Banham, Norfolk, believe to be old shop

[sarahsoz]

I used to live directly opposite that shop. It was known locally as "Lucy's shop". It was the village's general store and Post Office and was owned by members of the extended Aldridge family, who have been prominent landowners round this way for years. I moved to the house opposite in January 1997, and the shop had definitely been closed for quite a while even then. When I first saw Urban Explorer pics of the inside of this shop, I had no idea of the location, and was suddenly surprised to see my own house through the upstairs front window!

There have been innumerable attempts to force the Aldridges to do something with the property. It's on the main street through the village, and glorious though it is as an exploring site, it's a bit of an eyesore. But all attempts failed for 3 decades. Lucy and her husband had moved out to a caravan near the coast to retire and eventually died, and the family simply couldn't agree on whose it was and what to do with it. I always thought that they were waiting for it to fall down so they could get permission to build on the land and make some money, as simply knocking it down wouldn't be allowed (it's in a conservation area). But now there's a planning application to knock it down and build something identical-looking as a semi-detached pair, using the same colour bricks and everything. Soon it will be bye-bye to Lucy's shop, so get in there while you can! I moved out in 2010 and moved all of 200 yards up the road to live directly opposite the current village shop and Post Office. When that is abandoned (won't be long, I bet), it'll be even more fun to explore. It's vast, and the building is ancient!

Yes this is correct, my great nan, aunty Lucy and Uncle Berty lived there, with 2 dogs. My dad build the house that Lucy and Berty loved to in pakefield, Lowestoft and both have now passed away, and again, the property in Pakefield is also now abandoned.