All change at the top

What a strange week! Between starting this post and finishing it, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has resigned. Nigel and I have been watching events unfold from our desks, on social media and news outlets, our mobile phones buzzing as the wider family and friends react to the latest developments. These times of great change tend to rally us together, sharing deep discussions about what should happen, and the humour that seems to accompany dramatic events. In that respect, the Brown family is no different from many others, and politics is always a hot topic at get-togethers. In its 300-year+ existence, Betley Court has seen 77 Prime Ministers come and go. James Callaghan was Prime Minister when the Browns moved in 1978, so including Boris Johnson, that makes eight that have held the position in our time at Betley Court. The big question now is, who will be the ninth?

Boris Johnson as he gives his resignation speech

Up on the roof....

On a less political note, there was much to marvel at this weekend. Nigel and I took the opportunity to climb up onto the new roof of Betley Court (suitably attired in hard hats, hi-viz jackets and safety boots, of course!) to see how the build was going. We were able to clamber up to the new stepped roof and survey everything that has been done, and what we saw was impressive!

“All this began in Mark’s head!”, Nigel remarked, referring to our conservation architect, Mark Evans, who designed the roofscape. “Where do you even start with a project with a project like this?”

Part of the flat roof area, underneath the temporary roof structure

From our vantage point, we were able to turn through 360° to see the conical roofs on the south elevation, round to the urns on the portico that faces Main Road, and over to the freshly tiled section of roof that covers the ‘Factory’. The complexity of the roof is utterly marvellous. Areas of flat roof are, in fact subtly raked, which will allow water to run off, discharging it through the gutters. A fall arrest system will be installed before we’re finished, to provide safe places to secure anyone undertaking maintenance work on the roof in future – a modern addition that makes complete sense.

The delicate-looking laminated conical roof on the north side of Betley Court

The delicate lamination of the conical roof sections is progressing, and Betley Court’s iconic roofline is coming back to reality. The job of tiling those wooden cones will be amazing -albeit complicated- I’m sure!

The new chimney, expertly crafted to match the others. Note the lightning conductor in the middle (it looks like a knitting needle!).

Being so high up, we were able to look at the chimney built to replace the one that fell during the fire back in 2019. It is a lovely example of brickwork, matching as best as possible the other chimneys. It is almost a shame that people won’t be able to see it up close as we have.

All the chimneys now have lightning conductors attached to them – metal spikes that point up in the air. They are connected to a lightning protection system around the roof of Betley Court, and will direct a direct strike down to a plate in the earth. Apparently, lightning strikes are more likely than they used to be (about fourfold more likely!) so this seems like a prudent addition[1].

New Residents

Bats stop play. Work has stopped until we get some guidelines from the ecology experts.

While I’m on the subject of the roof, we’ve had a little delay with some of the tiling, as bats may have moved into part of the roof space that survived the fire. We’ve arranged for ecology experts to undertake a bat survey, and are awaiting the results before any work is done on that part of the roof, as bats are protected by law. Even when we do restart, any work will be undertaken will be done under the watchful eyes of our experts, if we find that we have an unexpected colony of batty residents.

Incidentally, while I was looking up the collective noun for bats, I discovered these other bat-related terms:

Hangar of bats  - as the term suggests, a group of roosting bats, hanging from the roof.

Cloud of bats     - refers to a group of bats flying together

Cauldron of bats- refers to the swarming behaviour of bats around the entrance of their roost, usually seen around dusk.

Bats in the belfry-to be crazy; to act, think or behave in a foolish manner. Not applied to bats, but rather people – I’m not mentioning names, but I can think of a few examples!

 

Garden Events

Our next open garden event will be on Saturday 16^th July (bring your picnics to the gardens from 1-4pm). £5 adults, children under 12 free. Well-behaved dogs on leads most welcome! Pay on the gate and the day, or in advance or at : PICNICTICKETS.

On Sunday 17^th July 2022, we’ll be holding another Garden History Walk. Join us for a presentation on Betley Court Garden’s history, and a guided walk around the grounds. This is bookable in advance only. Tickets available from: BETLEY COURT TICKETS

All best wishes

Ladybird Su

 

 

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[1] Further reading on lightning protection systems for historic buildings can be found at https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/lightning-protection/heag182-lightning-protection/