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George Best's family home for sale
For sale: three-bedroom Belfast terrace, offers of £165,000 could secure the childhood home of football legend George
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
The terraced house where footballing legend George Best grew up, 16 Burren Way in east Belfast's Cregagh Estate, has been put up for sale
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The childhood home of soccer legend George Best is for sale with a board appearing outside it today.
The three-bedroom terrace at number 16 Burren Way in the Cregagh Estate has been home to the Best family for 60 years — and the back garden is the first place a young George kicked his first football.
The property is on the market with estate agent Templeton Robinson with offers of £165,000 sought.
It was also the address where George’s funeral cortege left from three years ago as mourners filled the streets.
The ex-council house was bought by the Best family some years ago and was George’s father Dickie’s home for 60 years. It is only following his death this year that the home is being sold.
George was said to be around three years old when his family, including his parents’ Dickie and Anne along with his five brothers and sisters, moved to the Cregagh estate. This was his home until he signed to play for Manchester United aged 15.
George’s sister Carol Macpherson, said: “When we were little, George and I used to share a bedroom. As we got older he was given the room all to himself and after he left it was used by other family members, but was always vacated when George returned home to visit.
“It was always known as ‘George’s room’ and our mum never let us forget that.”
George’s room was at the back, left side of the house and is simply marked ‘bedroom two’ in the current brochure.
And the Best family are sorry to see their home looking for a new owner. Carol added: “Everyone in the family is sad to see it go. It was a very happy home and my father lived there for nearly 60 years, but we all have our own houses now and it was a stipulation of dad’s will that the house should be sold on his death.”
Neil Templeton, director at Templeton Robinson, said the house is in very good order: “Dickey looked after the house meticulously over the years. It has Phoenix Gas central heating and double glazing with a new kitchen put in recently.”
Mr Templeton said the current market value has been put on the house, despite its obvious historic interest.
“We have priced it as a very well tended terrace in the Cregagh estate. A similar property in Burren Way went sale agreed recently for around this price, but this house has a bigger back garden,” he added.
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Very nostalgic great story but again another example of a house stolen from the needy by the greedy, This is a council property built after the war as affordable rental accomodation for young working classes who could not get on the so called housing ladder at that stage in their early married years, The house was used by the Best family and now it is no longer required it should have been returned to the housing stock for use by another young couple starting out in life and who may in years to come produce a son even better than George, However Mrs Thatcher changed all that with her policies and greed. Let the council buy the house and re-let at an affordable rent to the next qualifing person on the waiting list
Posted by George Kirkpatrick | 21.08.08, 18:02 GMT
No-one said that the house has to be sold for a high price. The price could be fixed at its market value.
I agree that a house is made of bricks and mortar, however, George Best was a significant figure for Northern Ireland. How many people do you know, have an airport named after them?
The funds raised by visitors to the property could be put to good use too perhaps improving local social housing, promotion of mental health services or even promotion of football/sports for youth from the local community.
The property has the potential to bring great benefits to the local community perhaps even creating a few extra jobs and who knows it could even be a stop off point for tourists on the belfast tour. Maureen :-)
Posted by maureen | 20.08.08, 13:34 GMT
So just because it was the houuse that George Best grew up in, do you expect people to pay a higher price for it? It is just bricks and mortar like the houses next door.
Posted by Colin | 19.08.08, 21:43 GMT
George put Northern Ireland on the map? I've got a 1956 AA book and Northern Ireland is shown, long before he began his career.
Posted by neil | 19.08.08, 18:21 GMT
entirely agree with the heritage idea. the council or the manchester united supporters trust should intervene and make this a memorial and something to celebrate. george best put northern ireland on the map and remains one of the best characters we have ever had. still one of the best footballers to grace the game and he should be remembered in that way.
Posted by dave bramston | 19.08.08, 16:38 GMT
Hopefully some local council/trust/authority will buy this house.
It would be fantastic as a much needed tourist attraction here in Belfast, similar to Paul McCartney's house in Liverpool which is now owned by the National Trust. The national trust have now restored the former Beatle's house to its original 1950s appearance. Maureen
Posted by MAUREEN | 19.08.08, 15:25 GMT