Visiting Wymering Manor

Today we visited Wymering Manor. Wymering Manor is a grade two listed building located in Cosham, and is the oldest building within Portsmouth. The manor was built in 1581, with later additions in the 18th and 19th century. (1) The manors history is very detailed and complex, the first known record was in 1042 when it was owned by King Edward the Confessor. The manor has a lot of folklore and legends surrounding it, there are claims that the manor is heavily haunted. (2) 

When walking around the manor, it is apparent that the manor is very run down, as seen in the photos above, parts of the manor have become warped, collapsed, and started to cave inwards. This is due to the age of the manor and the deathwatch beetles that live and eat the wooden frame of the manor. Next, we picked a room to sit in and take part in reflective writing, I picked the morning room (a green room off to the side of the main reception room) ;

I enjoy the quietness of the room.

I would like to know what the room was like in its original design.

I would like to go back in time to when the manor was in its former glory. 

You feel tired.

You need rest.

You need to let go. 

We feel like we are expecting something to move on its own.

We feel like the manor needs to rest.

We feel unsure as to what can be added to protect and improve the manor. 

Personally, I find that the manor is at a state where not a lot can be done to protect and restore it, as the manor has a deathwatch beetle infestation which is affecting all of the wooden framework, for this to be treated, all of the framework would need to be replaced, treated, and other precautions would need to take place across the rest of the manor. For example, the manor doesn't have a foundation like modern buildings, this means that the frame and brickwork gets damp easily, which is ideal for the beetles. Myself and other students felt that the building seemed almost tired, and that it should be allowed to deteriorate naturally. I understand that this is quite a controversial opinion as the manor is a protected building and it has very rich history, but I do believe that at some point a building should be allowed to deteriorate if the damage its in is too far gone to fix. I also believe that the ship of Theseus thought experiment applies very well to the manor. 

After reflective writing, in groups we then picked a room to survey and draw in detail one wall each. We decided to pick the doll room as we found it was the smallest room with the most details on the walls and ceiling. After completing our drawings, we put them together in order so it looked as if the walls had been made 2D and 'unrolled'; 

(All photos are taken by me)