MONO MONDAY - ARCHITECTURAL GLIMPSES

It was a beautiful morning, so we decided to go for a walk, and as the theme for Mono Monday is “Architectural Glimpses” I thought that a shot of the Richard Jefferies Museum, which is literally just down the road from us, might fit the bill.

The museum consists of a 17th century thatched cottage, known as Coate Farm, bought by the Jefferies family in 1800, which is my shot for today.  Later in the 19th century a three-storied farmhouse, was added plus outbuildings, gardens, a copse, orchard and vegetable gardens, all of which are now part of the Museum.

Richard Jefferies born in 1848, at Coate Farm, was a Victorian nature writer, who wrote about English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood at Coate Farm had a great influence on him and is mentioned in many of his major novels and many of the streets around have some connection with him, including the one in which we live.  

The large gate at the side was closed, but a gate out onto Marlborough Road was open, so I just walked in and had a wander around.  There were notices saying there was 24 hour CCTV operating, but I’m sure they could tell I was only taking photographs and not vandalising anything.  It was lovely to wander around the garden, especially with the daffodils blooming, and where volunteers work most days to keep it looking good.  If I had been challenged, I would have been honest about what I was doing and hopefully wouldn’t have been in too much trouble!

A few years ago the thatched roof had got very weather-beaten and green, but having been replaced in December 2018, it has now weathered so isn’t looking quite as yellow as it did back then;  in fact, today in the sunshine, it looked great.

When we got back home after our walk, Mr. HCB went out into the garden and pottered around a bit, but didn’t overdo it.  I’m feeling much better today and of course, now that the sun is shining, that definitely helps.

“Architecture is a visual art 
     and the buildings 
          speak for themselves.” 
Julia Morgan