Trench warfare

Cosmos 'Dazzler' in full bloom in the formal borders. Photo: Su Hurrell

This week, we’ve started digging in, on our fight to rebuild Betley Court. Literally, in this case, as man and excavator arrived to help dig the trenches the new electricity supply. This is not as straightforward as we would have liked. The most direct between the main supply in the road and the future site of the visitors’ hub would be right through the middle of the house. Even in its current ruined state, we wouldn’t get away with that!

The beginning of the narrow trench in the forecourt. Photo: Su Hurrell

And down past the garages. Photo: Su Hurrell

Instead, a narrow trench is being carefully dug from the forecourt, through the Peace Garden, around the dovecote wing of the house, down past the garages to the site of the new hub. Thankfully, Shane, one of our handymen, has been ‘spotting’ for the digger man. There are decades of old and not so old pipes, cables and tree roots that they are having to pick around, and I was in awe watching the driver move the mechanical arm and toothed bucket with such delicacy.

The excavation has been like our very own episode of Time Team, with Shane spotting and pulling out buried treasure. So far, some lovely large coping stones have been unearthed, one in red clay, and the other in blue engineering brick.

Unearthed coping stones. Photo: Su Hurrell

We’ve had a lot of fun speculating what building they might have come from. The most delicate item retrieved is the bowl of a clay tobacco pipe.

Uncovered; a clay tobacco pipe with milled decorative band. Photo: Shane Oakley

It is decorated with a dotted line around the bowl – this is called milling by experts. My initial research into dating clay tobacco pipes is that this kind of decoration was used in the late 17^th century, putting it at the beginning of Betley Court’s history. In fact, there is a wealth of information to be found on the National Pipe Archive website, just in case you happen upon a clay tobacco pipe whilst digging over your flowerbeds. Who knew such an archive existed?

Boston Ivy, in its wonderful Autumn colours

Elsewhere in the garden, the autumn is becoming truly established, with leaves crisping up, and turning to golds and oranges. This week I edged the formal beds, which entails trimming back the grass borders to make it look neat. The Cosmos ‘Dazzler’ are putting on the most amazing display and living up to their epithet.

Lemon -yellow pot marigold (Calendula)

There are also the lemon-yellow pot marigolds, an unusual cultivar that will flower until the frosts come. I found myself wondering why I was continuing to keep the borders nice and tidy; it is quite a solitary and unnerving job at times. I got all the reason I needed when I bumped into a former resident yesterday. Residents made homeless by the fire have permission to visit walk around the grounds, and one couple had brought their dog over for walkies. They’d mentioned how heartening it was to see the flowerbeds being tended; evidence of the house being cared for. A sign of defiance in the face of the destruction of the fire, I think

The satisfaction of a crisp neat border edge!

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All best wishes

Ladybird Su

PS: the smoke alarms in one of the destroyed flats is still peeping away!