'Tomb Thumb House' in Prestwich: Spoof?

There's a mosaic of local features in Longfield Shopping Centre, Prestwich which contains a tile incorporating a brief, old newspaper article that reads:

'No. 10 Church Lane, more than 150 years old, could easily be missed.

EMPTY

For the entire front of the Tomb [sic] Thumb house measures just about 6ft. across––and it narrows as you go inside. The greatest distance between the fire-place and the opposite wall is barely 3ft.'

 

Now, I know that the saying 'If it's not on the internet it doesn't exist' is not quite true (although it's mighty close), but I still find it slightly surprising that there appears to be no mention at all of this curiosity online: after all, the internet is like a trawl net for the bizarre as well as the mundane. The article looks real enough, but could it be that it appeared on April 1? And what's that human face in the picture that looks as if it's where a window should be? Very odd.