The £25,000 cave home fit for a Flintstone

The £25,000 cave home fit for a Flintstone

by LUKE SALKELD - More by this author » Last updated at 01:13am on 2nd July 2007 Comments

Fred Flintstone would have loved it. But if you're looking for a period home with all the mod cons, then this isn't it.

Rock Cottage is a three-roomed Grade II-listed property hewn straight out of a sandstone cliff. House hunters will get the chance to buy it later this week when it comes up for auction with a guide price of £25,000.

One of around 50 similar dwellings in Wolverley, Worcestershire, it was originally built in the 1770s and was lived in until 1948. Although it lacks electricity and running water, it is believed to be structurally sound, built as it is on the most solid of foundations.

Whoever buys it will be able to step through the stable door into a 15ft by 12ft living room with brickbuilt fireplace and "walk in" pantry to the rear.

Off this main area are two further rooms, each measuring roughly 11ft by 10ft, with the benefit of Georgian- style windows.

The lot also includes three further 'cave homes' in the complex, as well as just under five acres of land. Daniel Lovatt, of Halls Estate

Agents, who are auctioning Rock Cottage on Wednesday, said: "People have come from all over the country to look."

He added: "It's a quirky place, so we've had a lot of interest from quirky people."

Mr Lovatt said he is unsure how much work will be allowed to be done on the cottage, and has not seen pictures of its interior from its past.

"We don't know what the place used to look like, but it must have been quite cosy," he said.

"The fireplace kept it warm in winter and the rock walls kept it cool in summer."

The property came on the market following the death of the previous owner, who chose not to live there.

Seven years ago a similar home set into the rock was bought for £30,000 by an artist who wanted to use it as a studio.

The rock houses were originally built for farm workers. Local historian Elaine Smith, said: "There are records from the 1800s of people being killed by rock falls in and around the houses.

"They have been predominantly used by the poorer sections of society and after the war when housing was in short supply.

"I don't think they have been lived in for half a century now and I can't imagine anyone wanting to live in them now."