12th February 1940

All pipes frozen in the Castle again. Vaughan finished the old house today, and I think it can be clearly said that he has made a very good job of it. It looks very well in the Castle, and is quite the most impressive thing we have ever had.

The weather is simply terrible again. If this keeps on, snow, and a bitter wind, I feel I shall become seriously ill. It is now impossible to get any coke, so it is even worse than need be in the Castle. Coal is short, but we can still get enough at home.

The old timber framed house from Culver Street as it used to stand in Colchester Castle Museum.  It was removed when the Castle Museum was refurbished in 2013 and the timbers are in storage. For more information on Eric's rescue of the remains of this house and its reconstruction in the Castle see his previous diary entries on 9th November 1939, 2nd January 1940 and 19th January 1940.

1 comment:

Jane said...

I went on the Dark Tour of the Castle recently and indeed the old timber framed house is still standing. There is also an old fireplace underneath and it was a good spot to stop whilst the guide was telling us stories of the plague. The timbers still looks impressive today.