A door to the past

Up on the first floor in what would have been a main part of the 13th century chateau there is large bedroom. back in the 1200's the wall on the south side of this bedroom would once have been an outside wall. It is now very much inside the chateau and forms part of a hallway that is plastered on both sides.

During the winter it occurred to me that when this was an outside wall it would have had windows or perhaps even a door in it. It was in my thoughts to take the plaster off and return the wall to the original stone finish. I also hoped that I would find old window frames after removing the plaster. They would of course be blocked up but maybe the old stone surronds would be there.

Whilst mooching around in this bedroom I had noticed there was a cupboard in the wall just inside the entrance door. I had not really noticed this cupboard before and several cupboards in the chateau have revealed hidden secrets. So I took a look inside. It was lined with old but knackered oak planks and at the top was what appeared to be a piece of arched lintel - interesting.

It took me about 10 minutes to remove the old oak and there it was. A sealed up door with the ancient iron door hangers still to be seen! Wonderful, the chateau just keeps giving and giving.