As Coggeshall’s Paycocke’s House prepares to open its doors to the public once more this spring, there has been much going on behind the scenes this winter. Lizzie Dunford, the new house manager at the National Trust property, allows us a unique peek
THE saying goes, choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work another day.
It’s something that Lizzie Dunford, the new house manager at the National Trust’s Paycocke’s House and Garden in Coggeshall, ponders often as she is rubbing her knees and stretching her back after a day waxing, polishing and scrubbing the Tudor cloth merchant’s house back to life after its winter closure – all in preparation for the ‘open season’ from March through to October.
Lizzie says: ‘You definitely do it for the love, and so do the rest of the amazing team here. They’re so deeply involved in every aspect of the house and have a deep knowledge and passion for its stories – they’re also a lot of fun to work with.’
The history of Paycocke’s House, nestled in one of England’s prettiest small towns, is both varied and mysterious. Constructed the same year Henry VIII acceded to the throne (1509), it has witnessed a religious reformation and survived a civil war, going from humble medieval butcher’s dwelling to grand wool merchant’s home and business premises, from shabby Victorian tenements to carriage haulier’s shop and store-rooms, and finally from restored tenanted town house to historic attraction.
Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Essex Life.
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Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Essex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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