Four Years On

Today’s date, 23^rd August marks four years since the fire that devastated Betley Court. By coincidence the last of the curved glass windows in the French windows has been installed, meaning that apart from a few snagging points, the external envelop is complete. What an achievement! Everyone who has played a role in the rebuild can be proud of what has been accomplished!

I spent a couple of hours at the house this morning, chatting with contractors and some of the residents. And, of course I spent a while just looking around the house. I’ve taken some photos to compare how Betley Court looks now and contrasted them with photos from the day of the fire. The ‘before’ photos come from Staffordshire Fire Services and the Sentinel Newspaper. 

Betley Court: Southern Eleveation

Image: Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service (23 Aug 2019)
Below Image: Su Hurrell (23 Aug 2023)

Betley Court: Eastern Elevation (Main Road)

Image: Malcolm Hart (23 Aug 2023)

Image Su Hurrell (23 Aug 2023)

View from Main Road

David Steele, Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service (23 Aug 23)

Su Hurrell (23 Aug 2023)

View from outside Clock House

23rd Aug 2019. Image: Philip Hesketh

23rd Aug 2023. Image: Su Hurrell

Betley Court: Interior

In these photos, I've held up a 'before the fire' photo inside Betley Court to give some idea of the family home as was, and the building site it is today. I saw this technique used in a National Trust property that had suffered fire damage and thought it might be interesting to try in the house. I need to use smaller photos next time but it might a good way of contexturalising scenes from different eras of Betley Court. 

The drawing room

The main stairwell

All best wishes

Ladybird Su