The man's beard, the old lady cleaning the window and glowering at the camera, the way the reporter lady talks...This is, quite possibly, the most 70s British thing ever.
For those wondering why the lady wanted to block the window - it comes down (as always) to money. If he had received light from the windows, then he could legally block any houses being built on that land, as he would lose his 'right to light' by the new house (or get paid handsomely to allow the houses). As the lady could argue that he hadn't been receiving light, he couldn't object to the houses being built. So it's all about the value of her land and the ability to sell it to developers. As a side note, I love these videos - the BBC archive is one of my favourite channels.
As I understand it, ancient lights protects homeowners who have been in place for 20 years. I wonder if the old bat's father waited for a new owner or was aware of how long the then current owner had been there (prior to the one in the video) then stuck them up before they could claim the 20 years. What a truly awful woman.
Thanks for the explanation. I was thoroughly confused as to how that law applied to this situation and indeed thought that Ole Abe had every right to take down the boards.
Thanks for this, Cameron’s government got rid of lots of planning laws to benefit themselves and their rich friends I wonder if it has helped this man had his predicament . There’s more to life than money I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I was making someone’s quality of life miserable for the sake of a few quid .
In case anyone is wondering what happened in the years since, the house is in Kimberley Road, Bacton, The boards are long gone but there is another property on the land now in between the two houses. It was last sold in 2013.
I had a look on some old maps, found it and it looked like Melrose was built on land sold by someone else, maybe hermonville itself, as it’s an unusual shape compared to the others on that side of the road
@@woodseats123 No worries :) Yeah, the road itself isn't on Google Street View annoyingly, and the google earth shot is only 2D. There are photos of what the inside of the house looks like online now, as it went up for sale in 2013 and the listing is still up.
The vindictive idea is that if he never got his 20 years of light from the window, he can't oppose any building next-door. How people take a law meant to protect people's well-being and turn it into a lifetime victimisation of others is just unreal.
It's called "good intentions, unintended consequences". This sort of thing should have been foreseen the moment whoever came up with the law wrote the law. And if more then ten seconds had been spent thinking about it, a solution could have been made like "structures can be erected for the sole purpose of blocking light, or something like that. These sorts of things happen all the time, the most famous example is the government demanding the birds be killed or scared off crops because they eat the seeds, resulting in 20 million people dead as a result of famine when the bugs the birds also ate exploded in population and did far more damage then the birds ever did. This is why governments shouldn't meddle in things they have next to zero understanding about.
But clearly, the man has gotten some natural light from the windows and therefore there is room for argument. However, this likely boils down to nothing further could be built to restrict his light more than what already exists. As well, even if the current obstruction was to mysteriously vanish, the neighbour could simply rebuild to the same restriction.
This makes me think Monty Python weren't comedic geniuses after all...they were simply reporting on their strangest neighbors and sharing their most absurd histories.
@@MegaMetal96 No, I was going off what someone else said. Weirdly, though, I've actually been to this village on holiday (there's a holiday park opposite where this took place).
@@MegaMetal96if you go on Google Street View on these coordinates you can actually see both houses and the new one in between maps.app.goo.gl/rk7VxdWnkEKDL6BM7?g_st=ac
I love that the 'old bat' was actually cleaning her windows, to rub it in (ahem)... and adding to another commentors Pythonesque note, I could quite easily see Terry Jones up there.
@@plane15 My welsh grandmother was like that, always had a pinafore on, or 'piny'. And there's that northern thing about keeping the front door step scrubbed spotless.
@@StevenGumboAppleton go look at the house on Google Street view… his old house still has sunlight whereas hers is completely blocked by the new build.
the thing is that the entire reason for this is because of a backwards law in the UK that says if a house has had light come through a window for at least 20 years, it's illegal to build a new house next door because it would block the light in the neighbor's window. The woman's father must have put up that board in 1915 while the house the man lived in was originally being built, because since the house hadn't yet been there for 20 years it was still legal to do that, preserving the property value of the lot without being forced to immediately develop it. The woman was kind of forced by her legal counsel to keep the board up because removing it for any extended length of time might cause people to forget it had been there, and would call into question whether it was legal to develop the property and essentially destroy the value of the property.
@@tacokoneko That makes no sense. The boards were covering the windows exactly. So for your theory to be correct, the dad must have had access to the building plans
@@dan-bz7dz I think the assumption is that whoever buys the land in the future can build a building of any size and block all of the light for the other house because the light was already blocked to begin with. This would allow anyone to buy the land and build anything without restriction as opposed to being restricted to make do with what is already there. Think absurd zoning laws and dumb corporate homeowners association rules.
So the law of ancient lights (called "right to light" in modern terms) says if a window has gotten light in for 20 years - you get a legal right to veto any building that would prevent light from continuing to come into that window. That land owner is obviously using those boards to weaponise the right to light - preventing light entering those windows means that the owner of those windows never gets a legal right to prevent that field being developed on. The law has been on the books since 1832. What I cannot find out is how they were allowed to be erected in the first place. Maybe that field used to have a barn on it that was torn down, the placards being used as a placeholder for the eventual reconstruction? Its all very peculiar, and just a touch disgusting.
@SilverStarHeggisist a shield isnt a weapon. The law is to protect property owners from having themselves boxed in by new builds, losing natural light, and in turn losing property value and quality of life
I’ve just had a quick look on google maps (I don’t waste my spare time!) it appears that it is a private road so no google street view. But you can clearly see that there is a substantial house next door,can’t see the windows though! (Melrose,Kimberley road, Bacton on sea, Norwich) Bet that old bag still haunts it until this day!
I may have been tempted to angled high powered bright as clear no clouds sun lights when she was home during those weeks , day and night till she goes blind from them and can not sleep well. High power bills for a couple of weeks but worth it in my one citizen vote A-hole to A-hole opinion. Poor guy's family and friends need some U.V. light to enter the Kitchen, living room and up stairs guest room or they may fall sick and need to send her some Medical bills to the rich old thick head, or not if,,,,, Wonder how well loved she is at her rest of the year house?
@@henrybourdon6712 Well that's one perspective on this. The other is that if she didn't block their light, then that land couldn't be built on without permission from the house with the windows it would block, which usually means a big payout due to the right of light laws. They did the logical thing of blocking their light from when their house was built so that they can't claim they have a right to light if they never had it. There's actually a house built on that land now which is also blocking their light.
@@hippopotamus86 Yes i noticed this from reading the comments. Guess the laws are different in England as in Canada i have lived in Calgary and i have been to many friends homes where your sitting in the washroom and if you open the window you are about two lawnmowers wide away from the next houses bathroom window. I used to joke to my friends that if they ran out of paper you could tap on the next doors window and get a new roll of toilet paper to finish the job.
Many years ago I had a Victorian end of terrace house in Kent. A newer Bungalow had been built next door 1 metre away blocking light from my window. I was told that my window had prevented development on the neighboring site, but during the war years the local council built a Home Defence traing hall on the site (under the War measures Acr) Years later the hall was converted into housing. The Ancient Lights had been lost 😢 You can't fight City Hall !
In The Netherlands we have rules about how close to the neighbouring site you are allowed to build the wall of a house with windows facing the neighbours. It is 2 meters. So the minimum distance between the houses would be 2 meters if the new house did not have windows facing the neighbours, and 4 meters if it did.
😭😭we're overdeveloped here too, they just did it to a whole block down the way, willow trees, fine old house, origianl press (sherwood), everything. Understood!
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. There are houses between it and the sea. The front upstairs windows might have been able to see the sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
Wonderful. And what a restrained Gentleman he is/was. As some have said below - this is basically a Fable about checking out your neighbours before buying a property. Couldn't be better exemplified.
It’s a fable about buying a house with someone else’s property blocking its windows. It’s about a man, possibly a stupid, opportunistic or connected one, not wanting to take no for an answer and using others to do his dirty work in bullying or shaming an elderly lady into giving him what he wants but cannot be had by right or fair exchange. He may appear to be a gentleman but just imagine how he gets what he wants in a relationship. Does he live alone in his house with blocked windows I wonder? It is a lesson for our time that the media can pervert a story so thoroughly that viewers forget something so blindingly simple as what is mine and what is yours. A man who infects others with his own disrespect for someone else’s property is no gentleman.
It may not necessarily have been enhanced: It looks like they used a 16mm film camera. Under the right conditions, this material will keep its quality for a long time, and its resolution is noticeably better than that of SD video.
@@berlinflight_tvYep. I was a small child in the 70s and noticed so much on TV began looking terrible in the 80s, a stark contrast to the lush look I'd been raised on. It was video. Rerun videotaped shows looked especially washed out and drab. Its kind of how on analog TV a camera can quickly pan and stay smooth. But on digital TV you need a high refresh rate or else it will look glitchy.
Yes, it's film. The BBC would send a film cameraman and a sound man out with the reporter a lot of the time, and the Beeb's film cameramen were marvellous.
I know it was decades ago, but I'd add "the law of modern spotlights", which says that when the old lady is in town and the window blocker is still up her place will be in the spotlight (or three)
It's against planning to have your lights shine beyond your boundary and cause a nuisance, that's why security lights were sold with cowls to direct the light now people just buy god awful led splash lights that blind everyone.
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. The front upstairs windows might have been able to sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
been trying to look for it on google maps just out of interest after watching the vid but not sure were it is i know it's prob on mill lane somwhere but cat quit pin point it as OBV things have changed sins 1972! lol
@@petethebeat48 No it wasn't. That's how much houses cost then. Do you think it was a 10th of the price because of two little blocked windows? Clearly not
@@davidkavanagh189no it was cheaper, the journalist/interviewer said ‘and you might think that he got somewhat of a bargain but there’s one big snag’ That implies it was cheaper because of the blocked windows
Via PI Ah, the Law of Ancient Lights! This is a fascinating concept in English property law that dates back to the 17th century. Essentially, the Law of Ancient Lights gave property owners the right to receive natural light and air through their windows, without obstruction from their neighbors. Under this law, if a property owner had enjoyed uninterrupted daylight through their windows for 20 years or more, they were entitled to prevent their neighbors from obstructing this light by building a new structure or planting trees, for example. If the neighbor did obstruct the light, the property owner could sue them for "nuisance" and potentially receive compensation. The Law of Ancient Lights has since been amended, but it remains an interesting historical example of how property law has evolved to protect the rights of property owners. And of course, it's also fascinating to imagine a world where people put up signs under their windows to warn their neighbors not to block their ancient lights!
The shape of the Broadcasting House (BBC) in Portland Place was dictated by the law of Ancient Lights, hence why one side is not as tall. This was built in 1932.
I gather that the window blockage was installed when the building was less than 20 years old - thus preserving the ability to build a building blocking his window should the owner of the adjacent property choose to do so in future. (Under the ancient lights law)
Life is strange. I remember watching this when it was first aired. It stuck in my memory for the absurdity. Here I am, 50 years later watching it again. Edit; I may be confusing this one with another similar case. In that one the boards were put there by the council to protect against sea storms.
There was one involving a farmer, who wouldn't let a house owner have access to do repairs to the side of his house. It might have been on That's Life.
You’d have been better off spending the money putting out a contract on her, (if you were a bit gangster like though!) She won’t put them up again if she ain’t here no more!!!!
For anyone interested, here are the location coordinates: 52°51'11.9"N 1°28'35.6"E (Kimberley Rd.). Spoiler alert! The boards are down (and so is the view of the sea from any of the houses).
As someone else in the comments already suggested, the easiest way to resolve this, other than doing proper research and not buying a lemon in the first place, would be to call in a building contractor to move the windows. Presumably the old hag wouldn't have been allowed to block light already being received, assuming the building contractor was quick enough to do the job before she put up new boards. Although that does raise the question, if her father erected those boards specifically to block the light to those windows, surely there had to already be a house there, with windows already specifically in that position, receiving light, before he knew where to erect the boards. So why was he allowed to do this in the first place? Because the only alternative I can think of is that he was psychic, erected the boards first, then at some point years later, a house was built with windows that magically lined up perfectly with the boards he erected. Which seems incredibly unlikely. That bloke's solicitor wasn't up to much, because it seems pretty obvious the old bat didn't really have much of a case.
Maybe they put up the boards while the house was getting built or planned, so they were already up before completion. I don't understand the story though as even without a house there, I don't believe you would be allowed to build such a structure (without planning permission). If they had planted trees for the sole purpose of blocking the light, it would make sense.
"Ancient lights" doesn't protect the building, it protects a resident who's enjoyed the light for 20 years. The boards will have gone up when someone moved out and someone else moved in (therefore no ancient lights), years after the house was built. The boards prevent the current resident from establishing the right of ancient lights.
@@kyle8952 Finally, someone who sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Yeah, strange little law, and I wonder about such rights in the US...there are plenty of spite houses, so I suspect we don't have a similar law.
Ah, so I'm not the only one to notice this! I love how both the villa owner and the reporter both speak like erudite college professors. The Brits have a reputation in America for being polite, but I was not prepared for this.
They recently made it much easier for people to build ADUs, aka granny flats, in California. Some home owners have taken advantage placing two story apartment buildings in their backyard. One neighbor is unhappy that a two story apartment now looms over their backyard. In response they've placed a sail the lenth of the building blocking any view. A hundred years from now people will be equally curious about the sail's placement... Although there will probably just be another apartment so the residents' windows are a meter apart.
I live in Jersey, my Mum bought a home in a bay for the sea view and not long after, the bungalow in front of her place added another floor, lol She still has nice sea views, but it’s not quite what it was. 🍻
In the city of Long Beach, California, high-rise property owners are required by the city to increase the rent for downtown residents during the month of the Grand Prix. No one watches for free.
@doubleducks814 Yes, that happens in Florida and most of the other coastal states as well. Before buying, it’s always a good idea to question the status of the land between a prospective house and the view you want. Also, research who owns the land and if there are any future plans/zoning that could obscure the view in the near future.
Eastern Colorado with a view of the front range…. Then developers came in and built four-story condos on the ridge and completely blocked the entire thing.
When I was a boy, my parents bought a house with an extension built by the previous owner. It was built such that a large window overlooked the neighbours' garden giving a good view of their comings and goings, and they felt spied upon. So, failing to come to a compromise with our predecessors, they put up a fence just four or five feet long at their boundary, right against the window! When we arrived, they offered to take it down if we would put obscured glass in it, but in fact we rebuilt the extension without the neighbour scrutiny facility.
Now I need to know what happened. No matter that it's a story about some boards over some windows in a county I don't live in 50 years ago, I need to know.
Reporter: I’ve come back from your neighbor’s place and she said the boards will come down over her dead body. Home Owner: So, you’re saying there is a solution….?
@@LisaAnn777 If you tear it down, the old battle-ax would just put up a concrete or brick fence . It's within her legal rights if it's on her property. Try tearing that down.
Abraham Lincoln was prevented from being a 'Peeping Tom' by an obstinate elderly woman wearing a headscarf. It could be the basis of an Oscar winning movie.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0930am 3.10.24 the thing! you're not coming out until yerv sobered up!!!
@@MrSlightlybrown 1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 1952pm 5.10.24 well if it's east anglia it might be seen as a once thriving american army base...... one needs to escape from. try telling the Americans and Canadians where they are - they wont listen...
0:40 I’m surprised no mention is made of that third window which isn’t blocked. Looks like the house had a large extension at some time after the boards were put up. If the boards are just about making sure a house can be built there without light objections, then they should have put up another board
It would seem it was a commercial rather than vindictive decision. It allows for a property to be built on the vacant plot without the possibility of the owner of his property objecting to planning consent on the grounds it would block his light. I understand there is now a property there.
Max Jenkins could just sign an agreement with the neighbor lady that he will not assert an "ancient lights" claim (which could restrict what can be built on the neighbors land in the future) if she agrees to allow the boards to be removed. Problem solved.
@@benedictearlson9044 Unfortunately, that would probably count as an unfair contract under English law, as you cannot normally sign away a legal right.
at a cursory look at the law of "ancient lights" is about protecting their rights to build up to the property line. if a window is used to get light (like most windows) for more than 20 years, then it can't be blocked by new buildings. So they'd rather ruin someone's house, in the off chance they'd maybe want to build a house on the edge of the property line one day
Hang on, Ive just looked up Ancient lights in English property law. In actual fact it protects this home owners right to have natural light in his home.. I dont think much of his solicitor...
I doubt it had anything to do with that law. Most likely something to do with the blackout that was ordered in east coast towns after the first Zeppelin raids in 1915, the same year it was erected according to the owner. There was huge paranoia about light visible at night amongst some members of the public at the time, people were smashing street lights and all sorts.
The point is, the house wasn't getting light there for 20 years BECAUSE of the barrier. So if she wanted to sell the land to a developer and the house they built blocked his light, he couldn't complain.
@@jbaldwin1970 Surely any sane builder would have positioned the windows where there weren't any boards? What's the betting she would have put up more boards though I guess
Not as vile as the video makes her seem At the time, if a window got light for 20 years, the person could literally stop you from building a house, barn, or even planting trees on your property.
@@lordgarion514 Ah, that is a very interesting point. I wonder if just blocking the man's window sunlight for a week each year (with removable panels) would start the clock over again. That would be the compromise I would make (just to preserve my right to build).
@@lllmmm3572 Seems like that would be doable. What I don't get is how does the light thing work considering there's a second window on the first floor with nothing blocking it.
@@lordgarion514 I guess we need some expert on British law, probably British law that doesn’t exist anymore, to explain how something like this would actually pan out. In the end, I’d have to find some sort of solution like I mentioned, or just let the guy have the light and view in his window.
This desperately needs a follow up, because the idea that the government would turn a blind eye to someone blatantly abusing the law and gaming the system in this manner is more absurd than the situation itself.
No, the windows blocked by the boards are unobstructed, it was the window of the extension built after the boards were erected that got blocked by the new build house, which required that Mr Jenkins be paid 50% of the profits as compensation. Originally Miss Day wanted to build the new house in line with Mr Jenkins house, but the council made her build it further back, which not only meant she'd have to compensate, but she'd also obstruct her own south-facing windows in the process. The best part is that with the compensation money Mr Jenkins was able to buy the plot next door to Melrose and build himself a bungalow, set all the way back from any of the houses, so that in the end it was Mr Jenkins who had uninterrupted views in all directions, while Miss Day had blocked herself and reduced the value of her own property, all for a meagre sum.
That house is now on a private road, and has been pebbled dashed like so many brick houses in the 80s 😢 It was last sold for £175,000 in 2013. And that patch of land with the boards now has a fugly house on it blocking the view. The boards are gone though.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0931am 3.10.24 over your dead body? well, here's an opportunity not to be missed, he sed, bent over wearing, hand on hip, groucho marks specs and tache...
@@lazerdave466 Comments on ‘1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive’ 1832pm 3.10.24 electricity pylon thingy... maybe they took it away and forgot to take down the fencing that went with it?
In Scarborough, UK there once was a railway goods yard where the current Sainsbury's is located. The railway charged households a 'rent'/tax for 'light' travelling 'over' their property and entering the householders windows facing their goods yard !! So those house holders blocked their windows from any light entering their properties. Ridiculous.
He could install, on his own land, a series of angled mirrors on his property, engineered such that it would allow not only adequate light, but to see her property. She couldn’t do anything about it, as it’s not positioned on her side.
Installing a "technical" assemblage of angled mirrors to "see the neighbours property" might run into the sort of privacy issues thrown up by using one's security camera to watch what's outside of one's own property. Perhaps this could be circumvented by allowing "frosted" mirrors that only reflect light? 🤔
@@benedictdesilva6677 I'm not sure if it would be a privacy problem, considering it's and distinguishable from just renovating the house to have an entire glass wall....
@@jaykoerner Point is, windows and glass walls are not "technical" contrivances engineered primarily for the purpose of observation. If my neighbour could look onto my property by mere dint of standing at his window or glass window it would be hard to bring a case of violation of privacy. If he were to contrive a to have camera (or assemblage of mirrors) that observes my property, the case for privacy violation is much stronger...
Melrose, Kimberley Road, Bacton, Norwich, Norfolk 52°51'10.9"N 1°28'34.7"E , both house are still there, the upper window is no longer blocked, but the lower windows are by a wooden fence almost as high as the lower boards, there is a house now on what was the empty land between the two houses. I doubt you could ever see the ocean from the lower windows.
The law of ancient lights, also known as the right to light, is an English property law that gives a building owner the right to maintain a sufficient level of light through their windows. The law originated in 1663 and was formalized by the Prescription Act of 1832. The law states that if a building owner has used a window for light for at least 20 years, they can prevent a neighboring landowner from building something that would block the light. The owner can also prevent a new building from causing a nuisance. In planning applications, the law of ancient lights is not usually considered, but there are some considerations: Established rights: The developer must negotiate with neighbors to agree compensation. Compensation: Computer models and guidelines are used to calculate compensation. A 1986 English case law ruling established that compensation is 50% of the profit from the development.
@@michaelcullen5308 YES!, However, the solicitor was clearly a pleb and if this owner is still alive then he can sue both the solicitor and the land owner for 50% of the sale/sold price of the offending property!
copied from @bulletz9280 in another comment: "Mr Jenkins of Melrose was vindicated by the extension that had been built before he'd bought the property, but after the poles and boards, which added a small window that was not covered by the boards. When the neighbour, Miss Day at Undici, attempted to build a new house on the land, she'd applied to build it immediately next to Mr Jenkins house, so that it would only block Mr Jenkins windows, not hers, but avoid the new window that she hadn't been able to block. The council (who had become sympathetic to Mr Jenkins) demanded that the new building (named Lyndhurst Lodge) must be built a certain distance back from the road, in line with Undici, knowing full well this would block Mr Jenkins previously unblocked window, and also obstruct the south facing windows of Miss Day. This meant that Miss Day was required to compensate Mr Jenkins with 50% of the profit of the sale of the new house. Ironically, the two windows that were once blocked by the boards remained unobstructed. Miss Day was furious, but had no choice other than to accept the conditions and compensate Mr Jenkins. He was then able to use his compensation to buy the plot next door and have a bungalow (called Rose Croft) built, substantially far back from the road, so that no building blocked the light or view of any of the windows. He then moved into the bungalow, and finally got to enjoy a sea view."
@OPLKT9 that's not true at all. Where I live you can get a 2-3 bed house for around £180 000 ... its always depends on location and how modern or outdated the house is , aswell as things like essential repairs needed etc
@@jadebel7006 Number 1. I was searching in his area. Number 2. 180k is still loads more than 40k show me where you can get a house ready to move into for 40k
The boards have gone, if you google sea star Chinese restaurant Bacton on sea the two houses can be seen on the lane behind on street view with new housing between them.
![Eminem - Fuel (feat. JID) [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t5H_CewqpKA/mqdefault.jpg)
The most random video to ever pop up in my feed.
STAR TREK ACID PARTY
once popped into my feed. 😕
Same 😅
I know right? Hahaha 😂😂😂😂 same very much same
I had to watch it though. 😂
@@selenacaemawr me too!
The man's beard, the old lady cleaning the window and glowering at the camera, the way the reporter lady talks...This is, quite possibly, the most 70s British thing ever.
Forgot to mention the man's teeth.
...and the reporter's boots too!
So beards are "british" huh
borderline Monty Python
It’s like a Monty Python sketch without a punchline ..
For those wondering why the lady wanted to block the window - it comes down (as always) to money. If he had received light from the windows, then he could legally block any houses being built on that land, as he would lose his 'right to light' by the new house (or get paid handsomely to allow the houses).
As the lady could argue that he hadn't been receiving light, he couldn't object to the houses being built. So it's all about the value of her land and the ability to sell it to developers.
As a side note, I love these videos - the BBC archive is one of my favourite channels.
@@robtalbot8027 which may explain why there is now a house on that land.
What a thoroughly horrible old crone.
As I understand it, ancient lights protects homeowners who have been in place for 20 years. I wonder if the old bat's father waited for a new owner or was aware of how long the then current owner had been there (prior to the one in the video) then stuck them up before they could claim the 20 years. What a truly awful woman.
Thanks for the explanation. I was thoroughly confused as to how that law applied to this situation and indeed thought that Ole Abe had every right to take down the boards.
Thanks for this, Cameron’s government got rid of lots of planning laws to benefit themselves and their rich friends I wonder if it has helped this man had his predicament . There’s more to life than money I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I was making someone’s quality of life miserable for the sake of a few quid .
As if this whole video wasn't surreal enough, the look she gives the camera as she's (ironically!) cleaning her windows is just perfect 😂
Halfway expected her to open the window and say “Brian’s not here! Go away!” 😂
The most surreal part was $3500 for a home
Why?
it probably isn't her cleaning the windows
@@DemnRaig80because its less than what you expect to pay for even a third hand car these days
This looks like a monty python skit
Well, it is the UK.
HAHAHAHAHAHA that s so trulOL! i can imagine this scene on one of there old e3pisodes AHAHAH that sreally funnny
😂Well, it could only happen here!
A Country of eccentrics , honestly that’s true. And yeah buddy it’s a Monty Python skit !
Even if it isn’t it is.
Remind us where news of "Florida man" comes from!
In case anyone is wondering what happened in the years since, the house is in Kimberley Road, Bacton, The boards are long gone but there is another property on the land now in between the two houses.
It was last sold in 2013.
Hello you
I had a look on some old maps, found it and it looked like Melrose was built on land sold by someone else, maybe hermonville itself, as it’s an unusual shape compared to the others on that side of the road
Thankyou for that, I was looking on Google earth for the house intrigued what it looked like now. Thanks for the street name 👍
Thank you
@@woodseats123 No worries :) Yeah, the road itself isn't on Google Street View annoyingly, and the google earth shot is only 2D.
There are photos of what the inside of the house looks like online now, as it went up for sale in 2013 and the listing is still up.
The vindictive idea is that if he never got his 20 years of light from the window, he can't oppose any building next-door. How people take a law meant to protect people's well-being and turn it into a lifetime victimisation of others is just unreal.
It's called "good intentions, unintended consequences". This sort of thing should have been foreseen the moment whoever came up with the law wrote the law. And if more then ten seconds had been spent thinking about it, a solution could have been made like "structures can be erected for the sole purpose of blocking light, or something like that.
These sorts of things happen all the time, the most famous example is the government demanding the birds be killed or scared off crops because they eat the seeds, resulting in 20 million people dead as a result of famine when the bugs the birds also ate exploded in population and did far more damage then the birds ever did.
This is why governments shouldn't meddle in things they have next to zero understanding about.
But clearly, the man has gotten some natural light from the windows and therefore there is room for argument. However, this likely boils down to nothing further could be built to restrict his light more than what already exists.
As well, even if the current obstruction was to mysteriously vanish, the neighbour could simply rebuild to the same restriction.
Agreed. But I would say what's actually unreal, is that the government tolerates her gaming the system like this.
It's funny how people think light works 😂
@@JH-wd6dp Put up mirrors on his side of the property line to reflect light into the windows.
When the woman grimaced from her window I was FULLY convinced this was a Monty Python skit 😂😂😂
In a falsetto voice "I AM NOT A CRACKPOT, THOSE BOARDS ARE STAYING!"
1:18 I laughed out loud at her scowl 😂
She indeed looked a lot like Michael Palin with a headscarf! 😂
wait, it isn’t?
This makes me think Monty Python weren't comedic geniuses after all...they were simply reporting on their strangest neighbors and sharing their most absurd histories.
The old woman in the window even looks like Eric Idle 1:14
Yes, they poked fun at society that’s dead and gone. Which they helped in part killing. Hence why John is a bitter old fart now
Monty Python could only have come from England, where this kind of batty behaviour is common.
@@soberhippie 😂
@@lyrebird9749 - almost normal, even....
"... in her lifetime."
Okay, okay. I think we're on the same page here... 😋
1972 .. I wonder if the boards are still there
@@self-preservationsociety7057 Apparently not, but a house has been built on the plot of adjacent land.
ayy bro you got those gps coordinates
@@MegaMetal96 No, I was going off what someone else said. Weirdly, though, I've actually been to this village on holiday (there's a holiday park opposite where this took place).
@@MegaMetal96if you go on Google Street View on these coordinates you can actually see both houses and the new one in between maps.app.goo.gl/rk7VxdWnkEKDL6BM7?g_st=ac
“And from this window you have a beautiful view of the woods.”
😂
"well... wood, anyway."
She wooden have it another way.
The freaking woods
@@HeimirTomm There was clearly more than one. lol
The way he looks so sadly out the window is too much 😂
LLOOLLL😂😂
I love that the 'old bat' was actually cleaning her windows, to rub it in (ahem)... and adding to another commentors Pythonesque note, I could quite easily see Terry Jones up there.
Women like this spent their whole day cleaning. She reminds me of a lady who lived opposite my grandma, she wore a head scarf just like that as well.
@@plane15 My welsh grandmother was like that, always had a pinafore on, or 'piny'. And there's that northern thing about keeping the front door step scrubbed spotless.
It's called editing, do we even know that's the right neighbour.
Actually, I thought Michael Palin was the wicked neighbor and Terry Jones the reporter lady. Graham Chapman is the man who's sitting in the dark.
She'll open the window and say that her son can't come out... and that he's not the messiah, he's just a very naughty boy.
The sheer irony of this BBC video to pop up in my feed after watching "What are Ancient Lights and why did they ANNOY the BBC?". Bless the algorithm.
Ok, I'm not the only one, as soon as I saw the thumbnail, I knew the reason for the boards
This exactly happened to me! I had no clue about the boards until I watched this video. 😂
same reason im here lol
I watched the same exact video and then got served this. lmao
Wow same
A reply from the council after just two weeks. What kind of an alternate universe is this?
You could have just stopped at a reply from the council.
1972
Everything worked properly in 1972…
@@Stefan_Van_pellicom things may have been better, but it wasn't perfect back then either
Canada also living in this alternate evil universe
I feel like we need a modern update on this House's situation
Surely it’s been dealt with by now with a Starbucks or boots or tescos
Still there, property built in between them both, his house last sold in 2013.
Judging by our archiac planning and land laws I don't have much hope.
I think I would bypass the Ancient Lights Statute with the law of Black And Decker.
@stephenspence-d9q lol...🤪🤣👍🏻
😆
Blackadder and Decker
Ant and Deck(err ...).
Law of flame thrower imo then you don’t have to trespass
“Must not come down in her lifetime” …well here we are, and what a beautiful day to be alive and pull the boards down.
They built a house there
They did - built a house there, so the gent would have still lost his view, the old lady won
@@StevenGumboAppleton that old lady is karen
@@StevenGumboAppleton go look at the house on Google Street view… his old house still has sunlight whereas hers is completely blocked by the new build.
"Oh no, it seems it rotted at the base and fell down.
Must be all that salty sea breeze."
No idea how i got here but i'm thoroughly enjoying this *sips tea*.
No CCTV back in 1972, they could just fall down every day.
Always strong winds
If you wanted to get mischievious, you could even make them "fall" onto your house, then have her pay for damages
@@j.a.400- The wind can be very unpredictable 😉
@j.a.400 yeah I'm sure that's a smart idea, destroying your home because you want a bit of money lol
@@dar4061hes not saying destroy his house, chip the paintwork, crack a window, loads of things to cause her to pay, you dont need to be extreme.
This is how you get your empty house burned down.
Great reply
the thing is that the entire reason for this is because of a backwards law in the UK that says if a house has had light come through a window for at least 20 years, it's illegal to build a new house next door because it would block the light in the neighbor's window. The woman's father must have put up that board in 1915 while the house the man lived in was originally being built, because since the house hadn't yet been there for 20 years it was still legal to do that, preserving the property value of the lot without being forced to immediately develop it. The woman was kind of forced by her legal counsel to keep the board up because removing it for any extended length of time might cause people to forget it had been there, and would call into question whether it was legal to develop the property and essentially destroy the value of the property.
Yeah, this day in age it would be a Phent den and or burn down.
@@tacokoneko That makes no sense. The boards were covering the windows exactly. So for your theory to be correct, the dad must have had access to the building plans
@@dan-bz7dz I think the assumption is that whoever buys the land in the future can build a building of any size and block all of the light for the other house because the light was already blocked to begin with. This would allow anyone to buy the land and build anything without restriction as opposed to being restricted to make do with what is already there.
Think absurd zoning laws and dumb corporate homeowners association rules.
So the law of ancient lights (called "right to light" in modern terms) says if a window has gotten light in for 20 years - you get a legal right to veto any building that would prevent light from continuing to come into that window.
That land owner is obviously using those boards to weaponise the right to light - preventing light entering those windows means that the owner of those windows never gets a legal right to prevent that field being developed on.
The law has been on the books since 1832.
What I cannot find out is how they were allowed to be erected in the first place. Maybe that field used to have a barn on it that was torn down, the placards being used as a placeholder for the eventual reconstruction?
Its all very peculiar, and just a touch disgusting.
I'd say she's less weaponizing the law and more preventing the law from being weaponized against her
@SilverStarHeggisist a shield isnt a weapon. The law is to protect property owners from having themselves boxed in by new builds, losing natural light, and in turn losing property value and quality of life
I think she could put them up so long as at the time they were built the current resident had lived in the house for less than 20 years.
No, the board owner is preventing the law being weaponised against her.
I’ve just had a quick look on google maps (I don’t waste my spare time!) it appears that it is a private road so no google street view. But you can clearly see that there is a substantial house next door,can’t see the windows though! (Melrose,Kimberley road, Bacton on sea, Norwich) Bet that old bag still haunts it until this day!
This really needed a follow-up, I would have suggested a complex of mirrors
What a solutioner!!
There's a house now blocking the view instead.
I may have been tempted to angled high powered bright as clear no clouds sun lights when she was home during those weeks , day and night till she goes blind from them and can not sleep well. High power bills for a couple of weeks but worth it in my one citizen vote A-hole to A-hole opinion. Poor guy's family and friends need some U.V. light to enter the Kitchen, living room and up stairs guest room or they may fall sick and need to send her some Medical bills to the rich old thick head, or not if,,,,, Wonder how well loved she is at her rest of the year house?
@@henrybourdon6712 Well that's one perspective on this. The other is that if she didn't block their light, then that land couldn't be built on without permission from the house with the windows it would block, which usually means a big payout due to the right of light laws. They did the logical thing of blocking their light from when their house was built so that they can't claim they have a right to light if they never had it. There's actually a house built on that land now which is also blocking their light.
@@hippopotamus86 Yes i noticed this from reading the comments. Guess the laws are different in England as in Canada i have lived in Calgary and i have been to many friends homes where your sitting in the washroom and if you open the window you are about two lawnmowers wide away from the next houses bathroom window. I used to joke to my friends that if they ran out of paper you could tap on the next doors window and get a new roll of toilet paper to finish the job.
Many years ago I had a Victorian end of terrace house in Kent. A newer Bungalow had been built next door 1 metre away blocking light from my window. I was told that my window had prevented development on the neighboring site, but during the war years the local council built a Home Defence traing hall on the site (under the War measures Acr) Years later the hall was converted into housing. The Ancient Lights had been lost 😢 You can't fight City Hall !
In The Netherlands we have rules about how close to the neighbouring site you are allowed to build the wall of a house with windows facing the neighbours. It is 2 meters. So the minimum distance between the houses would be 2 meters if the new house did not have windows facing the neighbours, and 4 meters if it did.
😭😭we're overdeveloped here too, they just did it to a whole block down the way, willow trees, fine old house, origianl press (sherwood), everything. Understood!
"Not in her lifetime" well that's more than likely resolved now 🤭
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. There are houses between it and the sea. The front upstairs windows might have been able to see the sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
@@sandgrownun66 however if removed at the right time - wou;ld thenew owner ever think the boards had been there or realise their import.
They're likely both dead by now. I hope he got to enjoy the view at some point.
The view of the daisies being pushed up!
@@steb430 What?
Wonderful. And what a restrained Gentleman he is/was. As some have said below - this is basically a Fable about checking out your neighbours before buying a property. Couldn't be better exemplified.
It’s a fable about buying a house with someone else’s property blocking its windows.
It’s about a man, possibly a stupid, opportunistic or connected one, not wanting to take no for an answer and using others to do his dirty work in bullying or shaming an elderly lady into giving him what he wants but cannot be had by right or fair exchange.
He may appear to be a gentleman but just imagine how he gets what he wants in a relationship. Does he live alone in his house with blocked windows I wonder?
It is a lesson for our time that the media can pervert a story so thoroughly that viewers forget something so blindingly simple as what is mine and what is yours.
A man who infects others with his own disrespect for someone else’s property is no gentleman.
@@jonathanlewis453 Hahaha - this is a joke, right?
@@tomsixsix There is no requirement to be mentally hinged to post on RUclips.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@jonathanlewis453 Damn, that's a whole bunch of baseless assumptions.
01:18 that headshake told me all i needed to know
A bigger clue is that she lives in Norwich 😂
Didnt it just!
The quality of this recording is amazing, I'm sure it was enhanced, but wow impressive.
It may not necessarily have been enhanced: It looks like they used a 16mm film camera. Under the right conditions, this material will keep its quality for a long time, and its resolution is noticeably better than that of SD video.
@@berlinflight_tvYep. I was a small child in the 70s and noticed so much on TV began looking terrible in the 80s, a stark contrast to the lush look I'd been raised on. It was video. Rerun videotaped shows looked especially washed out and drab. Its kind of how on analog TV a camera can quickly pan and stay smooth. But on digital TV you need a high refresh rate or else it will look glitchy.
Yes, it's film. The BBC would send a film cameraman and a sound man out with the reporter a lot of the time, and the Beeb's film cameramen were marvellous.
I know it was decades ago, but I'd add "the law of modern spotlights", which says that when the old lady is in town and the window blocker is still up her place will be in the spotlight (or three)
😂Evil you are, and that I support!
Love it
It's against planning to have your lights shine beyond your boundary and cause a nuisance, that's why security lights were sold with cowls to direct the light now people just buy god awful led splash lights that blind everyone.
Sorry, can you elaborate a bit? I feel something evil and funny here, but I don't quite understand what ))
He can't see the seas for the wood
Whoever had the woman's house, later sold the land for a new house to be built. The blocked side windows never had a sea view anyway. The front upstairs windows might have been able to sea in the distance. However, its blocked by a Chinese takeaway.
More upvotes for this!! 🤣
Pun of the year right there.
It’s not a pun it’s evil.
It was obviously a deliberate attempt by god to block enjoyment of the property.
@@ironhell813 it's a play on the expression "can't see the forest for the trees"
We need an update to this story!
1:14 she is like something from a horror film 😂
If you call Monty Python a horror troupe
@@TCA17 spot on brer 🤣💀
The owner lives 20 miles away ?
I just checked. It’s now worth £311,000 and has a house built next door
Indeed! And fairly safe to say we don't earn 100 times as much as they did then...
been trying to look for it on google maps just out of interest after watching the vid but not sure were it is i know it's prob on mill lane somwhere but cat quit pin point it as OBV things have changed sins 1972! lol
@@davidkavanagh189but it was cheaper because of the blocked windows.
@@petethebeat48 No it wasn't. That's how much houses cost then. Do you think it was a 10th of the price because of two little blocked windows? Clearly not
@@davidkavanagh189no it was cheaper, the journalist/interviewer said ‘and you might think that he got somewhat of a bargain but there’s one big snag’
That implies it was cheaper because of the blocked windows
Via PI
Ah, the Law of Ancient Lights! This is a fascinating concept in English property law that dates back to the 17th century. Essentially, the Law of Ancient Lights gave property owners the right to receive natural light and air through their windows, without obstruction from their neighbors.
Under this law, if a property owner had enjoyed uninterrupted daylight through their windows for 20 years or more, they were entitled to prevent their neighbors from obstructing this light by building a new structure or planting trees, for example. If the neighbor did obstruct the light, the property owner could sue them for "nuisance" and potentially receive compensation.
The Law of Ancient Lights has since been amended, but it remains an interesting historical example of how property law has evolved to protect the rights of property owners. And of course, it's also fascinating to imagine a world where people put up signs under their windows to warn their neighbors not to block their ancient lights!
This is brilliant, I love learning this stuff. Thank You!
@@InaEsin
It's written by an AI app named "PI".
🌞👍
The shape of the Broadcasting House (BBC) in Portland Place was dictated by the law of Ancient Lights, hence why one side is not as tall. This was built in 1932.
Regardless this woman is horrible.
@@lb0825so basically the BBC and the reporter knows why exactly did the mean woman had those woods there but did not inform the public. The irony lol
I gather that the window blockage was installed when the building was less than 20 years old - thus preserving the ability to build a building blocking his window should the owner of the adjacent property choose to do so in future. (Under the ancient lights law)
Life is strange. I remember watching this when it was first aired. It stuck in my memory for the absurdity. Here I am, 50 years later watching it again.
Edit; I may be confusing this one with another similar case. In that one the boards were put there by the council to protect against sea storms.
There was one involving a farmer, who wouldn't let a house owner have access to do repairs to the side of his house. It might have been on That's Life.
@@sandgrownun66 I hope they had a West country accent?
Same here I was 9 years old when it was broadcast, but never knew what happened after that until now that is lol
I love how he does a little impression when he quotes the local person he spoke to, even though it's nobody famous.
He did a Norfolk accent
Why would they need to be famous? Don't you ever impersonate someone in general conversation?
@@benedictearlson9044 Not normally to people who have no idea who they are. What would be the point?
@@stevebailey5591
He's demonstrating that they were local, when his accent indicates that he is not.........
@@artrandy Yes, that's quite a plausible explanation. Either way, it's a nice little touch in his storytelling.
I'd defo be in the pub lots of witnesses while someone else removes them. It might be obvious what's happened but you have to prove it in court.
She would just reinstate them then you have wasted the money you gave to your accomplice.
As long as you're not caught saying "Who will rid me of this turbulent wooden planking?" you'll be alright lol.
You’d have been better off spending the money putting out a contract on her, (if you were a bit gangster like though!) She won’t put them up again if she ain’t here no more!!!!
@@twitchygiraffe4636 Yeah, a nice little chat with the Cray brothers would have set her straight 😂
'Accidental' fire... :)
For anyone interested, here are the location coordinates: 52°51'11.9"N 1°28'35.6"E (Kimberley Rd.).
Spoiler alert! The boards are down (and so is the view of the sea from any of the houses).
We can see where Monty Python got their inspiration 😂
I was going to say this is the least entertaining Python bit I've ever seen.
Estate agent: The property enjoys charming rustic views.
..of a nearby 'wood'.
@@OriginsReborn😂
@@OriginsReborn that's brilliant!
...charming rusty views.
From the ground floor to the top floor you will be able to see the charming board walk from your house Sir.
As someone else in the comments already suggested, the easiest way to resolve this, other than doing proper research and not buying a lemon in the first place, would be to call in a building contractor to move the windows.
Presumably the old hag wouldn't have been allowed to block light already being received, assuming the building contractor was quick enough to do the job before she put up new boards.
Although that does raise the question, if her father erected those boards specifically to block the light to those windows, surely there had to already be a house there, with windows already specifically in that position, receiving light, before he knew where to erect the boards. So why was he allowed to do this in the first place?
Because the only alternative I can think of is that he was psychic, erected the boards first, then at some point years later, a house was built with windows that magically lined up perfectly with the boards he erected. Which seems incredibly unlikely.
That bloke's solicitor wasn't up to much, because it seems pretty obvious the old bat didn't really have much of a case.
Maybe they put up the boards while the house was getting built or planned, so they were already up before completion. I don't understand the story though as even without a house there, I don't believe you would be allowed to build such a structure (without planning permission). If they had planted trees for the sole purpose of blocking the light, it would make sense.
"Ancient lights" doesn't protect the building, it protects a resident who's enjoyed the light for 20 years. The boards will have gone up when someone moved out and someone else moved in (therefore no ancient lights), years after the house was built. The boards prevent the current resident from establishing the right of ancient lights.
Eye...Sea.
The guy didn't go to court because of the hurdles of it, and you are suggesting even more arduous solution instead
@@kyle8952 Finally, someone who sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Yeah, strange little law, and I wonder about such rights in the US...there are plenty of spite houses, so I suspect we don't have a similar law.
Don't worry guys, the boards have been removed. There's a house there now.
Visible on Google Street View: Kimberley Rd, Bacton, Norwich, UK
People were so calm and well mannered back then 😂😂😂 and I agree, it looks like a Monty Python skit!
Ah, so I'm not the only one to notice this! I love how both the villa owner and the reporter both speak like erudite college professors. The Brits have a reputation in America for being polite, but I was not prepared for this.
Until they snap!
They were abusive drunks back then, polite until behind closed doors.
@@Allstaris lol nice worldview
2 of them were..
Not gonna lie...I was expecting WAY more Abraham Lincoln jokes. I've never been this disappointed in the comments section before.
I was thinking Amish or Quaker jokes!
Us Americans are foreigners here😂
Me too
He really does look strikingly like Honest Abe.
Distant relative maybe?
More like Daniel day Lewis playing abe.
They recently made it much easier for people to build ADUs, aka granny flats, in California. Some home owners have taken advantage placing two story apartment buildings in their backyard. One neighbor is unhappy that a two story apartment now looms over their backyard. In response they've placed a sail the lenth of the building blocking any view. A hundred years from now people will be equally curious about the sail's placement... Although there will probably just be another apartment so the residents' windows are a meter apart.
The shot of the woman in the window made me think this was going to turn into a Monty Python skit.
The grumpy woman cleaning her windows had me rolling. Lol
There was a whole block of flats built with a sea view. Once they were sold the developer built another block of flats in front of them.
I live in Jersey, my Mum bought a home in a bay for the sea view and not long after, the bungalow in front of her place added another floor, lol
She still has nice sea views, but it’s not quite what it was. 🍻
In the city of Long Beach, California, high-rise property owners are required by the city to increase the rent for downtown residents during the month of the Grand Prix.
No one watches for free.
@doubleducks814 Yes, that happens in Florida and most of the other coastal states as well.
Before buying, it’s always a good idea to question the status of the land between a prospective house and the view you want. Also, research who owns the land and if there are any future plans/zoning that could obscure the view in the near future.
Charter house, Ashford.
Eastern Colorado with a view of the front range…. Then developers came in and built four-story condos on the ridge and completely blocked the entire thing.
When I was a boy, my parents bought a house with an extension built by the previous owner. It was built such that a large window overlooked the neighbours' garden giving a good view of their comings and goings, and they felt spied upon. So, failing to come to a compromise with our predecessors, they put up a fence just four or five feet long at their boundary, right against the window! When we arrived, they offered to take it down if we would put obscured glass in it, but in fact we rebuilt the extension without the neighbour scrutiny facility.
good for you. I would like to be your neighbour )
Now I need to know what happened. No matter that it's a story about some boards over some windows in a county I don't live in 50 years ago, I need to know.
52 years later, the Law of Ancient Light becomes the number one Google search.
"Ancient Lights" (plural) actually.
I live in NYC, Idk y this showed up in my feed but I'm subscribing, sharing and hitting the notification bell. This was most entertaining!!!! TY, YT
How is your location relevant?
@bojohannesen4352 How are you and your question relevant to my comment on a public video?? 🤔
Reporter: I’ve come back from your neighbor’s place and she said the boards will come down over her dead body.
Home Owner: So, you’re saying there is a solution….?
A double solution
The Final Solution, if you will.
Ouch!
Uhhh this sounds like freaking horror movie, a script if you will.
0:24 That look of pure sadness and crushing regret.
1:18 Oh this is classic, the way she shakes her head looks like a cartoon doubletake upon seeing the camera. 😂
An honest looking geezer, if I ever saw one.
Honest Abe IMO :)
A "what happened next" would be fascinating
The boards are no longer there, and there is a house built between the two original house.
I was so bothered by wondering if the boards were still there that I contacted the village. They replied back that they have long since been removed.
Honestly, if I lived in the area at that time, I would tear them down as an act of vandalism. It feels like a rotten thing to do, blocking his light.
It is dirty pool, at that!
There was no cctv back then, just tear them down some night and claim kids must have done it lol the old lady isn't going to build another one.
@@LisaAnn777 If you tear it down, the old battle-ax would just put up a concrete or brick fence . It's within her legal rights if it's on her property. Try tearing that down.
@@reynaldoflores4522 she probably wouldn't lol but brick can come down too, a Ram 2500 and some tow rope would do it.
Abraham Lincoln was prevented from being a 'Peeping Tom' by an obstinate elderly woman wearing a headscarf. It could be the basis of an Oscar winning movie.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0930am 3.10.24 the thing! you're not coming out until yerv sobered up!!!
😂😂
Now that’s a film I’d pay good money to see.
It's England not America.
@@MrSlightlybrown 1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 1952pm 5.10.24 well if it's east anglia it might be seen as a once thriving american army base...... one needs to escape from. try telling the Americans and Canadians where they are - they wont listen...
"I went to my solicitor and he waffled on"
sums up what a lot of people think of the stupid laws,
mostly written 100's of years ago.
That looks a lot like a fence to me. Most councils have rules on the maximum height of a fence.
0:40 I’m surprised no mention is made of that third window which isn’t blocked. Looks like the house had a large extension at some time after the boards were put up. If the boards are just about making sure a house can be built there without light objections, then they should have put up another board
What a horrible lady. I hope her living relatives are appalled by this affair coming to light (pun intended!)
An uncomfortable window into the lives of relatives past
@@rjcerasoli5625 bite the wax tadpole
@@steerpike Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead.
It would seem it was a commercial rather than vindictive decision. It allows for a property to be built on the vacant plot without the possibility of the owner of his property objecting to planning consent on the grounds it would block his light. I understand there is now a property there.
Ideally this could be solved with a contract stating that the owner nor any future owner could make the objection.
Max Jenkins could just sign an agreement with the neighbor lady that he will not assert an "ancient lights" claim (which could restrict what can be built on the neighbors land in the future) if she agrees to allow the boards to be removed. Problem solved.
This is an incredibly sensible point and one which the poor man's solicitor should have suggested at the time.
@@benedictearlson9044 Unfortunately, that would probably count as an unfair contract under English law, as you cannot normally sign away a legal right.
Also do you think that someone who is this vindictive want to come to an agrement? Of course not.
@@koenvandiepen7651 Wouldn't even talk to the reporter
Why would he agree to that though, if he doesn't want boards there, surely having a house built there instead would be much worse
at a cursory look at the law of "ancient lights" is about protecting their rights to build up to the property line.
if a window is used to get light (like most windows) for more than 20 years, then it can't be blocked by new buildings. So they'd rather ruin someone's house, in the off chance they'd maybe want to build a house on the edge of the property line one day
Hang on, Ive just looked up Ancient lights in English property law. In actual fact it protects this home owners right to have natural light in his home.. I dont think much of his solicitor...
I doubt it had anything to do with that law. Most likely something to do with the blackout that was ordered in east coast towns after the first Zeppelin raids in 1915, the same year it was erected according to the owner. There was huge paranoia about light visible at night amongst some members of the public at the time, people were smashing street lights and all sorts.
The point is, the house wasn't getting light there for 20 years BECAUSE of the barrier. So if she wanted to sell the land to a developer and the house they built blocked his light, he couldn't complain.
The boards were probably there before the house. If the boards went he’d have the right to object to any development on the plot next door.
@@jbaldwin1970 Surely any sane builder would have positioned the windows where there weren't any boards? What's the betting she would have put up more boards though I guess
@@jbaldwin1970 they clearly didn't build the windows next to the boards.
I'm sure Abraham Lincoln would have had more power to remove them than that.
I always knew he wasn’t assassinated, but in fact a time traveller.
HA! That's the first person I thought of watching this. He's the British version.
😂😂😂
I always thought Abe Lincoln hailed from Springfield, IL. Now I know better. Abe hails from Kimberly Road, Bacton.
I enjoyed this alot more than I probably should. So random 🤣
Fascinating - thanks for posting.
I don't think she appreciated being on camera at 1:19.
she reminded me of Nora Batty on " the last of the summer wine " 🤣
@@GothGuy885 NFN. Normal for Norfolk. It's a medical term.
@@Excession-h6e I like the other British Phrase too " well, Horses for courses"
@@GothGuy885 I was taking the rise out of them mildly, as I'm sure you worked out. It's an in joke. I think it was mentioned on QI once.
She looked like a Monty Python character..
What a vile woman . 😠🏴
Maybe more mentally ill than vile.
Not as vile as the video makes her seem
At the time, if a window got light for 20 years, the person could literally stop you from building a house, barn, or even planting trees on your property.
@@lordgarion514 Ah, that is a very interesting point. I wonder if just blocking the man's window sunlight for a week each year (with removable panels) would start the clock over again. That would be the compromise I would make (just to preserve my right to build).
@@lllmmm3572
Seems like that would be doable.
What I don't get is how does the light thing work considering there's a second window on the first floor with nothing blocking it.
@@lordgarion514 I guess we need some expert on British law, probably British law that doesn’t exist anymore, to explain how something like this would actually pan out. In the end, I’d have to find some sort of solution like I mentioned, or just let the guy have the light and view in his window.
This desperately needs a follow up, because the idea that the government would turn a blind eye to someone blatantly abusing the law and gaming the system in this manner is more absurd than the situation itself.
Now the view is blocked by a garage....of a house built next door.
Boards replaced by an entire house - still valued at 100 times its 1972 price.
No, the windows blocked by the boards are unobstructed, it was the window of the extension built after the boards were erected that got blocked by the new build house, which required that Mr Jenkins be paid 50% of the profits as compensation. Originally Miss Day wanted to build the new house in line with Mr Jenkins house, but the council made her build it further back, which not only meant she'd have to compensate, but she'd also obstruct her own south-facing windows in the process.
The best part is that with the compensation money Mr Jenkins was able to buy the plot next door to Melrose and build himself a bungalow, set all the way back from any of the houses, so that in the end it was Mr Jenkins who had uninterrupted views in all directions, while Miss Day had blocked herself and reduced the value of her own property, all for a meagre sum.
@@bulletz9280 Interesting but oddly doesn't seem to correspond with what I'm looking at on streetview
@@OUTBOUND184
Not easy to get a good 'streetview' as the cameras don't seem to have been down kimberley.
@@andrewholdaway813 Even so I can see that, for example, the house next door is not a bungalow
That house is now on a private road, and has been pebbled dashed like so many brick houses in the 80s 😢 It was last sold for £175,000 in 2013. And that patch of land with the boards now has a fugly house on it blocking the view. The boards are gone though.
Great update, wonder what happened to the man, I assume the old dear is long gone
The road was always private and the newer house next door doesn't block the view, it's not built up tight beside it.
Dude looks like Martin Heap in Spaced.
1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive 0931am 3.10.24 over your dead body? well, here's an opportunity not to be missed, he sed, bent over wearing, hand on hip, groucho marks specs and tache...
*Mark Heap
Leonard Hatred wouldn't have put up with it
@@lazerdave466 Comments on ‘1972: The CURIOUS CASE of the BLOCKED WINDOW | Nationwide | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive’ 1832pm 3.10.24 electricity pylon thingy... maybe they took it away and forgot to take down the fencing that went with it?
@@MS-ix9bi nope. He'd move away and live next to an abattoir.
I’m gobsmacked that he thought 2-3 weeks at council was a long wait😂😂
In Scarborough, UK there once was a railway goods yard where the current Sainsbury's is located. The railway charged households a 'rent'/tax for 'light' travelling 'over' their property and entering the householders windows facing their goods yard !! So those house holders blocked their windows from any light entering their properties. Ridiculous.
Boards:
“We’re not touching you, we’re not touching you!”
Brittish Lincoln:
“Touchè.”
He could install, on his own land, a series of angled mirrors on his property, engineered such that it would allow not only adequate light, but to see her property. She couldn’t do anything about it, as it’s not positioned on her side.
Sounds like something Flann O'Brien would come up with... 😄
Except for put up more boards
Installing a "technical" assemblage of angled mirrors to "see the neighbours property" might run into the sort of privacy issues thrown up by using one's security camera to watch what's outside of one's own property. Perhaps this could be circumvented by allowing "frosted" mirrors that only reflect light? 🤔
@@benedictdesilva6677 I'm not sure if it would be a privacy problem, considering it's and distinguishable from just renovating the house to have an entire glass wall....
@@jaykoerner Point is, windows and glass walls are not "technical" contrivances engineered primarily for the purpose of observation. If my neighbour could look onto my property by mere dint of standing at his window or glass window it would be hard to bring a case of violation of privacy. If he were to contrive a to have camera (or assemblage of mirrors) that observes my property, the case for privacy violation is much stronger...
This was originally broadcast on the day I was born ! and RUclips just threw this at me today ?? How wonderful.
Easy, add mirrors to go around them like a pariscope.
A warning to house buyers, always check who the neighbours are.
Also, check if they have nuisance kids, or barking dogs.
I wish I had. 😡
Neighbours are fine. Wife`s the problem.
@@thekarmafarmer608 You can divorce a wife, can't do anything about bad neighbours. 🤣
@@MoominDoogie Unless you`ve got kids.🙄Life`s more complicated than that unfortunately.
That's what Abe Lincoln sounds like. Daniel Day-Lewis is not as good as we thought.
Abe Lincoln had a British accent?
@@jessejamesainger3263 And lived in the 1970s?
Melrose, Kimberley Road, Bacton, Norwich, Norfolk 52°51'10.9"N 1°28'34.7"E , both house are still there, the upper window is no longer blocked, but the lower windows are by a wooden fence almost as high as the lower boards, there is a house now on what was the empty land between the two houses. I doubt you could ever see the ocean from the lower windows.
0:12 if this a villa then i live in a palace
Substantially.
It was a word used by estate agents in the Victorian era to designate detached houses.
The law of ancient lights, also known as the right to light, is an English property law that gives a building owner the right to maintain a sufficient level of light through their windows. The law originated in 1663 and was formalized by the Prescription Act of 1832.
The law states that if a building owner has used a window for light for at least 20 years, they can prevent a neighboring landowner from building something that would block the light. The owner can also prevent a new building from causing a nuisance.
In planning applications, the law of ancient lights is not usually considered, but there are some considerations:
Established rights: The developer must negotiate with neighbors to agree compensation.
Compensation: Computer models and guidelines are used to calculate compensation. A 1986 English case law ruling established that compensation is 50% of the profit from the development.
Shouldn't that law have prevented them from putting up the boards in the first place?
@@michaelcullen5308 YES!, However, the solicitor was clearly a pleb and if this owner is still alive then he can sue both the solicitor and the land owner for 50% of the sale/sold price of the offending property!
was this written by AI
@@notnotadev No mate, I am a retired Barrister. All the best, Dave
@@Dave_Cymruthe boards were put up in 1915. So if the house was built in say 1896 the boards would not have been illegal, right?
Any news update on this poor man’s windows?
copied from @bulletz9280 in another comment: "Mr Jenkins of Melrose was vindicated by the extension that had been built before he'd bought the property, but after the poles and boards, which added a small window that was not covered by the boards.
When the neighbour, Miss Day at Undici, attempted to build a new house on the land, she'd applied to build it immediately next to Mr Jenkins house, so that it would only block Mr Jenkins windows, not hers, but avoid the new window that she hadn't been able to block.
The council (who had become sympathetic to Mr Jenkins) demanded that the new building (named Lyndhurst Lodge) must be built a certain distance back from the road, in line with Undici, knowing full well this would block Mr Jenkins previously unblocked window, and also obstruct the south facing windows of Miss Day. This meant that Miss Day was required to compensate Mr Jenkins with 50% of the profit of the sale of the new house. Ironically, the two windows that were once blocked by the boards remained unobstructed.
Miss Day was furious, but had no choice other than to accept the conditions and compensate Mr Jenkins. He was then able to use his compensation to buy the plot next door and have a bungalow (called Rose Croft) built, substantially far back from the road, so that no building blocked the light or view of any of the windows. He then moved into the bungalow, and finally got to enjoy a sea view."
I truly have no idea if this is a skit or a news segment. British people are something else
The most remarkable thing here is that a politician was on the side of common sense.
£3000 in 1972 is about £40k in 2024, try not to be too depressed about it.
More like £101,000
Just had a look at rightmove and the cheapest house for sale I could find was circa 500k, 395k for an apartment
yeah just checking its £34,533.83 :(
@OPLKT9 that's not true at all. Where I live you can get a 2-3 bed house for around £180 000 ... its always depends on location and how modern or outdated the house is , aswell as things like essential repairs needed etc
@@jadebel7006 Number 1. I was searching in his area. Number 2. 180k is still loads more than 40k show me where you can get a house ready to move into for 40k
I'm half convinced this is Mark Heap in a comedy sketch.
He should build a rooftop deck on his house 😂
I didn’t realise this wasn’t a skit until halfway through the video
I realised this wasn't a skit after reading the comments!
The boards have gone, if you google sea star Chinese restaurant Bacton on sea the two houses can be seen on the lane behind on street view with new housing between them.
Thank you 👍
Great response Trish 👍🏼
Move the position of the windows, job done.
Not quite. She can do the same thing over the new windows.
Legend has it she's still cleaning the windows