Farmer who originally lived in house in middle of M62 wasn’t actually too stubborn to move

There’s one particular gaff in the UK which has become somewhat famous over the years – given it’s very bizarre location.

Arguably one of the most well-known homes in the north of England, the abode in questions lies right in the middle of the middle of M62 – and I mean right in the middle.

And the original lodger? None other than farmer Ken Wild who has since helped reveal the truth behind the urban legend attached to the residence.

Ken Wild has addressed rumours he was simply too stubborn to move through the motorway-framed residence. Credit: PA Images
Ken Wild has addressed rumours he was simply too stubborn to move through the motorway-framed residence. Credit: PA Images

The house is framed by two streams of motorway traffic linking Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

The motorway separates just before the farmhouse, Stott Hall Farm near Huddersfield, becomes visible from the road and then meets together just a few files up.

Rumours have since made their rounds across the nation about the odd positioning of the house, who lived in it and why on earth it was even there in the first place.

Well, previous owner Ken has helped put all those questions to bed.

Many believed the house’s owner had simply just refused to sell the property when plans for the six-lane carriage way were first approved back in the 1960s, leading to the assumption that developers opted to just build around the problem – quite literally.

The reason behind the odd motorway construction is nothing fancier than a mere 'geological fault'. Credit: PA Images
The reason behind the odd motorway construction is nothing fancier than a mere ‘geological fault’. Credit: PA Images

However, this couldn’t have been further from the case as Ken, along with his wife Beth and their flock of sheep, were far from the painted version of themselves the public have pedalled all these years.

The reality is that the motorway could have never been built on the farm in the first place – regardless of any reported civilian uprising against it.

A documentary by the British Film Institute (BFI), filmed nearly two decades after the motorway was finished back in 1983, revealed: “A geological fault beneath the farmhouse meant it was more practical for engineers to leave it rather than blast through and destroy it.”

Journalist Michael Clegg continued to explain: “Outside, the noise is relentless but inside it’s as peaceful and cosy as any farmhouse.”

The reason behind the odd motorway construction is nothing fancier than a mere 'geological fault'. Credit: PA Images
The reason behind the odd motorway construction is nothing fancier than a mere ‘geological fault’. Credit: PA Images

The pair first moved into the famed farmhouse in 1934 and, while they insisted the motorway wasn’t too much of a disturbance – Beth did note that the dust from the pollution did make cleaning a bit of a slog.

And it wasn’t just dust they had to contend with.

Ken and Beth also bore witness to a handful of tragic car crashes, while living on the farm, with one close-call call seeing a 32-feet-long lorry overturned in their garden in the early hours of one morning.

“The driver climbed out through the windscreen,” Beth assured. “He wasn’t hurt at all.”

Well, now you know.

Married couple Jill Falkingham and Paul Thorp, and their son, John-William, have since made Stott Hall Farm their home after Ken passed away.

Topics: UK NewsWeirdHomeCars

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