The old doorway

Mark working

For nearly a week now we have been repairing the large crack running down one of the end walls of the original hall of the chateau. I am pretty sure that this hall dates from the 12th or 13th century. My reasoning is that the two pepper pot towers to each end of it and  the thickness of the walls is standard for this period. It has of course been altered, renovated and added to other the years. Inside in the attic you can see the original roof line as well as some original features in one of the towers. 

When we started figuring out how to repair the 

Doorway clearly visible

crack and also deducing what had caused it in the first place we quickly became aware that there were originally two doors in this wall. At some point, probably mid 1700's, they had been covered up. If you have been reading the posts this week you will know that we have partly blocked up and strengthened these old doorways. We are now repairing the the last bit of the crack right at the bottom of the outside wall. This has meant removing a layer of the stone work as the ivy had split it and blown it out. Once removed we were treated to a great sight, the line of the original doorway was clearly visible - 2nd photo, vertical straight line in the stonework. 

Old plaster / render

You can even see the plaster render on it in the last photo!  We of course took several photographs, we are the only people to have seen this doorway in a few hundred years and now we have covered it up again we will be the last people who will have seen it for another few hundred years!! This is one of the great joys of working on such an old and fascinating building. So take a good look at these photos as the subject matter has now been hidden away again after enjoying just a few hours in the daylight and remember the people who would have used this doorway 800 years ago.