Hi.

More on real stone modelling. After all the personalised walls it was time to look at something a bit more challenging. At the time we were living at Keighley just a stones throw (no pun intended) from Bronte Country. In the end it came down to "Top Withens" the remote, now derelict farmstead on the moors above Haworth. Not to build it in this state but as near as possible as it was. Maudie and I did several trips to the building to measure the ground plan and try and calculate the slope of the hillside it was built on. I would mention it's a couple of miles from the nearest point where you can park. But, how did it look? In the end I put an appeal in the Dalesman Magazine. This worked and I got a good number of replies. One interesting one was from a lady whose Grandmother was born in the farmstead in 1896. Another was from a couple with the wife stood in a doorway in the photo they sent pretending to be Cathy. Most of the photos sent were of use. After completing the model I sent photos to all who replied to my appeal. While the attached images show how I went about the construction there were problems and some set backs For instance, the dark stone porch took three tries before I was happy with it, and there were quite a few other minor rebuilds.The blocks in one of the construction images were to enable square window openings to be made. The roof slates were stone slabs and this applied to the model. .I made these from semi perished stone which was easy to slice into thin slabs. That was the easy bit. Cutting them to size seemed to take for ever and I think more were wasted than used. It was a case of nibbling away with the pliers. The ridge tiles were carved from the solid, fortunately not too many of them. The mullioned windows were also a bit of fun! The scale, 1/4 inch to the foot. When we were leaving Keighley it was decided to part with the model I tried to give it the Bronte Museum. but it was declined on various grounds. Who/how would it be maintained? Was there room for it in the soon to be refurbished museum? And anyway the current thinking was it was only the area not the farmstead that Emily used in her book. OK. tell that to all the Japanese students who visit the site as part of their English studies. Somewhat subdued I went round to the Haworth T.I..C. No joy there either. In the end it went for auction. Conversation went. How much did I expect? £300. Ok, reserve of £350.. In the end bidding stopped at £315. I let it go at that. Net sum received, £259.48p. Top Withens was the only model when I kept a building log. 240 hours! So just over a pound an hour..However I like to think someone is enjoying it. After it was sold, (I wasn't at the auction) I only hoped someone hadn't bought it to give to the Bronte Museum. If I have room a little story. Returning to my car one day in Keighley I was asked by an American couple where the bus depot. was. They explained they had come by train from London to Keighley with a view to seeing Wuthering Heights. ie Top Withens . They had missed the Worth Valley train and been sent to catch a bus. I explained the situation of Top Withens, 2 miles there 2 miles back if they had a car, the bus was a no no. And they were getting on in years and it was a real hot day Their faces fell. In the end I did my bit for Anglo US relations and took them up to the Bronte Museum. It seemed, (letter attached) they really did have a nice day! Returning to the was it wasn't it Top Withens. High Sunderland Hall ( long demolished) near Halifax is the main contender. If you want to follow this up, try. w.w.w.wuthering-heights.co.uk/locations/halifax. Finally. When I finished the model Maudie insisted I read Wurthering Heights. I have to confess if I had not seen all the film and TV adaptations I could not have got through it.

'Till next time, Derek.