See
traditional plantings of vegetables and flowers in the newly restored cottage
gardens.
Wander round the inside of the cottage and imagine how it was possible for
a whole family with 13 children to be brought up in the confined space.
The Forest Cottage is believed to have been built in 1560 with timbers reputed
to have come from the Tudor boatyards at Lymington: the shape and style
indicate their having been cut for shipbuilding.
During renovation work Mormon newsprint, dated 1860 sent from Salt Lake
City, was found to have been used as a lining paper on the ceilings.
A
Rayburn cooker was removed from the fireplace, which had been bricked and
rendered in with the chimney sealed over. Fortunately, as the rendering
was chiselled away the orginal fireback was found, also the bread oven,
which was opened up and repaired. The tallest gardener went up the chimney
with a Holly tree and swept it.
Two
ceilings were removed from the living room. First a fibre board which had
been whitewashed, then a near black matchboard one. The supporting beam
was obviously a main deck beam of a ship and the housings where the knock-out
bulkheads were fixed can be seen. (The bulkheads were knocked out to clear
the decks for action, when going into battle - presumably to fight the Spaniards,
or the piracy of the day).
Many
of the upstairs floorboards were originally wide oak deck boards.
There
was once a family with 13 children living here who, no doubt, slept on straw
on the floor. It was customary for such large families to sleep in a row
on straw on the floor, with the youngest boy and girl together in the middle
and graded out to the eldest at each end.
During
recent history the low bedroom ceilings were replaced. The small bedroom
chimney butt was built on in 1744 and the present Victorian fireplace must
have been preceeded by a small open grate, or duck's nest.
The
parlour was 'modernised' in Regency times, with the present windows and
a plaster ceiling which have been retained. Other windows were more recent.
Brick floors were replaced with tongued and grooved floor boarding. We laid
the vinyl covering to give the right effect, but the old bricks can be seen
under the stairs together with the wattle and daub walling, also the back
of the bread oven.
The
stairs replaced the original wall ladder in Regency times.
All
water was carried about 300 yards from a water hole beyond the car park
until 1964 when mains water became available.
There
are good examples of thatching at Furzey Gardens: the cottage and gallery
thatched with reed, Furzey House with freshwater reed and the round shelter
near the lake lined with heather. See The
Thatching Experience
Now restored, Cole Cottage houses an ongoing exhibition of the work of students
from our sister charity, The Minstead Training Project.
The Minstead Training Project offers whole year round services in residential
and day care and training in Work, Life and Social Skills for young people
who have learning disabilities.
Many of the students help maintain the gardens at Furzey as part of their
work experience programme.
