Charles and Christine Rowley are well underway with their plans to restore the mediaeval home of our Blencowe ancestors near Penrith in Cumbria to its former grandeur. Their plan is to have the main part of the hall ready for holiday letting at Easter 2008 and to have the whole property completed for the Summer!

This brief progress report is put together from what Charles told me back in September.

“The scaffolding around the North Towers is about to be taken down, as the lead roof has been completed. The South Tower is firmly covered with scaffold and a scaffold roof to keep the winter weather at bay!

In the North Tower the old asbestos roof has been carefully removed and the first, second floor and roof are all now in position. Both towers will be roofed in lead as required by English Heritage. Apparently 14 tonnes of lead will be required for this! Because the South Tower has suffered a lot of movement on its south wall, it has been underpinned and Cintec anchors have been put in to tie this wall back to the main cross walls of the main building. All the masonry work is being done in lime mortar and the replacement stones for the new quoins, lintels, mullions and parapet stones will hopefully come from Doddington Quarry, as they give the best ‘match’.

We wish Charles and Christine every success in all they are taking on, and I wonder who will be the first ‘Blencowe’ to stay in this ‘new look’ Blencow Hall!

Peter Blencowe