9th November 1939: 15th Century Hall in Colchester Castle

Vaughan came along this morning, and we made a thorough examination of the whole structure as it stands. It suddenly occurred to me that, while there is little hope that the whole place would ever be re-erected in its present form, there is no reason why one bay should not be re-erected forthwith in the Castle Main Hall. There is only one hammer beam actually complete, and that lacks one of the curved braces, and many of the smaller timbers are very rotten and would have to be replaced. In my opinion it would therefore be a much more sensible thing to re-erect only one end bay, using all the best timbers in that section. The whole thing could stand over the Easthorpe fireplace like a great wooden canopy.

 

Eric's idea of re-erecting the end bay of the Culver Street House in Colchester Castle Museum came to fruition in 1940.  It remained in place in the Castle Museum until 2013 when the refurbishment of the Castle led to it being dismantled and put in store.

Eric's caption for this photograph from his Journal reads: 'The West Bay of the Old House from Culver Street, taken after it had been re-erected in the Castle, February 12, 1940. (The two brothers Vaughan are on the left, and their two men on the right).'

Photo courtesy of Essex Record Office

For the background to the rescue of the old hall and its reconstruction in Colchester Castle Museum see Eric's other diary entries for 17th October 1939, 27th October 1939, 8th November 1939, 10th November 1939, 21st November 1939, 15th December 1939, 2nd January 1940, 19th January 1940 and 12th February 1940.