Anne's Cottage - Fair Acre



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THUMBNAIL DESCRIPTION
Fair Acre was bought in 1965. At that time it had no water, no electricity, no sewerage and no access road. This picture shows the rear of the cottage looking south east. The elevation is 1100 feet overlooking the dale.
Eastern aspect. This and the following pictures show the cottage as it was when Anne was alive. Shortly after her death, the cottage was sold. It will now have a new lease of life with people who love the Dale and who will have the energy and vision to look after it and improve it.
Front garden looking south-west. The wall was built by Tony Sunter who is probably the top dales dry stone waller. The railings, hand crafted by Simon Calvert of Gunnerside, are there to keep cows, sheep and deer out and yet preserve the view of the dale from the house.
The big barn undergoing renovation - 1999. The barn roof was starting to collapse and the stone lintels were all cracked. The renovation was carried out using traditional materials and techniques as advised by English Heritage.
The big barn - upper loft under construction. The motto on the cross-beam is a copy of a stone carved motto in Barnard Castle.
Dr Simon Greatrix arrives on horseback to check the raising of the 500 kg kitchen window lintel. The lintel was raised on 2-ton hydraulic car jacks with joists positioned inside and outside the 600 mm walls to prevent the lintel from swinging out during the lift.
South east aspect - 13th February 2000
View from a bedroom window.
South west aspect - 13th February 2000. Tourists, disguised as sheep, can be seen walking on the moor behind the cottage.
Cottage garden - August 2000
Entrance Room 2001. The central arch over the fireplace was furnished with a small victorian style range. Surrounding the range was a concrete and rubble infill. Removal of the range and the infill revealed an inglenook beneath the arch. See the picture below.
The inglenook fireplace. There is a domed bread oven at the right hand side and a salt box at the left. The canopy was made and fitted by the Inglenook Canopy Company. The fire irons were made by the Errol Hut Smithy, Cornhill-on-Tweed and includes a special blow pipe based on one found at the Wolverton Gatehouse in Dorset.
A cosy room on a winter's evening.
View of the dale from the cottage garden.
Looking towards the cottage from the moor.
Mains water is at last on its way. The water will be pumped up the hill from the valley bottom to two header tanks. The top of one of the tanks can be seen just beyond the excavator. The water will be fed by gravity to the cottage a quarter of a mile away.
The four-poster bed headed with the Greatrix shield. The blazon has three severed leopard heads with azure tongues.
A corner of the south-west bedroom.
Part of the south-east bedroom.
East room fireplace..
East Bedroom.



This page was designed and is maintained by Graham Greatrix ()
Last modified on 1st of April 2007.