tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post6511086459604782488..comments2024-03-11T08:59:46.846-08:00Comments on FogBlog: St Paul's Court?Herman Sheephousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-7047807151071202432018-08-16T02:56:52.783-08:002018-08-16T02:56:52.783-08:00Well . . not yet, but have found (in our old house...Well . . not yet, but have found (in our old house) a lovely Victorian, pressed metal button.Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-62575920331417477352018-08-16T02:50:22.616-08:002018-08-16T02:50:22.616-08:00It sounds as if you persist, you'll come acros...It sounds as if you persist, you'll come across a Neolithic human sacrifice curled up in some forgotten nook.DavidMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-91442689403174928852018-08-12T08:14:02.644-08:002018-08-12T08:14:02.644-08:00Hi Derek and thanks for commenting. You know I wis...Hi Derek and thanks for commenting. You know I wish to goodness I could have preserved the papers, but if you can imagine something like brittle lino mixed with concrete, it was a./ almost impossible and b./ would have taken a crack team of people from the British Museum! Allied to this, there were large areas where others had attempted it, and given up, so I had craters of gouge in the old papers filled with something like old polyfilla and then lining-papered over the top. The old papers were quite fusty in places too, so despite my thoughts that I should have preserved them, in practical terms it was utterly impossible - I've already spent every weekend since May on this and I have only got to the stage of sanding the woodwork - that too was badly done in places and I've encountered lumps of stuff that have turned out to be Victorian staples, covered in 3 layers of oil and 2 layers of modern paint. The ground the Victorians used on this woodwork, is like a cross between very fine sand mixed with binder and lead oxide - its intention was to smooth out the grain of the wood so everything was completely flat - add 130 years of wear to that, and it had to be scraped back to the wood. It comes off in hard clouds of powder (when it isn't laughing at carbide scraper baldes).<br />The original woodwork was painted black, lead paint, so no burning off, just hard scraping - the hardest job I have ever done in my life and I've done some horrible physical jobs, but this took the biscuit!<br /><br />On the positive note, this house is actually mentioned in RHCAMS for original anaglypta (faux marble work) and a Minton fireplace (amongst other things) and thankfully it survived the 1950's 'nail hardboard over doors' thing, with someone keeping all the mouldings and then fixing them back on to the doors again when the fad had passed (though the doors still have the nailholes from the hardboard). <br />As well as the pics in the article and writings by various workers we've also got a few signatures here and there.<br />Oh and finally, I've found newspaper stuffed into filler advertising the cinema release of It's A Wonderful Life, and yesterday a cone shaped thing filling a hole in the wall, like a corn, with filler on the top and an article about Mr Heath underneath.<br />History I agree, we need to keep it .. some of it ';0)Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-63101771840525759502018-08-12T00:43:34.635-08:002018-08-12T00:43:34.635-08:00Last year I visited a building in deepest Dorset w...Last year I visited a building in deepest Dorset which hadn't changed hands for many generations and had been sold at auction.<br />Originally a farm workers cottage and over the years more buildings were built alongside which looked out of place. Inside everything was original but the new owners were keen to modernize and create a holiday home. Destroying the very soul of what they had bought. Like you they had many layers of wallpaper which they had peeled off in places to expose plus layers of various floor coverings. There were copies of newspapers and comics found under these and I read an article on the health of Winston Churchill in the early 60s. Several copies of The Beano too. No attempt was being made to preserve any of this just chuck it in a skip.<br /><br />These should have been preserved perhaps by handing to the museum in Dorchester but no chuck them away.<br /><br />They were not even going to live in the cottage but use it for holiday lets, surely a collection of artifacts would have enhanced the experience of staying there?<br /><br />History, who needs it?<br /><br /> <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03185965305026808937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-21940266276857448242018-08-04T02:46:27.714-08:002018-08-04T02:46:27.714-08:00We are and yes, I am sad I couldn't evenly rem...We are and yes, I am sad I couldn't evenly remotely preserve them - the layer of 1940's lining paper had bonded to everything - the other thing I will say about the ancient papers is they are incredibly thin and yet tenacious - it really was like chipping your way out of prison with a toothpick!Herman Sheephousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187303211437458425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8635427135333425336.post-7694470657461215692018-08-03T23:54:32.755-08:002018-08-03T23:54:32.755-08:00Picture 2. A wonderful collection of historic wall...Picture 2. A wonderful collection of historic wallpapers. It's a pity they can't be preserved. <br />Meanwhile, I'm glad that you and Victor are getting along so well.DavidMnoreply@blogger.com