A Roof for all Seasons

The end of last month marked the third anniversary of this blog beginning. 159 posts and nearly 28,000 pageviews later, it has recorded the changes that Betley Court and its gardens have been through, one that none of us in the Brown family could have anticipated. The fire in 2019 and its aftermath has provided a lot of material for the blog, but I really rather it hadn’t happened at all. More positively, Betley Court is slowly returning to something recognisable. And in the gardens, a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has enabled us to restore the dam, and undertke repairs around the grounds.

This week, hot on the heels of Storm Arwen, we had a second ‘named weather event’; Storm Barra. Thankfully, this storm was less damaging than Arwen – at least within Betley Court Gardens. Our allotment at home (about seven miles from Betley) was battered by destructive whorls of wind, carrying our cabbage net arc into the branches of a nearby damson tree, and destroying my neighbour’s two greenhouses. At Betley Court, the scaffold wrap is starting to look a trifle threadbare in places, and I’m grateful that, fingers crossed, it only has to last until the summer, when we have a rough estimate of the first phase of building ending.   That is assuming further Covid restrictions and problems in the supply chain don’t delay the rebuild.

The Nash Room. Bow window roof structure starting to go in. This is where the fire started in 2019. John Nash's 'iron arch' is just visible at the top of frame. This will disappear behind plasterwork when the interior is fitted out.

View across to where the ;factory' - the former servants' wing joins onto the 'posh' bit of the house

Roof structure over Fletcher House

The back of the front of the house. Such an iconic outline. I wil be both sad to see this disappear, and delighted to see it disappear when the roof is rebuilt on this area of the house.

Rood trusses by night.

This weekend, we’re holding the last Restoration Tour of this year. (11^th & 12^th December 2021). You are welcome to join us and see our rebuilding efforts for yourself. Tickets are available on Eventbrite, the ticket website, and are £10.

One of the groups from our first restoration tour back in September

We’ll provide a hard hat and hi-viz jacket, and all we ask is that visitors wear stout shoes and are over 8 years old. A brief safety talk will start your visit, and be prepared to climb up scaffolding staircases up to the attic level. The tours are conducted by a member of the Brown family, along with an expert from our construction team, so if you have any questions, they’re on hand.

As a Christmas bonus, Nigel’s offered to provide a mug of mulled wine and a mince pie in the visitors’ hub. We also have a display of photos from the early days of rubble clearance, and rebuild. You’re most welcome to have a walk around the gardens while you’re here with our complementary garden map designed by our graphic guru Andy Taylor, of A Spark, A Flame, A Fire. Hope to see you that weekend!

All best wishes

Ladybird Su