Castles in the Air - The Restoration Adventures of Two Young Optimists and a Crumbling Old Mansion by Judy Corbett charts the process of renovating Gwydir Castle located in North Wales. When the couple first purchased this fortified manor house, it was a derelict home to animals, chickens, horses, birds and bats, yet Judy Corbett and her husband Peter Welford had a vision to restore the 500 year old property to its former glory.
Before finding and purchasing Gwydir, the couple had visited several properties and I enjoyed hearing the method by which the author decided if a potential house was suitable to live in.
"The yardstick by which I measured the suitability of any potential house was whether I could imagine myself reading in it. Gwidr was unquestionably a reader's house." Chapter 1What follows is a description of the renovation process, which began with clearing up the debris left behind from the period the property was used as a nightclub for raves. With a limited budget, the couple do most of the work themselves and Corbett shares how they slowly begin to make money by offering tours of the castle.
The research involved in tracking down historical furniture and wall paneling belonging to Gwydir and sold off at different points in history was inspiring. Some of the furniture has been re-purchased or donated and I found it particularly interesting that the 1640s dining room panelling was located in a warehouse in New York. It was subsequently returned and reinstalled in 1998, however, the 16th century panelling from the oak parlour is still missing and I admired the author's dogged determination to track it down.
I was disappointed when the couple decided not to inform the local police when they unearthed a human skull during the renovation in the cellar. At the time of writing at least the skull sits in Peter's room waiting to be painted and is the focus of a memento mori display, complete with roses and hourglass. I found this to be in poor taste and would have better understood if they'd left it where it was found, rather than handling it and taking it upstairs to be studied. I did enjoy the - unrelated - section about the ghost though.
Published in 2004, I recently watched an interview with the author Judy Corbett - primarily so that I could take a look at the magnificent property - and immediately noticed she doesn't sound like the audiobook narrator at all! Castles in the Air is narrated by the prolific Charlotte Strevens who has a refined and posh sounding accent (at least to my ears) and it gave me the impression the author was a generation or two older and potentially from a wealthy upper class background. Don't get me wrong, the narrator did a terrific job but I didn't understand the reason for this creative direction.
Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett was a comfort listen and will appeal to those interested in Welsh history, Tudor architecture, structural renovation and interior restoration.
Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett was a comfort listen and will appeal to those interested in Welsh history, Tudor architecture, structural renovation and interior restoration.
Carpe Librum!
