200 and Counting!

Incredibly, this is the 200^th post for the Dead Gardeners’ Society blog. It’s coming up to four years since I started a little blog about a garden we hoped to restore and open to the public. 35.5k pageviews later, and despite a major setback – the fire in 2019 – we have opened to the public.

We have another open garden weekend this weekend (8th + 9th October 2022. Details in last paragraph), and I bet you’re wondering why open for a potentially wet weekend in October? The original plan was that the scaffolding would be partially down and we could talk visitors through the aspects of the rebuild, and show off our smart new roof and windows. If Nigel and I are experts at anything, it is knowing that life just doesn’t go to plan sometimes! We’ve had a few delays that even Mystic Meg couldn’t have seen. The global Covid pandemic and Lockdown, followed by the stall in the supply chain that occurred in the aftermath, ongoing Covid absences, and the little matter of a singular bat moving into the roof of Royds House to roost all contributed. To be fair, a couple of extra months over the course of a project of this complexity and scale is a comparatively small delay.

Compare and contrast the old and new (l) 300-year-old Vermont green slate versus new Vermont green slate.

All things considered; progress is going well. I can see we’re approaching the finishing line of the first stage; the completion of the external envelope. The conical roofs, tiled in handsome Vermont green slate are coming along, and will look as they did when Mrs Anastasia Fenton commissioned the original ones. New windows fill empty holes in the walls one by one. Now that planning permission has been granted on the first four apartments, we’re inviting local building contractors to give us a quote. It feels like a huge step back towards normality. We’re even getting to the stage of talking about finishes around Betley Court. Nigel’s asked if I’ll do the gilding (gold leaf finish) on the decorative parts of the front of the house; a skill I learned when I worked for Professor Brown in the antiques gallery. I’m quite looking forward to that challenge!

John Cradock's crest, on the front of Betley Court, which will need finishing with gold leaf, behind scaffolding.

If you’d like to come and talk with us in the gardens this weekend, we’d love to see you. Tickets, £5pp on the gate, children under 12 free. We’ll have the kettle on for a complementary cuppa and a biscuit in the visitors’ hub, and be on hand to take questions about Betley Court, the gardens, the fire and the rebuild. Professor Brown’s reprint of ‘This Old House’ will be available for sale too. Gates open from 1pm – 4.30pm. Last entry at 4pm. Dogs are welcomed with their well-behaved owners.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su