HISTORIC HOUSES IN HALSTEAD

One of the good things about having a husband who travels around the country with his job is that I get to cadge a lift to new places to search out new items for my booth and Etsy.  One of my regular haunts is Halstead in Essex which has some good chairity shops and also an antique centre, he visits his clients in the area whilst I mooch around.

One of the things I love about this town is the unusual houses that are dotted around it.

Courtoulds the silk manufactorers came to Halstead in 1882 and they built housing for their employers. There is one street of houses that looks like it has been transplanted from Holland or Belgium.

As well as building houses for the employees of the factory, the Courtaulds also organised and funded a school, adult education classes, a library and institute, nursery, mother’s club, sick fund, amusement society, lodging house, Jubilee Fountain, Public Park, retirement homes and Cottage Hospital.

I love the doorway of this one with the original bottle glass window panel.  All the houses have little seats outside the front door and the street sits opposite the factory (now a Co-op) with a river in between and I can imagine the workers sitting outside their houses just watching the river go by after a hards days work at the mill chatting with their neighbours.

This is a terrace of houses aptly named Factory Terrace.  I love the leadwork on the windows of these houses.

Whilst I love the town it was not the most fruitful of days but I did pick up some children's books. 

 I do so love childrens illustrators and have quite a collection by different artists and I was lucky enough to pick up a nursery rhyme book with colour plates by S.B. Pearse who was the original illustrator for the Ameliaranne books.

I have put the book in the booth telling myself that I cannot keep everything but I do have a feeling that it might be coming back home with me if it has not sold.

OUR KENT WEEKEND

We have just got back from a smashing long weekend in Kent – took mother with her dodgy knees, she is currently waiting to have both of them replaced but still manages to gallantly hobble everywhere with the aid of "Ethel" her trusty walking stick and our granddaughter Bee who in contrast races around everywhere.

We are members of the National Trust and love looking around the old house with their magnificent gardens and planning how mine could look next year - if only. There are just so many wonderful National Trust properties in that part of the world and we took full advantage of our time there. We visited Chartwell House the family home of Winston Churchill, Scotney Castle, Sisinghurst the awe inspiring gardens of Vita Sackville West and Igtham Mote a 14th century moated manor house.

Bee enjoyed the children’s quiz’s looking for interesting things with grandpa in full tow and mother and I enjoyed the cream teas......



Another wonderful day was spent revisiting childhood memories for hubby and mother it was a ride on the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (he remembers sitting in a carraige wearing a Foreign Legionaries cap - ah how sweet) and for mother it was her first holiday with her parents after the war. We crammed ourselves into the miniature cars - which caused great merriment to Bee as it was a little like squeezing sauce back into a bottle.....

We got off the train at Dymchurch and sat on the beach, luckily for us the sun was shining although the wind was blowing somewhat and it was so nice to see that things had not changed too much there were still donkey rides on the sand and along the front was a very kitsch fun fair, Bee made Grandpa go on the rides with her including the most unscarry Ghost Train, I declined and just left them too it.

I of course managed to do a little bit of shopping in the local charity and antique shops but will tell you more about that on another day......