One of the things that I enjoy least when it comes up in one of these thrown together builds of mine is finishing off around the windows’ external face. Lintels, cills, and jambs stonework, if you’re going to have side pieces. The ones on this pair of houses are a right mix of with and without the down runners and and the two front dormers have a central mullion. The job seems to go on for ever but now is done, though I’ll probably fiddle them further as they catch my eye.
Some I’ve done with egg box lid coloured over and some directly with wood that I’ve roughed up a little and then coloured.
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- The front doors caused me some choice problems but I kept it simple with a slightly prominent lintel over the door and nothing at each side.
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- Back and front ‘lintel-ed’ – doesn’t look as though there’s been much change since last time, does it but it’s taken a number of days 🙂
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- Back windows finally in with mock stonework and the beginnings of the door between living space/kitchen and scullery
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The front doors need a goodly sized doorstep so that it can be smartly donkey stoned on its front edge.
In second pic am beginning to try out covering for front yard too.
If you’re wondering what on earth I’m talking about regarding the donkey stone here’s an article covering the use of it, though set in a later decade and still going on when I was a child in the 50s. I also came across this piece in the Manchester Evening News which mentions the production of them at one factory in the 1890s; it would seem that folk are buying them again!
I haven’t been able to find out if there’s any difference between this donkey stone and the holystone used in the navy to whiten the decks, but they do seem to be much the same type of usage. I seem to remember we moved on to painting the front edge of the doorstep instead in the 1960s.
theinfill 
With regard to cleaning front steps – My mother’s father’s family owned the whitening yard in Bermondsey. My great-grandfather eventually realised the need for whitening wouldn’t last so he found someone to buy him out of the business. He then re-trained as a gas engineer and when he retired went to live in Suffolk. My grandfather (born 1898) as a boy was fortunate and had his own goat-cart that he drove round Bermondsey. He never worked for the whitening yard but was apprenticed to a specialist printer.
Well I never! Do you know what product they kept/produced? For whitening ships decks or domestic non-slip/smartening up cills and steps or general ‘whitening’? And the info re the goat cart is fascinating. As it happens I’ve bought 3 different sizes of carts (1 x pull along, 1 x small animal power and 1 barrow) for the older children of the 2nd imaginary family to be using for going round selling and/or collecting.
I believe it was mainly for the domestic market, steps and cills etc. I am seeing Mum tomorrow ( her 90th birthday) and will see if she knows any more.
All the best and many happy returns to your Mum 🙂 Look after yourselves
Thank you very much! I hope you are feeling better.
Getting there thanks 🙂
🙂