 |
| The dam and lake restoration begin |
We had some new arrivals in the gardens at Betley Court this
week. The contractors who are undertaking the dam repairs finally made it on to
site, after the delays caused by the unseasonable rain in the middle of last
month. To be honest, the delay worked well for us as it meant we had our trial open
gardens without the disruption of diggers and spoil heaps. It does feel good to
be able to get on with one of the main tasks we got assistance for, from the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
 |
| Coned off path |
We’ve now temporarily coned off the path over the dam to
allow the workmen space, and Mr O, the younger has gradually lowered the level
of the water in the lake to reveal the footings of the brickwork. And they are
in quite a state! No wonder water was working its way through and washing away
the banks.
 |
| Big digger dredging |
This morning, a big digger was busy dredging the bottom of
the lake. The spoil was dumped into a lorry waiting on the field of the farm
next door. The workmen have also brought a mini digger, and have set up a
cement mixer on one side of the dam. Everything is being brought onsite across
the land of Betley Court Farm (thank you Mr & Mrs Speed!), as there’s no
way we could bring it down the steep, narrow path. Now the lake is empty, it’s
really brought home the enormity of the task.
 |
| Lowered water level by the sluice |
 |
| The dam wall |
 |
| Note the missing bricks - these would usually be below water level |
 |
| The drained lake - be grateful you cannot smell it! |
 |
| Cement mixer, ready for action, over by the eel trap |
We have no idea when any large expenditure was spent on
maintenance of the dam, certainly nothing major in the last forty years. I read
somewhere that the lake was dredged in World War Two, during Betley Court’s Red
Cross Hospital years, to allow servicemen recuperating here to exercise in the
water. It’s a testament to the design skills of the architect and builders that
made it, that it is still holding back the water so well. Its quite possible
that the current phase of work is the first bit of restoration that’s ever been
done.
We owe our dam and lake to the skills of county surveyor for
Staffordshire, Robert Griffiths. He drew up plans for many large institutions,
such as infirmaries and prisons, but was best known for the many lunatic
asylums he built during the late 19
th century. He also designed
Victorian stately homes including Smallwood Manor, so he was quite used to
working for the gentry too. That probably made him the perfect choice for a
project like the dam at Betley Court.
 |
| The Betley Window |
In other news, Nigel and I attended a meeting of the
Newcastle-under-Lyme Heritage Group on Thursday. It was a chance for us to find
out what other Heritage Fund recipients have been doing with their grants. We
met Ray Johnson from the Staffordshire Film Archives. Talk about a small world -
Ray remembered filming at Betley Court as a young man. The occasion was a
meeting of Merrymen, and to celebrate the unveiling of the Brown’s facsimile of
the Betley Window. Incidentally, the original of the window can be seen in the
collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Ray is trying to hunt
down a short film that was made on the day, to digitise it and add it to the
archives. It’s quite a thought to see events within living memory being of
value to an archivist, so I hope we will be able to be of help and find the missing
film. I’ve got a horrible feeling though that the film is hidden in decades of
clutter somewhere in the house. It may be some time before it comes to light!
Ladybird Su
Comments
Post a Comment