Compton Verney Latest Memories RSS Feed

Fire Service Drills (1980-1989)

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:22:21 +0000

Firemen from Kineton, Tysoe and Fenny Compton used the main house for drills on some Tuesday nights from 1930 hrs to 2100 hrs.

The main drills that were done in the house were Breathing Apparatus Drills.

The firemen were put into blacks so that they could not see anything, just about as far as one hand in front of the face. Dummies were placed in different parts of the house. Some of the dummies were put into the tunnel from the house up to the brew house. This was very wet and slippery and, at times, the men lost their footing going down into the mud and water.

About 12 men at a time were going around the house or in the tunnel with guide lines and wearing BA sets, trying to find these dummies and rescue them to the outside.

As a room was searched, the doors were shut as the men came out and a big letter S was put onto them in chalk to notify other crews that this room had been searched. The rest of the fire crews would be outside running hose from the main lake and over the bridge then back to the fire appliances, then pumping water out to the lawn or up ladders up onto the roof , or off the roofs out onto the lawn and back to the lake.

The BA crews also had to drag a hose or a smaller hose reel around the house as they were searching up onto the upper floors all over the building. These hoses were not turned on to keep the house dry.

Most of the ceilings in the house had chicken wire all over them; this was to stop the plaster from falling down onto the floors. In some of the top floor rooms light was coming through the roof as it had holes all over letting the rain in.

View from the Bridge (1933-1933)

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:15:14 +0000

This photograph was taken shortly after Samuel Lamb bought Compton Verney in 1933.

Buying the Army Huts (1945-1993)

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:40:26 +0000

Shortly after the end of the 1939/45 war as industry was returning to normal, I accompanied my father, an engineer with Courtaulds Ltd Coventry to purchase some army huts which were in the grounds. All building materials were scarce & ‘recycling was essential. I was about 6 years old & more interested in a woodland area. I asked if I could take home a 15cm high birch seedling. Miraculously it survived & grew to a large tree, also producing seedlings, one of which was again transplanted to another house in S. Coventry.

Compton Verney house was in a sad state & the lake overgrown & neglected. What a joy to see it now restored & enjoyed by so many visitors.

I also at age 9-11 cycled to Compton Verney with friends & picnicked by the avenue of cedars on the Fosse Way.