What a Week!

What a week we’ve had at Betley Court! MD Scaffolding have been onsite to take the last of the scaffolding down from the southern elevation. Finally, we were able to see how the front of Betley Court looks after all the repairs, and my-oh-my! We are delighted!

It felt very emotional to see the front of the building, particularly where the seat of the fire was, and where we’d had to demolish part of the wall for safety in the early days after the fire. The new mortar seams are visible, so the repairs are plain to see, but like scars, they will fade with time. The roof – wow – the roof is magnificent! The conical roof sections look as crisp and new as the day the originals were finished for Anastasia Fenton, the lady of the house who commissioned them. And the distinction between the blue Ffestiniog slate tiles (over the servants’ quarters), and the green Vermont tiles (over the posh part of the house and Main Road) are very clear to see, just as would have been 250-odd years ago.

BBC Radio Stoke's Chris Steers. Believe it or not, he produces audio recordings for news articles, videos and interviews for the TV news and radio, and shorts for social media using this tiny iPhone (pictured centre) (photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

The BBC sent their social media journalist, Chris Steers to Betley Court to catch up with how the restoration is going and talk about our upcoming weekend of restoration tours. We took him on a tour of the house, with him filming points of interest as we went, and then Chris filmed a few ‘pieces to camera’ outside. Nigel’s Radio Stoke interview went out this morning (23 March 2023) on the Stuart George show (last hour). He’s competing for airspace with the arrival of Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party in Stoke-on-Trent, who is electioneering in the region today. However, I’ll post links to our Betley Court Facebook page when the BBC post anything. Thank you to Chris Steers, Stuart George and everyone at BBC Radio Stoke for their continuing interest in Betley Court's rebuild.

Filming the new curved windows (photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Filming the new chimney, that fell on the evening of the fire (photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

Nigel, doing a 'piece to camera' with Chris Steers (photo: Su Hurrell/Ladybird Su)

We have a few tickets left for the restoration tours this weekend (25^th 26^th March 2023). Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the house with me and Nigel, and see how the restoration is going. Tickets MUST be pre-booked due to the limited size of groups, and there’s a complimentary beverage and snack in the visitors’ hub. Guests are free to wander around the garden and dingle until the gates close at 5pm. The daffodils are out, so it’s a lovely time to visit.

Tickets are £10pp and can be booked at www.betleycourtgardens.co.uk/events

Here’s to a good weekend!

All best wishes

Ladybird su