Up on the Roof

What a scorching hot week it has been at Betley Court. Our youngest wistfully reminded us that the best place to be during a British heatwave was the hallway inside Betley Court. With its high ceilings, Minton tiled floors, and no direct sunlight, the hallway maintained an ambient cool atmosphere. Most of the year, that meant it was unpleasantly cold. In a heatwave, it was the most comfortable room in any house I’ve ever been in. To sit on the floor, with the backs of short-clad legs pressing onto the cooling tiles was incredibly restorative!

The dummy roof truss in place

Spare a thought then, for our contractors. Whilst he protective temporary roof does provide some shade from the sun’s scorching rays, it is acting like a tent canvas, and keeping the heat in and any refreshing breeze out. Add to that the fact that they are undertaking hard physical tasks, moving and installing materials through the building.

Despite the, the rate of change around Betley Court continues, apace. Much of the activity has centred around the ‘factory’ this is the servants’ wing that was constructed in the late 1700s. This part of the house garnered its unflattering nickname because to the eyes of the villagers, the style of architecture was more like a factory than a cottage. 

Reconstruction on the factory end

The factory has been betraying the secrets of its construction. Bricked up doors and windows have come to light, and where wooden lintels were burned out during the fire, new concrete ones have taken their place. There’s been a lovely bit of restoration to a little window that was in unit 10.

Look at the detail on this window opening, the checkerboard Flemish bonding, and the inny-outy brickwork at the top of the wall. Unit 10.

The tops of the walls are being readied for the next stage of the build – a new roof! There was much excitement in the Brown household when a dummy truss arrived last week. A promising sign indeed! This frame will allow our specialist builders from Midland Conservation Ltd to check everything lines up before committing to a final design. This section was built in phases, and where the phases join, we have some interesting challenges to overcome; one wall sits in from its neighbour that pre-existed it. As the roof has to work as a unit to keep rain out, its important the difference between the two is taken into account. Just seeing the dummy truss in place lifted our hearts.

The dummy trust. Installes to ensure the roof line is at the correct level

Aparatus the original builders of Betley Court's 'factory' the servants wing. All designed to make sure the two different phases match up.

The change in width in the factory wing, where an extension was added. Challenging for the architect and builders.

Work continues on the south elevation, with new sandstone sills installed, and further courses of Flemish bonded checkerboard bricks above John Nash's 'iron arch'.

John Nash's 'iron arch' on the south elevation in fresh black and white paint. Note the new courses of brick above.

Beautifully crafted new sill for one of the windows on the southern elevation. Note the checkerboard Flemish bonding. The Cheshire reds are all newly handmade bricks. The Stafforshire blue bricks have largely been reclaimed, as they are higher fired and generally survived the fire in a usable state.

As each phase is finished, Michael and the team from MD Scaffolding Services reconfigure the scaffold framework. Already, two chimneys have been restored, and so have had their supporting scaffold removed. It all feels as if its going in the right direction.

L-R - Me, Aaron, Nigel and Martin looking from the top of one of the southern elevation bays into what was the kitchen of the main house, through what would've been the first floor.

We had a visitor on Friday, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, Aaron Bell at the end of what was a very hot and long week. We togged him and his staff member, Pauline up in hi-viz and hard hats and took them on a tour of the restoration work. It was really useful to show them the work progressing, as the easiest way to grasp the size of our task is to experience the scale at a human level. A big thank you to Aaron, and Pauline (who took some great photos) for taking an interest in Betley Court’s rebuild.

Aaron Bell MP surveys the progress over the 'factory'

We are tentatively looking at a 11-12th September opening for Betley locals. We are in talks with our contractors, and Jason (Director of MCL) is working with us to offer short guided tours of the restoration site, so people can follow Aaron Bell’s footsteps and look around the restoration for themselves. Midland Conservation Ltd have overseen these site tours before at other restorations, and it’s a great way for local people to grasp what going on behind the scaffold wraps. We’ll be offering these as advance purchase only tickets through Eventbrite. I’ll post details as soon as they become available.

Take care in the hot weather, as we come out of Covid restrictions. I’m spending every available spare minute keeping on top of the watering around Betley Court. Its no fun in this heat!

All best wishes

Ladybird Su