After some light refreshment from our last block, its time to continue to the penultimate destination on our Midsummer stroll...
the Meadow Cottage block
Thatched and timber-framed, buildings like Meadow Cottage have been immortalised in a thousand romantic watercolour sketches. From the 13th to the end of the 17th century oak timbers and reed thatch were common building materials, readily available and relatively easy to transport.
Gradually replaced by brick and tile, timber-framing was snubbed through out the eighteenth century until the Victorians rediscovered its decorative potential and began to restore Britain's lovely old cottages. They often picked out the ancient beams in black and painted the lime-plastered panels in bright white, and we have evermore thought of them as 'black & white' buildings.
Recent restorations have, in turn, stripped away the thick black paint and added soft, natural pigments to the limewash, more in keeping with their medieval appearance. Our own Meadow Cottage is freshly restored, with bright new thatching and silvery-brown oak.
Next time I'll be sharing our last block and heading into one of my favourite places: the rose garden. See you then blossom,
Nicola xx