Chapter 7 - Water…
If we thought installing the air con system was grown up it paled into insignificance in comparison to the installation of water, giving us new water supplies into the building for each floor. What a major undertaking!
Connecting from the mains pipe underneath the road was another new experience and was not a popular event with the natives of Bexhill as it entailed closing off pavement and road for 4 days. Lorries, diggers, drilling.
I rather hoped the excavation would reveal some interesting archeological finds as our street was heavily bombed during the war. Nothing sadly, however, the electricians did find an empty packet of Players Navy Cut when they took up the floorboards to do the wiring.
Which brings me neatly onto the subject of the Bexhill Museum.
And the discovery of.
Sunday was a blissful break from rain and stormy, boiling sea so Hus and I decided to walk along the seafront and make the acquaintance of the Bexhill Museum; I say walk, actually we battled as the wind was very strong, the ‘knock you off your feet’ type of strong.
Oh my goodness! What an absolute marvel the Museum is. Small but perfectly formed covering pre-history up to the present, all beautifully displayed and detailed. There is an extensive research section on the history of Bexhill with masses of info and photographs and a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer force to answer any questions you might have.
AND THEN…….
The Maharaja of Cooch Behar.
The Maharaja and his family had a long standing association with the area. He attended boarding school in Eastbourne as a little boy, stayed regularly at Moor Hall, Ninfield, and the family was seen in and around Bexhill generally engaging with the town when they came to visit. Julian Porter MA curator of the museum has made a very informative YouTube video that is really fascinating. – ‘When the Raj came to Bexhill’
Suffering from poor health, Nripendra , the Maharaja of Cooch Behar was advised by his doctors to seek out the restorative sea air and so he took up residence at 22 Marine Court Avenue during the summer of 1911. Despite Bexhill’s regenerative climate, he succumbed to pneumonia and very sadly died. The funeral procession arranged by the town to take him to the station was a magnificent event and the people of Bexhill came out in vast numbers to show their respect and affection for him and his family. As a mark of gratitude, the family had an elegant memorial fountain given to Bexhill in 1913 which disappeared from Egerton Park in the 60’s. Where to and why, I wonder ?
And so, back to present day Bexhill.
For now, we are going to take a break from building and builders. The winter weather and stormy rainy days have revealed little holes and cracks all over the place that we didn’t know existed before. Time to batten down the hatches and get to grips with water ingress. Now to do some more exploring of my town and venture further afield to acquaint myself with the surrounding areas.
1066!