Whilst repairing internal plasterwork in the north-east bedroom of The Green Corner cottage, builders discovered good evidence of a blocked-in window. Its position suggests that the upstairs of the property may originally have had under-eave windows and that the present-day dormers were added later.
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Has anyone got any photos of any Sealed Knot Events on Elstow green, please? Particularly this one in 2009, when the County Councillor Lynne Faulkner handed over the Moot Hall key to Borough Councillor Barry Huckle. I have only this one picture, having lost my entire collection during a computer disaster!
I am looking for photos of May Festivals during the 2000s and of Terry Waite's visit in 1992. Also, somebody must have a picture of the old timber-framed village hall that stood on the High Street? Clive Arnold, curator of Moot Hall. Work this week, to reinstate the render on the front of no. 2 Bunyan's Mead, gave us all a rare glimpse into how wattle and daub infill actually is constructed - willow is interwoven over and between upright timbers, tightly fitted between the beams of the timber frame. Sadly, this work also uncovered major structural damage - the long horizontal beam, supporting the western ends of the floor joists, is rotten. This rot has occurred because, during the Council's 1974 restoration, instead of filling in gaps with timber, they used an epoxy filler. The problem with that is that timber moves, expands and contracts, but epoxy resins do not. Consequently,cracks open up between the resin and the timber, allowing water ingress, which leads to rot. (By the way, the recent repairs to the timber frame of Moot Hall have been done properly, with new oak having been spliced in. How many villagers have even noticed that this work gas been carried out?) For the time being, to make the front wall of no. 2 weatherproof again, the contractor has replaced the lime render. But at some point soon, he reckons that the whole of the front of the upstairs will need to be removed and replaced. The cost could be as much as £100k! Nos 1, 3, 5 and 6 were all owned by a different landlord but are in a similar condition, having rotten beams, caused by the use of epoxy filler. That landlord died last year and a bank is currently evicting all the tenants. No. 1 has been up for sale for a few months but it seems unlikely that any private buyer will be willing to take on a building in such poor condition, or that any bank would grant a mortgage on it. Any local builder fancy the challenge of buying and restoring all four cottages properly? Today, the Bunyan Round Table group (BRT initiative - to 'brand' Bedford as the home of John Bunyan - took a small(ish) step and an unexpected huge leap forward..
The 'smallish' step was the unveiling of Elstow's first village 'gateway' (which is actually anything but small!). This has been, very appropriately, sited at the beginning of Progress Way, Elstow and is just the first of several such gates that Elstow Parisish Council will be constructing beside the roads leading into the village that was John Bunyan's birthplace and home. The beautiful graphic is by BRT member Bedford artist Alasdair Bright. The second step forward came as a big surprise - when Mayor Dave Hodgson announced today, to a visiting group of tour guides at Elstow Moot Hall, that Bedford Borough Council will be following Elstow's lead, by putting the name of Bunyan on all the signs on roads leading into the Borough. Please, REPOST this on twitter, facebook etc. Please use the hashtag; #bunyansbedfordand include the webpage address; https://bunyansbedford.weebly.com/news/bunyansbedford A £750,000 appeal to build a community hall from the ruins of Hillersden Hall, next to the historic Elstow Abbey Church, is being launched on September 21st/22nd. Already over £230,000 has been donated and spent on the renovations of the scheduled monument ruins in preparation for the new build. The rest is being raised as the hall is built, to the exacting standards of English Heritage. “This is a site which dates back over a 1,000 years to before Judith niece of William the Conqueror, which means that work will be expensive, but this is really history in the making,” said Priest in Charge Father Paul Messam. Hillersden Hall was built in approximately 1620 in what was left of the 14th Century cloisters of the Abbey which were destroyed in the Reformation when King Henry VIII took over many wealthy Catholic places of worship for what we now know as the Church of England. In later centuries the manor house fell into ruins. The first part of renovation of the site into a community hall took place in the 21st Century thanks to a generous bequest. Now the project moves forward when VIPS and the local community are invited to visit the site over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 21st and 22nd of September. “We will have large L-shaped marquee covering the site of what will be the restored hall and inside there we will have an exhibition of history of the site and a pop-up cafe in the church - as well as the hugely popular tea garden next door,” added Father Paul, “There will be a Just Giving Page and fund-raising leading up to building work actually starting in the Autumn of 2020. “In addition we will be seeking grants and hoping that the local community will get behind this appeal for what will be a valuable community asset. Already we are working with The Bedford College Group and the charity Groundwork Luton & Bedfordshire to involve people in activities in and around the location.” Tourism is vital to the funding of Elstow Abbey and the new Hillersden Hall will serve, in part, as a visitor centre for those who travel from around the globe to see the village of John Bunyan author of what was the world’s best selling book for centuries (behind the Bible): The Pilgrim’s Progress. For an animation of what the new hall will be like, go to the Hillersden Hall facebook page. The story of pilgrim Christian has inspired worshippers across the centuries and 1,000s have visited Elstow from the USA, South Korea and across Europe. More details bunyansbedford.weebly.com Visitors to the church can now make high-tech donations through a card “tap” machine inside the historic doors. “Churches have to move with times to raise funds and to welcome people not just on Sundays but seven days a week. We need help with funding in the same way that benefactors throughout the centuries have supported their local church,” said Father Paul This is the illustration, created by Alastair Bright, which will be on the Elstow village gates. Initiated by Elstow Parish Council, work to construct these will, hopefully, start later this year.Borough Councillor Tim Hill was re-elected on Thursday 4th May.He got 1062 votes and the next candidate 157. You must be doing something right, Tim!
Don't know if they were people who didn't vote for him but, at the May festival yesterday, he was put in the stocks and got a good soaking. The village sign on the green recently had to be taken down, because the brackets that suspended it from its frame had worn through.
The Borough's carpenter has now repainted the the wooden post and frame; the paintwork on the sign has been restored and lacquered by Moot Hall's curator; and the sign was re-hung on Monday. On Sunday 13th January 2019, a blue plaque was unveiled in Elstow High Street, at the entrance to St Helena restaurant. John Bunyan lived in a cottage on this site for the first four years of his first marriage. There has been a marble plaque in place on the other side of the gateway for some time but, as part of the Bunyan Round \Table initiative to raise the profile of Bunyan's heritage, it was felt that a proper blue plaque was needed. This was duly arranged by Jon Miles and Elstow Parish Council. |
AuthorClive Arnold Archives
January 2024
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