Week 31...

... has just come to an end with a day of tile scrubbing. We're back onto the tiles for the greenhouse and now have one last push to finish them off. At last the pile looks small!

Cam Tile have finished the shingles at the back of the house and are nearly done at the front. The final bits of shingles are inside the greenhouse and the draft lobby by the front door. There is glass in the greenhouse windows with the roof still to finish.

Saturday morning the plasterers were in screeding the greenhouse floor and finishing off a few small areas of plastering. We arrived early to use some of the screed to create our cobbled yard. The stones are all found on site during the archeaological dig. They are river stones not local to this area. When we dug them up there was lots of broken pottery and quern stones mixed in with the cobbles. The stones still need a good clean and we might look at using some sort of sealant to bring out the colours (when wet they're very varied in colour - not all grey as they look here)

Nick spent Saturday fiddling around with all our reclaimed door knobs and all the upstairs doors are now fully functioning. It's an eclectic collection of knobs and the debate of whether to paint the doors white or leave the wood finish goes on. You can see the electrical fittings here with one of the room temperature monitors fixed next to the light switch. Our under floor heating is adjustable in each room.

The stairs have most of their glass in. It looks great but the long bannisters going up the stairs and along the landing are a bit wobbly - builders and architects are not too worried but i'm inclined to agree with Nick that they're just a bit too wobbly for comfort and we'll probably ask Ian to put another upright midway along the long lengths. I don't think they'll ever be completely solid.  

Our very own little Pompidou Centre! All connected and functioning. Lots of little expansion tanks attached to the various systems. Dan will come back at some point to tell us how it all works and how to use the controls. We have a touch screen pad to control the heating zones and timings - ain't we all modern!

Juliet has been here helping for a second weekend so special thanks to sister Jules. 

Archaeology and respite

We've had a very nice weekend of catching up with sleep and life after a busy week. We're back at Girton this evening and hoping we'll be finished ramming on Tuesday. Camilla, George and Grandfather came by for tea and a tour.

This evening we've picked out some of the artifacts from our archaeological dig, giving them a good wash and deciding on an arrangement for embedding them into the wall. Got them all laid out ready.

We had to have an archaeological survey completed as part of our planning permission. It never made any sense to me that we had to pay for the pleasure, but that's the way it works. We challenged this condition as the development across the road had not had it imposed upon them but we were told that this was a cock up ... grrr. It was £1500 for the standard survey. We really didn't think we'd find a thing but we got a call to say there was a find! How exciting! Nick went down to meet Nick and Nick the archaeologists and all the Nicks had a fun time uncovering some cobbled yards and various bits of pottery, bone, ditches and post holes. No gold or jewelry unfortunately, and an extra 2 days on site to add to our bill but hey ... it's good to have some history. In amongst the cobbled yards were lots bits of quern stones (for grinding corn) made from german lava stone which would have been sent over on ships to East Anglia as ballast - wool would go on the return journey. There's a full report - if you're interested in a read let me know and i'll send it to you.

My uncle, George (see above), is an archaeologist. We thought we could take advantage of the trenches and the information supplied by the archaeology team and have a bit of fun looking for more treasures. George kindly agreed to arrange some structure for the day and a recording system - we found loads more stuff (still no gold) and had a great day. Highlights of the day: Jos and Charlotte found flint, Oscars birthday cake, Clare dissects a vole, pottery George thinks is probably roman (nearby Huntingdon rd is an old roman road). There's an online album (also in links section) - including the digger disaster of the following day.

From earth closet to earth wall ...

Title suggestion from Dora, my Great Aunt, who very kindly wrote us a bit about the history of the land and Reynolds Close. Here is her message, typed through the fug of a heavy cold. Thank you, Dora!

Dear Kate and Nick,

You asked about how Reynolds Close came to be, at any rate my recollections unfettered by reference to sources. But I am copying to Fabian for his comments additions, corrections etc. as he has a better memory than me.

1919 Dad back from german prison, got a post with Agricultural Research Council at their Cambridge center to improve, by his trainimng in genetics, the various breeds of cabbage (later changed to chickens). Married Mother in January and started looking for a house, preferably outside Cambridge and near the ARC farm. So Girton obviuos choice. Mr Hall, a local farmer offered a shack in strip where the entrance now is to Gretton Court. Parents weren't too struck with it, corrugated iron roof, one storey, three or four small rooms only. They looked over the hedge, saw a large field with view of Madingly ridge, a high boundary (?enclosure) hedge and four stately elms. Decided to buy and build.

Got gov't subsidy for small dwellings, Therefore two large army huts. First house in 50 years to be built in Girton. Very hot summer and Mother pregnant with Joanna kept seeking shade under elm trees, while Dad layed out the garden with Irvine King's help. Wedding present, possibly from one of the dons in the big houses at Girton Corner, of two wheelbarrowfuls of plants immensely helpful. Heavy clay as you know. All very different from Surrey, ?Hampshire( Bedales), and Germany, where Dad organised prison garden.

House extended in 1950s with annexe from  Mother's money. She had also bought cowfield inlate 1920's, so they had cows, goats, ducks and hens, two orchards. Mother was in charge of the dairy side. 

House called Reynolds Close, as tribute to Grandfather Edward Reynolds Pease. Wedgwood family suggestion of "the Pod" turned down..

Mr Hall put his stockman, Walter Mathews, wife Elizabeth, and two sons , Cyril and ?John, in the cottage rejected by parents. In 1950/60's Hall wanted to evict them, so Dad bought the strip to safeguard them, and ccreated a thid  orchard, once he had cleared out the very decrepit but yummily delicious greengage trees. Very soon the Matthews parents were given a council bungalow in the new St. Vincent Close, and and Dad was presented (?by Mother ) with a greenhouse, where he could grow tomatoes.

Dad died in 1966, and I think what with death duties, and wanting to run a smaller show, Mother and Bas ? and Joanna decidedto sell the Matthews' strip plus a chunk of Dad's garden and  the land between it and the stream to the founders of Gretton Court.
______________________________


Excerpts from subsequent messages between Dora and Fabian (her brother, my Great Uncle):


Fabian: Dora has given a far fuller account than I could have done and I have nothing to add. One minor cavil which is that the Playroom was not an army hut but was put together later (dunno when) and is of inferior quality than was the original army hut which had been a 'sick quarters' as Dad claimed that the medics always got the best huts.


Dora: I think the playroom was a hut of that period, but I agree the "Army Hut" was far superior. My understanding was that it had been the VD clinic which is how Dad got it cheap. The original Reynolds Close had an earth closet in the Army Hut which Dad (very ecologically minded) always used and Fabian and I were supposed to use during the day. The WC was upstairs and for Mother's use.