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Witley Court and Church |
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Bill had a lifelong interest in Witley Court. From his early memories of visiting there with his father to spending a number of years devoting his life to raising funds for the restoration of the church.
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Bill lived in a caravan in the grounds
of Witley Court, close to the Tea Rooms.
He lived here for four years, from 1984 to 1988. |
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He gave lectures entitled 'The Glory of Witley Court', took photographs and printed postcards of the court and gardens which were sold to raise funds for the restoration.
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He contacted members of the Foley and Dudley families,
collected many pictures of the Court before and after the great fire, and
researched in the British Museum to assemble a great depth of knowledge of
the history of the estate. |
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He finally assembled this into a publication on Witley just
years before falling victim of Alzheimers which deprived him of his
memory. All this enabled him to successfully guide groups of
visitors to the Church and Estate and describe the Court in its heyday.
His activities were not restricted to daytime; there were many occasions when the Court was visited at night by persons with mischief in mind and he would contact the authorities and so has contributed to the preservation of what is there today. |
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