Tea and Sympathy

The Rectory is one of the biggest houses in Tyneham and has some beautiful features that can still be seen.

There are many rooms and corridors and after looking at the property I thought about the rectory and what it once stood for in the village, so the idea came to make tea cups to sit on a shelf, which is now used to board out the windows.  I have experimented in a number of different ways to make them including with dried leaves but I settled on the use of photographs overlaid with text from a war time story relating to tea.

The shelf in The Rectory the cups will sit on

Newspaper from 1939 used to make the decorative shelf trim

Schoolhouse

No. 1 The Row was the schoolhouse - like the Post Office there are lots of nice features and alcoves where I could display my work.  I have thought about placing an old school desk here but it didn't seem quite right........my inspiration came from visiting the exhibition in Tyneham schoolhouse which has been fully restored, giving an idea of what life was like all those years ago and the children who were educated there.

 Ideas for place

There is a saying written high on the wall........

I have created a piece in response to these words.......I thought about the lichen and moss that grows in Tyneham and how I could grow the words........I looked into ways of doing this but with so little time left the lichen would not grow quick enough for what I wanted, so I decided to stitch the words........

I have used this large piece of bark to display the words.....I like the fact they blend in with the background and only discovered upon closer inspection........

The Post Office

No. 3 The Row was home to the Driscoll family from 1938 - 1943.  There are many quirky little elements in this cottage......the colour of the brickwork is beautiful.

I would like to think this was the old post box and I thought about the story of the postman delivering the letter to the villagers bearing the news that the village had to be evacuated.

In mid-November 1943 residents received an unexpected letter from a Major-General at the War Department. It read:

In order to give our troops the fullest opportunity to perfect their
training in the use of modern weapons of war, the Army must have an area
of land particularly suited to their special needs and in which they can
use live shells. For this reason you will realise the chosen area must
be cleared of all civilians.

The most careful search has been made to find an area suitable for the
army's purpose and which, at the same time, will involve the smallest
number of persons and property. The area decided on, after the most
careful study and consultation between all the Government Authorities
concerned, lies roughly inside of the square formed by EAST LULWORTH-
EAST STOKE-EAST HOLME-KIMMERIDGE BAY.

Then handwritten: including your properties - see overleaf

It is regretted that, in the National Interest, it is necessary to move
you from your homes, and everything possible will be done to help you,
both by payment of compensation, and by finding other accommodation for
you if you are unable to do so yourself.

The date on which the military will take over this area is the 19th
December next, and all civilians must be out of the area by that date.

A special office will be opened at Westport House, WAREHAM, on
Wednesday 17th November, and you will be able to get advice between
the hours of 10am and 7pm, from there on your personal problems and
difficulties. Any letters should be sent to that address also for
the present.

The Government appreciate that this is no small sacrifice which you
are asked to make, but they are sure that you will give this further
help towards winning the war with a good heart.

                  C.H.MILLER
              Major-General i/c Administration
                 Southern Command

This is a poignant reminder how little time the villagers had.  The letter I have made will lie on the floor of the Post Office, I have aged the fabric with disperse dye and printed the words from the original letter.  The envelope was made using the same dye and sprayed onto paper which I cut to shape.  Both elements were dipped in wax to protect from the elements while they are on display.

White Flag

For the Shepherd's Cottage it seemed appropriate to use wool and again I wanted to use natural elements that were around.  I found two long branches and began knitting with untreated wool.  This process was quite frustrating - the thin bits on the ends of the branches snapped off, shortening the length.  Other problems such as transferring the stitches branch to branch was difficult as I didn't want them pointed at the end.  While I was knitting the piece it started to look like a white flag and I began to think of the notion of surrender...........