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Freedom Cottage (The house that thought it was a Cottage!)
Freedom Cottage sits comfortably in the heart of the
conservation area of Pilton and enjoys majestic views of the 12th century
church of St John the Baptist. Beyond the pond is a lane known to locals
as Blackers Lane; to others it’s known as Weir Lane. If you go
out of our back gate you can see the stream which runs through Pilton.
The small bridge which goes across the stream is known to the children
who visit us and all lovers of Winnie-the-Pooh as a place to play Pooh
sticks. Before Freedom Cottage was built this land was part of St.Christophers garden when we lived there; it took us nearly 5 hours to mow the lawn, partly because it was on a 40 degree slope and partly because it was such a large area. We are told that at one time this piece of land was a small orchard. |
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The construction of Freedom Cottage was completed in September 2004. The baskets you see when approaching the property are called Gabion baskets. These baskets are each filled with approximately 12 tons of stone. There are160 baskets which make up the retaining wall. As you may gather this was some feat of engineering. The property is constructed of old local stone which our builder, a local man named Glen Graham, was able to secure on our behalf. Glen kindly came to our rescue after our first builder gave up the challenge. Glen is a determined man who would not let anything stand in his way. He and his gang were out here whatever the weather. First they had to build a road in the site to enable access, then one day deep in the perils of winter, they arrived to see a huge digger turned on its side part way down the slope. This was courtesy of severe weather and the clay soil. We have several pictures of the various stages of construction which we look back on and wonder if we were all mad to attempt such a scheme. Glen sees this house as his ‘Flag Ship’, the most challenging house he has ever built. Everybody admires his tenacity. We think that the result speaks for its self. Thank you Glen |
The house was designed for us by Wilf Burton a local architect/designer. We chose Wilf because we knew he would take all aspects of the environment into the design and be mindful of our own individual style and needs. Wilf and his friend John Pegram, who was the architect for the build, are also known for their interest in lay lines and assure us that this property is built on St Michaels lay line. There are also a number of other ley lines around the house and for those who are interested a map showing these can be seen on request The grounds around the house were designed by Michelle Martin a young lady who is a Landscape Architect and also was a lecturer at Cannington College the only College of its kind in Somerset. With Michelle’s great love and understanding of construction, design and plants she has taken the College to win several medals locally and to her credit, not only won entry for the College at Chelsea, but also came away with Silver, Silver Guilt and Bronze. |
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Soon after the builders moved out Phil Mason, our Landscape gardener, and his merry men moved in! Or at least that’s how it felt! The hard landscaping took several months to complete partly because access was now a huge problem. The planting took place at the end of April 2005 when 1000 plants arrived on our doorstep at 7.30 one morning. We are particularly fond of the pond especially as it is often visited by a Kingfisher. We have even been able to take pictures of him as he sits with baited breath and probably, in some frustration, wishing that the fish were small enough to catch, come to think of it…Our garden has been planted with much love and thanks to our parents. It is with much sadness that neither set of parents saw the house or garden come to fruition. Our thanks also go to all the workmen and women involved in making
our dream home come true. Also to our families and friends for supporting
us through a very difficult 4 year journey |