Somerset woman sells house after 102 years living there

A woman marked her 104th birthday on Tuesday by putting the house she has lived in for more than a century on the market.

In the 102 years Nancy ‘Joan’ Gifford has lived in the three-bedroom terraced house in Somerset, the world has witnessed World War Two, the invention of TV and the moon landings.

Its £169,950 asking price dwarfs the £200 her parents paid for it.

Despite the passage of time, much of the property remains the same.

Mrs Gifford’s son John, 79, said growing up in the property – which was built in 1882 in Street – was “fantastic”.

“Back in the day most children our age knew everybody, and we all had an open house, and it was fine to leave your door on the latch,” he added.

“We were all poor, but everyone was happy.”

When Mrs Gifford moved in as a two-year-old, the property’s kitchen, toilet and wash area were open to the elements, while a tin bath hung on the wall outside.

The area has since been covered over and a new kitchen installed, alongside an extension for the family bathroom, but much of the property remains the same, except for a lick of paint in the early 2000s.

Growing up in Street, Mrs Gifford went to the Convent School in Glastonbury, where she met her future husband, Bert, in the mid-1930s while walking with her friends.

The pair married at the start of World War Two in 1939 and went on to have two children, Mary and John – who still lives in Street with his wife Sue.

After the war, Mr Gifford spent 42 years working at the Clarks factory in Street as a heel pairer, while his wife was a stitcher for the shoe-maker.

Declining health has forced Mrs Gifford to move out to the nearby St Benedict’s Nursing Home in Glastonbury, estate agent Holland and Odam, who is selling the property, said.

Jack Bartram, the manager of its Street branch, said: “That house must hold so many lovely memories for Mrs Gifford and her family, but now, after more than a century, it’s time for another family to make some memories.”

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]