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Two renovation projects for the winter / spring. The first is complete - a new section of wall to protect the inside bank of the moat. The second is new roof tiles on the west end of the house. This is underway now and should be finished in May. The tiles are a pale Cotswold stone. I asked whether we were going to put the yoghurt / cow manure mix used on the church spire stone to encourage lichen growth and to make the tiles as quickly as possible blend with the older ones. However we can't do that up here - apparently the magic mixture would lead to an acidic run-off from the tiles onto the lead roof with possible corrosive damage resulting. So, we'll have to be patient and will soon have a glaring new west roof, for a good five years or so until it mellows and weathers.
Here are the tiles, sitting down by the battlements, biggest on the left (which go at the bottom), smallest on the right (for the top). Patiently waiting their turn to do a couple of hundred years of sentry duty. They reminded me of Anthony Gormley's Field (see here)
2 comments:
So true! They do look like Gormley's field. Fascinating blog. I can't imagine the upkeep on the castle - but what a beautiful piece of history. I visited years ago and met Lord Saye, I was a teenager at the time, and was very excited to tell him that I was from Lyme, Connecticut - across the CT River from Old Saybrook. He was excited by that and brought me into his kitchen to show me his photo albums of his visit to Old Saybrook & Old Lyme. I will never forget it. I didn't know what to call him, settled on "Sir". He was a sweetie to me!
Happy to have found your blog :-)
They've been retired, which is a good thing if only to preserve the whole structure itself. It certainly looks like the field, but perhaps the Terra Cotta Warriors are befitting, too, with the color to match. Whatever the replacements will be, I hope they eventually blend well, or at least retain the look of the manor!
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