An Unusual Offering

Betley Court is a hive of industry at the moment. Now that the roof frame has been installed, materials are being consumed by the rebuild in eye-wateringly large quantities, and gradually, the roof is taking shape. It never fails to surprise me how vast roofs are when you are up close to them. I suppose it is that we’re used to viewing them from the ground, and perspective makes them seem smaller than when we’re next to them. Although it has to be said, most people don’t have cause to visit their roof as often as we have recently!

The vast stretch of new tiling over 'the factory' (the former servant's wing)

There’s something very satisfying about watching the tile courses (are they courses? Or is it just bricks that are described that way?) stretch to cover the roof. I’m in awe at how fast the roof is coming together. In fact, I’ll miss our weekly treks up to the top of the scaffolding to view each week’s progress, when the roof is complete. It’s an honour to be able to watch all the different tradespeople working together to repair Betley Court.

Speaking of which, this weekend we are holding some more Rebuild Tours. We’re busy preparing for another block of tours on Sunday. We’ve got four tours in the afternoon, each of half an hour (and access to the gardens afterwards) so if you fancy having a look at the roof rebuild for yourself, do join us - just make sure you book first as places are limited. We’ll kit you out in a hard hat and hi-viz jacket, and take you up to the top of the scaffolding to show you how the work is going. This is the penultimate block of tours before our last one in August, so if you like to see what's going on behind the scaffold wrap around Betley Court, grab a ticket!

Nigel, hard at work

Nigel’s busy preparing some photographs as I type this, and he’ll be on hand, along with his brothers Denton and Martin on Sunday to talk about the rebuild. Our Victorian daffodil collection are also in full bloom, so it is a great time to see the grounds.

To book, please go to our website. www.betleycourtgardens.co.uk

An Unusual Gift

Recently, I heard about a really lovely project happening between an artist I know from the local art scene who is working in conjunction with Appetite (the local arts programme) and the Brampton Museum, in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Shiv, who’s curating the project under the banner of ‘The Depository of the Dull’ is making a collection of objects with a story. The website states:

 “What we want most of all, are objects with a great story that goes with them! Everyday, extraordinary, extravagant, earnest, everything!”

As Betley Court is in Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough, and some of the objects will become part of the Brampton Museum collection afterwards, I thought I had to find something from the house to submit. Surely, there must be something with “a great story” we could take in?

The thing is, our end of Betley Court was one of the parts that was completely destroyed by the fire. So there really isn’t much, not since we had over 200 tonnes of debris removed. I did find something though, and this is my letter to Shiv:

Hi Shiv

 

Hope you're keeping well?

 

I may be too late with my submission for the Depository of the Dull, but I would like to submit a stamp. It is an 18p postal stamp from 1981 depicting Morris dancers. It is attached to a first day cover that was issued at Betley Court, which became a Post Office for the day of 2nd May 1981. After it was stamped, it was placed in a box, along with dozens of other identical first day covers, stuffed in a heavy oak cabinet in the hall of my father-in-law, Godfrey Brown's house and forgotten about. 38 years later there was a house fire. A really severe one. My father-in-law lost absolutely everything in that fire, and was fortunate to be rescued by his neighbours just in time. Furniture, clothes, roof, plaster on the walls, every single memento of his family life, and of his beloved late wife, Freda, gone. Except one thing. Under a pile of ash that once was the heavy oak cabinet in the hall, there survived the scorched remains of the first day covers.

 

So, I would like to donate this stamp to the museum. Despite its humbleness, it has been through a lot.

 

All best wishes

Ladybird Su

 

I pleased to report, that Shiv has accepted the stamp into the Common Curiosities collection, and who knows, it might even end up in the Brampton Museum’s collection one day! It’s an unusual offering, but definitely one with a great story attached!

 

All best wishes

Ladybird Su