Page 53 - VE Magazine - Issue 42

www.vintagexplorer.co.uk
ve / October-November 2018 / 53
The next project...
nothing more than utilising tower scaffold, a block and tackle and four inch gateposts. The final details were fun too; trying to
make the ruination look convincing in the way the wall has ‘broken’ over the centuries and, in the case of the chimney, combining ruination with necessitation. The chimney needed to be a foot higher than we had enough sandstone for, so our solution? Build it with a corner missing and then fill in the corner with reclaimed clay bricks and dif- ferent coloured mortar so it will eventually appear to have been ruined and repaired in a different century.
We got it finished in time with just enough left to plant some climbers and place the candles on the sconces before the Book Club evening and it went down an absolute storm.
It really is a fabulous place to relax, eat and drink of an evening. You can have a starry night above, a myriad of shapes and features interestingly lit by flickering candles and a roaring log fire as the focal point. We have since squeezed in a few more get-togethers with friends and some lovely romantic evenings with just the two of us – it has been totally worth the effort and expense!
What’s next?
We’ve found an 1870 one-horse open sleigh, which is a lovely old thing. It’s solid and nicely aged but the trim was rough so we are just re-trimming the seats in its original Royal Blue canvas and are going to leave the rest as it stands. It will become a summer garden ornament/seat and we will drag it out to the front of the house and adorn it with Christmas lights in December.ve