Our homes mean so much to us, that even when a developer comes knocking, they can’t always convince us to leave. The Store Room’s Leicester storage team have put together a list of people who refused to move out.

 

Edith's house with balloons

Photo Credit: My Modern Met

The Inspiration For The Movie ‘UP’: Edith Macefield refused to sell her home in Seattle, Washington, even after being offered more than 1 million dollars for it. The commercial development in the Ballard neighbourhood ended up being built around her 108-year-old farmhouse, where she died aged 86 in 2008. After she died, Macefield actually willed her house to the new building’s construction superintendent, in gratitude for his friendship, and she went on to become the inspiration for Disney’s movie ‘UP’.

 

Stott Hall Farm

Photo Credit: Manchester Evening News

The House In The Middle Of The M62: If you have ever been on the M62, you may have noticed the house in the middle of the two directions of traffic. Legend has it that when plans for the motorway were approved in the 1960’s a man called Ken Wild refused to sell his land on Stott Hall Farm – this meant the only way around it was to build the road around the land. Despite many believing this legend, in the 1980’s a short film was brought out which explained the motorway couldn’t be built on that land because of a geological fault beneath the land.

 

Figo House

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Man Who Never Wanted To Leave University: Randle Acker bought Figo House, a small Queen Anne style house near Portland State University, in 2005, to use as a space for his small legal practice. In 2006, TriMet attempted to acquire the house to use for high-rise student housing. In 2008, after a lengthy legal battle with Acker, they failed to win the case, and Figo house is still there, but surrounded by student housing.

 

Rotherham House

Photo Credit: Mirror 

The One A Bit Closer To Home: Arthur Newey lived in his end-of-terrace house in Rotherham for 40 years, but it became a detached property in 2017 after the rest of the terrace was demolished. The Council wanted to demolish the terrace so that they could widen the road, due to high levels of congestion. Rotherham Council first tried to force a compulsory purchase in 1999, and the pressure on Mr. Newey to leave his home continued for over 18 years.

 

Spiegelhalter Jewellers 2009

The former Spiegelhalter jewellers (2009) – Photo Credit: BBC News

They Say Diamonds Are Forever, But Maybe This Jewellery Shop Is Too: The former Spiegelhalter jewellers in Mile End, London, became an architectural landmark when they refused to move to make way for the neoclassical superstore that stands either side of it. The superstore intended to build a grander premises with columns and a tower, to rival Selfridges. However in the 1920’s the Spiegelhalters, who had already moved previously to accommodate an earlier stage of the Wickham expansion, refused to move again, forcing the department store to build around the 19th century jewellers.

 

Would you leave your home if the developers came knocking?