A man lives in a ‘time-warp’ house – with the inside set in the 1950s and the outside an 1850s Wild West Town.
Billy Gibbons, 68, transformed his home in Audlem, Cheshire into a 1950s haven after his parents died in the mid-90s.
But – not feeling like he lived far enough in the past – Billy, a retired care home worker, decided to begin converting his garden into an 1850s Western town.
After three years building it and spending £500, he now has a mini-ranch in his back garden complete with two jails, a sheriff’s office, a blacksmith’s and a cannon. He has successfully managed to jump back a further 100 years.
Billy said: ‘One morning I woke up a while ago and thought “yeah, I live in the 1950s but outside I want to live in the 1850s”.’
Billy Gibbons transformed his garden into an 1850s Wild West town
Billy poses outside the blacksmiths he made in his own back garden behind which he stores two classic cars
He said: ‘When we moved here in 69, my dad kept horses and he built two stables and a few other sheds for his hay and after I inherited it I built a big garage for my classic cars.
‘But after this brainwave for the ranch, I started with the stables and I converted those into the jail and the other stable into the sheriff’s office..’
Billy has made use of his 1850s ranch by converting some of the rooms into multifunctional spaces.
The barbershop houses Billy’s wood and washing machine, while the blacksmith doubles up as a garage for his cars.
He also uses the tin bath outside the trading post to bathe in.
He said: ‘As we leave the 1950s you go into a typical Western 1850s back porch and to the right of that I’ve got the barbershop – which I use as a a wood store and to house my washing machine.
‘Go further along I’ve got a coffin and an undertakers sign there.
‘Then I’ve got a Western Union Telegraph office – but that’s another façade and I keep guns in there and we do a bit of a plinking [shooting at tin cans].
‘To the left, I’ve got a moonshine still which I’m very proud of – though I don’t actually brew moonshine.’
Billy started transforming his house in Crewe after his parents died in the mid-90s
The garden is home to a Western Union Telegraph office which is actually a façade behind which he keeps guns. A sign reads: ‘No spitting on chickens’
Billy said he is ‘very proud’ of his moonshine still – although he does not brew it
The 68-year-old poses with TNT in his back garden
Billy chops wood in the 1850s Western town he has built in his garden
He continued: ‘To the left again is the trading post with the tin bath which is what I use to bathe in. Then we have the sheriff’s office with the jail.
‘At the gable end of the big garage I’ve got the livery and blacksmith’s shop with the 1850s anvil outside.
‘When you go into the blacksmith that’s my garage which houses the classic cars.
‘Obviously I’ve got a cannon. And there’s another tiny sheriff’s office at the end of the lean-to.
‘Further down the garden, I’ve got the other jail housed by some six-foot by 12-foot gates.
‘I finished the jail recently and it was going to be the saloon but you could see the sign from the road and didn’t want a rumour going around that there’s a load of whisky in there.’
Billy estimates the entire build took him just £500 to complete – utilising materials he already owned.
He added: ‘I did it all on my own. The stuff that I haven’t been given or couldn’t find I had to go to reclamation yards or timber yards.’
A sheriff’s office and trading post tastefully decorated with animal skulls. A tin bath, which Billy bathes in, sits near the themed building
Billy lounges on the porch of his jail – which he built entirely by himself
Billy poses with fake teeth behind the bars of his jail. This building was meant to be the saloon but as it could be seen from the road, he didn’t want passers-by thinking he was storing ‘loads of whisky’
Billy said: ‘Obviously I’ve got a cannon’
![Billy poses with his guns which he uses to 'do a bit of a plinking [shooting at tin cans]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/29/10/89052629-13791723-image-m-77_1724922843710.jpg)
Billy poses with his guns which he uses to ‘do a bit of a plinking [shooting at tin cans]’
But inside Billy sits in his sepia lounge in front of an original Bakelite TV from as far back as 1949, supported by a cabinet from the early 50s.
His kitchen features vintage cabinets in a bright technicolour with a black and white chessboard floor tiling. He owns ten fridges all from the 1950s – though only one is kept in his kitchen – as well as period radios, collectibles and ornaments.
Billy also dresses in clothes from the era and owns an original Vauxhall Velox PA and a hotrod.
‘[The ranch] is separate from the house,’ Bill said. ‘Inside the house I live in a 1950s time-warp and I’ve lived this way since I inherited the house in 1996.
‘I’ve lived here with my mum and dad since 1969 and over the years I collected 1950s artefacts but my dad wouldn’t let me put them in the house.
‘After my parents passed in the 90s I was able to do what I wanted with the house and I was able to put my 1950s artefacts in.
‘I’m very proud of it all.’
Billy’s obsession with the 1950s began when he was just a boy in the 1960s and he now spends his time singing in a band as a Rockabilly singer.
He said: ‘Of all things, how I got into the 50s was Blue Peter.
‘The background music was Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog.
‘It was that that got me into the music.
‘I did more research and found out the style of household items and the 50s clothes which I wear on a regular basis actually.
‘The clothes – a lot of the stuff I’ve got is modern retro but a lot of it I get is from charity shops, not my underpants though.
‘The classic cars – one of them is a late 50s Vauxhall Velox and I also have a 1950s style hotrod.’
Billy transformed the interiors of his house in Crewe into a 1950s haven – and wears clothes from the era too
His kitchen features vintage cabinets in bright technicolour blue and red with a black and white chessboard floor tiling. The fridge is part of a ten-strong collection from the 1950s
A cabinet in the kitchen boasts period radios, collectibles and ornaments from the 1950s
His collection of vintage products includes batteries, mustard, peanuts and porridge oats
Billy also owns a cream Baby Belling oven complete with a top plate. He has a collection of cleaning supplied from the 1950s including Persil and Handy Andy
Billy answers his retro phone in front of an original Bakelite TV from as far back as 1949, supported by a cabinet from the early 50s
Billy sits reading a book titled Modernizing Your Home in his themed living room
An antique Philco radio sits in his sepia lounge
Billy poses for a photograph in a room dedicated to musical instruments
Bill has two classic cars including a late 50s Vauxhall Velox
He has an extensive collection of Esso Motor Oil bottles and a pump
Billy stands in his garage which is filled with collectibles. In the background sits his 1950s style Hot Rod
Billy has had to spend very little on his 1950s interior, as most of the items he’s had tucked away for over 30 years.
He said: ‘Most of the stuff I’ve got I was given when people were throwing them away in the 80s and 90s as they were deemed too old.
‘I’ve got ten 1950s fridges – you can’t have too many.’