Not a terribly satisfying day at Hotchley Hill, but nevertheless worthwhile. In the morning, it was sunny and hot, and then spectacularly wet. We admired the flow of water down our carefully-curated ditch, before moving to the north door of the operating floor. We hung it long ago, in the winter, and never got the chance to adjust its height. Now we have.
The hinge design allows a fair amount of vertical play. If anything was left of the original washers, it was lost when the door was first removed from its hinges. Luckily, Ruddington is home to an Aladdin’s Cave of fastenings, and we were able to find a selection of new washers in different thicknesses. We spent the rest of the morning delicately heaving on the door, lifting it just enough to insert each extra washer, and making sure the substantial weight is distributed evenly. This extra height means that the door swings freely, where before it jammed on the sill.
Then, some of the group took another pass over the spring growth, specifically tackling the north side of the box, and our access route. These look much better.
We had hoped to tackle the rotten floor near the entrance to the locking room, but investigations show it's worse than anticipated. A good repair will require another visit armed with better tools. Luckily, the floor "boards" are five inches thick (to withstand the force of point rodding), and generally sound. The issue is that we have a hole where everyone has to walk! Hardly safe access, and certainly overdue for a patch!
Next week's jobs depend partially on what tools we can muster, but sorting-out the lock on the north door is certainly likely, as is patching-up the fence.
