First job - clearing the grounds
Stephen Black Contracting from Balfour was hired to clear the grounds in order to create easier access for the contractors to carry out restoration work on the house. By the time Stephen and his men had finished, the house looked as if it had been transported to the middle of a war zone.
The only lone tree that survived the jaws of the digger was a fully grown Copper Beech, situated on the boundary with our neighbour Jan Mills. The reason why this majestic tree is still standing is attributable to keen gardeners and patients of Dr Mathew Stokes, the Hutchinson's from Lumsden. They happened to be passing when the excavation was going on, and informed us that they would never speak to us again if we pulled up such a grand old tree. Eden Hutchinson told us that she had tried to grow a copper beech at every house she had lived in and had never had much success. Needless to say, we were persuaded, and the Copper Beech still stands.