What's it like in its original state?

…and why would we wish to change it?

From June to August, it’s lovely if the weather is warm – quite cool inside generally. However, the west-facing rooms get really hot in the afternoon and the sun shines in our eyes.

In September, there’s a definite chill in the air – and not just outside. By the second half of September, the heating is very definitely on, and I start the morning ritual of wiping the windows from top to bottom and mopping up the puddles of water on the windowsill. Later in the day the condensation is back and I have to wipe it up again. If the weather is wet, we have laundry racks up in the lounge or dining room, and it takes over 24 hours to dry – which makes the condensation problem even worse.

Most of the wooden window frames have swollen over the last 59 years and can’t easily be opened or shut - to keep the heat in the windows are often closed anyway. The atmosphere is stuffy and uncomfortable and I dream every day of having a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery bringing warmed fresh air in and taking away the stale damp air.

In October, I notice that the wooden window frames and the wallpaper around the window in the west-facing bedroom are gaining a growing patch of mouldy dots. The bathroom window frame (also west facing) is dreadful. I find drying the windows 3 or 4 times a day (to stop the condensation from pooling on the windowsill) is time-consuming enough without cleaning the frames and walls on a regular basis.

Last winter, shortly after moving in, we discovered that all the duvets stored in one wardrobe were wet from condensation running down the wall.

By late November it is cold and snowy – the coldest November for many years. It is harder than ever to get any part of the house to the right temperature. The hall always feels cold even when the lounge or dining room are too hot. And the kitchen only warms up properly if we are cooking. I’m forever adding and removing jumpers but never quite feeling comfortable. If we leave the doors open, cold air from the hall makes a warm room feel draughty. Once the heating goes off the temperature quickly drops.

December was also the coldest for many years. So far the boiler is holding out. Last winter it was out of action for 2 weeks (not an experience I wish to repeat), but apart from the occasional morning when we have to go out to the outhouse to get it going manually, all is going well so far. In fact, it has been so cold that the boiler runs constantly day and night, overriding the thermostat in the house. (This must be a feature that protects the boiler from extreme cold weather). Some rooms get too hot, and even the hall starts to feel almost comfortable, but it’s going to increase the gas bills this year.

These boilers in outhouses don’t seem very suitable for this kind of cold weather. What do people on low incomes do? Allow the heating system to override the thermostat and stay on to protect itself, running up a huge bill? Or switch it off altogether, live without heating and hot water, and pay for all the pipework to be mended when everything thaws?

January and February were slightly less cold than November and December this year, but the warm, dry weather in March and April came as a welcome change. A sunny spring afternoon makes the west-facing rooms nice and warm. Being able to hang the laundry to dry outside makes a big difference to humidity levels in the house, which of course reduces the need for heating too.

In May (and June), the heating is supposedly off, but if I get too cold it goes on again for a while. And the condensation on the windows is still present, but disperses during the morning (I refuse to wipe them dry – it seems as if I spent half the winter doing that).