Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
I wonder what the verb “to spruce” has to do with spruce trees, if anything. In this case it’s the old oak beams that have had a bit of a make-over. They have had a preservative coat of stain applied to them, and we’ve given the bits of wall in between them a lick of white paint.
Bressenden consists of three blocks (four if you count the Annexe). The eastern end of the central block, seen in the photo above, is the oldest part of the house. It mostly survived the fire in 1942, which was caused by a lightning strike, and it is interesting to speculate that the rest of the house might have had similarly exposed beams if they had not burned down. The western end of the central block also has a few exposed oak beams and an upper-floor balcony with an oak balustrade. With the passing of the decades, that balustrade has become rickety and unsafe, as well as contravening modern regulations in various ways, so it is being replaced with a new hardwood version (oak being prohibitively expensive), which will look similar if not identical. It will be taller than the frighteningly low original, which was barely hip high, never mind waist high. Every time I go out there to hang up the laundry my heart is in my mouth, especially on a windy day! As an extra safety feature, it will incorporate a steel bar in its top rails, cleverly concealed under the woodwork. This will make the whole structure altogether safer and more robust. We are planning to do the construction work “in-house”, and the new balcony will appear on this news page once it is in place.
The above photo is the view of the house that greets guests when they first arrive; it now looks so much smarter and more inviting.