Thatching Work Has Started

Work on the upstairs windows is now complete and that on the second floor ones nearly so. Work on the roof structure is now over and the thatching had been started. The back inside of the west wing is virtually complete, with top dressing. Two gazebos have been purchased to cover and keep dry the thatching materials. The electrician has started wiring the attic, using neat, copper sheathing, which is unobtrusive.. All the timber-work upstairs in the roof has been completed. The chimneys are now all finished and the scaffolding will be coming down from them this week.

Vandalism to the coach house is proving to be an expensive problem, so we shall submit a planning application for railings and security fencing at the front of the property. It is important that the £2 million investment is safeguarded, especially when we reopen in 2006.

Work is also being started on an outline plan to landscape and plant the gardens in keeping with a seventeenth century Manor House.

Our kitchens will also be refurbished, ready for next season: we shall be getting a dishwasher, stainless steel shelving for work surfaces, tables and open shelves, a wash-up sink, a cooker, a still for boiling water, and a water heater for the sink.