Mr Mitchell’s House: A Time Capsule Collecting Dust
Some houses in this series come with a story. This one comes with almost none, and the explorer who photographed it says so plainly: not much history about this place, but it seems like it has been abandoned for some time. What it does have is a time capsule — his words — of things left behind, and it is sad, he says, that they are collecting dust and will not be in use again.
That is all the history there is. No dates, no location, no explanation of who Mr Mitchell was or when the house was last lived in. Everything in this article comes from that post and from the five photographs shown here.
A cottage that still looks lived in from the road
The featured photograph shows the outside: a red-brick cottage with a black-and-white mock-Tudor gable, a white leaded bay window with diamond panes, and a brick garage with a white door on the right. The garden is overgrown — long grass, red flowers, bushes crowding the front — but the house itself looks sound. The roof is on, the brickwork is straight, the windows are intact behind their curtains.
From the road, it could be a house whose owners are simply away. That is the trick of the best-kept abandoned houses: they do not look abandoned at all until you look at the garden, and then at the dust inside.
The piano nobody plays
The most striking photograph is the piano. An upright piano by Smith, Sons & Co Ltd stands against floral wallpaper, with sheet music and an orange “Easy Piano” book open on its stand, a pewter teapot and a brass oil lamp on top, and a green velvet wing armchair beside it, on a red patterned carpet.
A piano with a beginner’s book on it tells a small, complete story on its own: someone in this house was learning to play. The book is open. The teapot is on top of the piano. The armchair is pulled up beside it, as if someone sat there to listen. None of it has been moved since.
The post says the place is also known by another name, but the explorer does not know the true or full story. That caveat is worth keeping, because a house with two names is a house whose history is already half-lost. What is certain is what the photographs show: a room that was used, and then stopped being used, with everything left in place.
Two fireplaces, one stereo
The rest of the photographs are a tour of the same kind of stillness. One fireplace is dark wood with a marble surround and a brass grate, a framed seascape painting above it, and on the mantel a small black cat figure, a cognac-style bottle, a sauce boat and a vase. The other is brick with a copper hood, two clocks on the mantel — a round black clock and a wooden mantel clock — a framed picture, small ceramic dogs and figurines, a purple glass vase, and a gas fire with coals below.
Between them sits the stereo: a Panasonic stack, tuner and double cassette deck, in a wood cabinet, with a large red floral vase and a single red rose on top, and vinyl LP records stored below, against a mould-spotted wall. The rose is the detail that catches the eye — a single red rose, in a vase, on top of a stereo that has not played a record in years.
Fireplaces, clocks, a piano, a stereo, a rose in a vase: these are the things of a house that was comfortable, and the comfort is still visible under the dust and the mould. The post calls it a stunning little time capsule. The photographs agree.
What is not known
The honest list of unknowns for this house is longer than the list of knowns. No year is given for when it was built, when it was left, or how long it has been empty. No town or county is named. Mr Mitchell’s full story is not given, and the house’s other name is not given either. Nothing is claimed here to fill those gaps.
What the photographs do prove is that a house can be left for years and still look, room by room, as if its owners have just stepped out. The piano book is open. The clocks are on the mantel. The rose is in the vase. The dust is the only thing that has moved.
For a contrast with a house that is lived in and on the market, see a lived-in 1902 home in Alexandria, Minnesota, where the questions are about upkeep and price rather than about what a closed house leaves behind. More houses in this condition are gathered in abandoned houses and in abandoned mansions, and the site’s front page is abandoned.blog.
FAQ
Where is Mr Mitchell’s house?
No location is given in the post, and none is given here.
Who was Mr Mitchell?
The post gives no history of the owner beyond the house’s name, and the explorer says he does not know the true or full story. No name or biography is claimed here.
How long has the house been empty?
The post says only that it seems like it has been abandoned for some time. No year is given.
What is still inside?
An upright piano with sheet music and a beginner’s book, two fireplaces with clocks and ornaments, a Panasonic stereo with vinyl records, and a green velvet armchair — as shown in the five photographs here.
Does the house have another name?
According to the post, the place is also known by something else, but the explorer does not know the true or full story, and the other name is not given.
What condition is the cottage in?
The photographs show the roof and walls standing and the rooms furnished, with mould on some walls and dust throughout. No structural assessment is given.
Can I visit it?
No visiting information is given here, and entering private property without permission is not encouraged.
Disclaimer
This article is general information only, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules on abandoned and private property differ by state and county; check county/local records and a local professional before acting.
Photos
Photos by Luke2Explore, via the original Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/Luke2Explore/posts/mr-mitchells-housenot-got-too-much-history-about-this-place-but-it-seems-like-it/670634401768918/ — 5 of the 29 photos are shown here.
