This photograph was taken we think in the late 1930’s and shows the Thomas family at Court when it was still a working farm. On the left is Denis Thomas, a good friend of ours and a keen supporter of the efforts being made to save his former home. Sadly Denis died last year but he left us with an invaluable record of his time at Court.

Denis & Tug; Mrs Elizabeth Thomas, Mr Sidney Thomas, Hughie, Jackie, [we don’t know his dogs name sadly] The little boy standing in the door way is also unknown.

In the photograph you can clearly see features such as the walls which were traditionally whitewashed, but only half way up! Also clearly visible is the cobbled yard which has intrigued us for some while as there is no evidence of it remaining. A couple of years ago we dug a small trial hole but found nothing remaining apart from a few scattered stones.

Last October some of the more energetic members decided to try again armed with picks and shovels we started to dig in the doorway to the rear service wing and took out a trench across the yard to the doorway of the great hall. We had to dig down through a about 9 inches of soil which had accumulated over the last 60 years or so formed from the leaves of the nearby trees. We traced the cobbles right across the yard although they were rather more broken up in the central area.

The cobbles are rounded stones usually found in river beds, but from which local river could they have come? They vary in size from between three and nine inches; generally they are not laid in a discernable pattern and some are laid flat and some on their side.

Of perhaps the greatest interest is where the cobbles enter through the doorway of the service wing. Here we discovered a drainage channel formed by the cobble leading out of the building into the yard. Further investigation in that room may reveal more, but our preliminary findings may indicate the original use of this room as perhaps the brew house or the laundry.