A Dingle Ticket!

 

It been a busy week at Betley Court. Partly, it’s the time of year, but partly a few things came together to give us a couple of weeks of non-stop activity. We had the first of our open weekends of the year, and had programmed two afternoons of restoration tours of Betley Court’s interior. I’m delighted to report that all our tours were fully booked. The local newspaper, The Sentinel covered the rebuild too (25^th March 2023), sending journalist George Bunn and photographer Pete Stonier to report on how we’re getting along.

You can read their article here: 

In the hall (Photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Geeting kitted out in the visitors' hub (Photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

It is always interesting meeting visitors on the tours. I’m intrigued for their reasons for coming. We had a good number of craftspeople, “tradies” and builders came to admire the craftwork of our contractors, which was lovely. Some had worked on historic buildings, others on prestigious new builds and have a very clear idea of the scale of the project we’ve taken on.

In the Nash Room (Photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Looking at the joinery in the conical roof (Photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Their comments and insights were gratefully received. Of particular interest was the joinery that supports the new conical roofs, which for now is still visible (eventually, it will be boarded and plastered over). 

Joinery in the conical roof (photo: Pete Stonier)

And the row of four six-over-six Georgian sash windows on the first floor, that were rescued and refurbished by Phillip Bailey (the conservation joiner based at Betley Court Farm) also drew admiration from visiting tradies. They reverfied how difficult it is to find skilled craftspeople these days.

We also usually have a visit from someone who have a personal connection with Betley Court, and the weekend’s tours were no exception. We met the daughter and granddaughter of Tom Brassington, who was an estate worker at Betley Court his whole life. He began as a stable boy, and became a waggoner, retiring to one of the estate cottages until his death. His working life covered that period from the heyday of large Georgian/Victorian houses and their estates, to their post-war decline. When I first came to Betley Court, Tom was a daily visitor to the gardens, taking his gorgeous golden dog, Gilbert on a walk around the grounds. Tom was quite a character, and shared many stories of Betley Court with my late father in-law, Professor Godfrey Brown. Tom’s family came to retrace his footsteps, and pay their respects – Tom and his wife Annie’s ashes are scattered in the dingle – and revisit scenes from their younger days.

Tom’s daughter told me a lovely story I’d not heard before. Back in the olden days, when Betley Show (a traditional celebration of country pursuits) was being held on the Betley Court Estate, people could pay to visit the gardens at the Big House. Courting couples, for a small fee, could also take the romantic walk down through the wooded dell, known locally as the dingle, to the fish pond. The charge for entry was called ‘a dingle ticket’. An invitation to join someone for a ‘dingle ticket’ seemed to be accompanied by a wink-wink, nudge-nudge smile. I can only imagine how many couples got together in the gardens of Betley Court and how many memories were made there!

All best wishes

Ladybird Su