House is open to the public but as it is a cosy place the National Trust recommend that you phone and book in advance.  Head to www.nationaltrust.org.uk to find more information about visiting Mr Straw’s House and upcoming events at the property.

We’d like to thank the people over at www.experiencenottinghamshire.com for this great suggestion for Curiosity of the Week. If you have an idea for a Curiosity of the Week then do to get in touch.   Send an email to info@contrarylife.com, we’ll be happy to hear from you.  If you look after a building, landmark or something unique that you think will make a good focus for Curiosity of the Week then why not tell us all about it?  There is no charge to feature in this slot.