Stuck in the Seventies: Inside elderly couple's abandoned six-bed home

Stuck in the Seventies: Inside elderly couple’s abandoned six-bed home that’s littered with old magazines, bottles of Babycham, tins of Uncle Joe’s mint balls and covered in patterned wallpaper

•  A grade II listed house resembles an eerie time capsule and has been left ‘frozen in time’ after owners died
• The farmhouse in Wigan, Lancashire, was lived in as recently at 2017, but furnishings reflect the 1970s 
• The six-bed house belonged to a married couple called Jack and Synthia, who lived into their 90s

A grade II listed house now resembles an eerie time capsule and has been left ‘frozen in time’ after it was abandoned when its owners died.

Urban explorers came across the crumbling six-bed property which is full of old newspapers, magazines, family photos and bottles of spirits amassed over decades.

Despite evidence that the farmhouse in Wigan, Lancashire, was lived in as recently at 2017, the décor and furnishings appear to be a time capsule from a much earlier decade.

A 1970s-style square television features in the living room, while the carpet and wallpaper appears unchanged for decades.

A 1970s-style square television features in the living room where there are newspapers are strewn on the floor along with rubble, as wallpaper peels away from the walls

Another television sits with an old tin of Cadbury chocolate wafers on top, with bottles and tins seen in the foreground and background

The television in the lounge has a doll in a patterned dress and black hat sat on top, as plants can be seen growing in the property to the right hand side

A couple of urban explorers, known only as Andrew and Courtney, both 23, came across the house over the weekend as part of their hobby of finding abandoned buildings.

They believe the house, which appears to have been extended from a four-bed to a six-bed, belonged to a married couple called Jack and Synthia, who lived into their 90s.

They think that Synthia died in 2012 and Jack lived alone until his death in 2017. The house has remained untouched ever since.

On one of the beds sits hordes of newspaper clippings and photographs, along with black lace-up shoes and a brown suitcase

A closer look at the photographs show an array of headshots capturing the lives of many. Pictures include children and older people, as well as groups posing together

More photographs show additional detail into the lives of those pictured, with a colour picture of a party jumping out from other black and white images. There is also a national registration identity card on the bed

Women’s magazine, Woman’s Realm, costing 9p, sits on top of this box of rolled-up wallpaper. Its front page boasts recipes, clothes to buy and beauty tips

On a wooden dresser sits a jewellery box and clock, stuck at 7.53. Thick layers of dust can be seen on the furniture and its mirrors

Courtney, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: ‘It seems that his wife passed away a few years before Jack died and he lived there alone until he died.

‘We worked out the house has been abandoned since 2017, that was the last year on the calendar in the house. The last date marked off was February 15.

‘There was a lot still in the house, like cleaning products, drinks, the garden was really overgrown and the house was really big.’

Among the hundreds of artefacts are Jack’s old national service papers, a strew of family photos and birthday cards celebrating Synthia’s 90th birthday.

There was also two bottles of Babycham and a number of bottles of rum, which appeared to be Jack’s favourite tipple.

Courtney, who first took up the hobby during lockdown in 2020, said she is fascinated by learning about the past of a house and the lives of its inhabitants.

A bathroom has a laundry rail and towels to the left, with more towels and mats draping over the bathtub. An empty bucket and bottle of cleaner are left on the floor

Yellow bath mats can be seen in the middle of the room and next to the toilet – which has its seat left up. Cleaning products are sat on the sink

An old vacum cleaner with its wired wrapped around the body sits in the corner, next to a door of a rich mustard colour

Courtney said exploring the house was tinged with sadness at the thought of all the years the couple had spent together. Pictured, an open safe infront of floral wallpaper

But she said exploring the house was tinged with sadness at the thought of all the years the couple had spent together.

She added: ‘Jack must have lived in one part of the house towards the end. There was a note on the wall that he’d written for his carers to turn the taps off.

‘Jack was in his 90s when he died, we found his birth certificate and we think his wife was around 90 when she died.

Small bottles of alcohol sit on the side, in front of a cup and saucer, and a box of medication to the right

The hallway has a curved ceiling and with detailed patterns on the walls and floor. Steps lead up to the bathroom at the back

A birthday card with age 90 was found in the property. The explored believe married couple Jack and Synthia lived into their 90s while living there

‘It’s quite sad to see, you walk into the living room and you realise it’s somebody’s family home and it was just left like that one day and never touched again and it’s stayed that way ever since,’ Courtney said. Pictured, An open box of dominoes sits strewn on the side

A metal tea pot, coffee pot and milk jug sit on top of a tray, gathering a thick layer of dust

A copy of the Daily Mail from April 21, 1989, was found in the property. The explorers believe it was inhabited until 2017

‘It’s quite sad to see, you walk into the living room and you realise it’s somebody’s family home and it was just left like that one day and never touched again and it’s stayed that way ever since.

‘It’s like a time capsule, it’s just frozen in time. A lot of the features in the house are from a long time ago, I think a lot of older people didn’t renovate very often, so it looks even older.

‘They would have said on their wedding day “til death do us part” and death did part them.’

Courtney and Andrew often share their discoveries on social media as urbexcoupleac. 

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