First Castle

For those of you who have been following the construction of the castle for my grandchildren on this blog, here is a picture of the first "Fort-cum-castle" I had my hand in. I built it all by myself, using old lumber from the former mill and pighouse on our farm. I finished it in November 1960, and would have been fifteen at the time. It was two stories plus the tower.

The Castle: Almost Complete

Claire and Brandon enjoy the castle

The castle for the grandchildren is almost done and my other grandchildren, Claire and Brandon, got to see it for the first time today. Claire and Moses promptly settled in for a good time. Note the Loder arms and the date added above the drawbridge.

Moses and Claire on the battlements. No, the castle is not crooked. I just couldn't hold the camera level.

Brandon is not so sure and enjoys his Mommy's help on the drawbridge.

Roofing the Castle

Downstairs walls complete and the roofers came and finished the roof.

Moses Eastman examines the new south doors of the castle.

On the first of July, we finished the downstairs walls and the south double doors. The castle looks mostly done except for painting and caulking.

On Friday, July 8th, Terry Hartman's crew appeared and by noon they had finished the roof. The copper corners came from old gutters replaced on the Walnut Meadows barn.

Note that the Blassingames now have a flag to fly as well.

The three-man crew gets busy.

Placing the final shingles.

Cutting the copper for the window.

Securing the copper trim.

Finishing the peak.

The Castle's finished roof. Note the banner with white horse of the Blassingames

 A few odds and ends to finish up and the castle will be done. If you want to see a real play castle, check out what the Lowther Trust has built on the grounds of Lowther Castle <http://www.lowthercastle.org/>. More later.

Walling in the lower level of the Castle

Lots of old boards

With the upper floor virtually complete, I turned my attention to what will be the first floor of the grandchildren's castle. Following the same pattern as the north wall, I used old boards that once walled a pig house and other out buildings at the family farm. Most are pine, but a few are oak. Cutting out the rotten parts and squaring up the reminders has been quite a challenge. 

The walls of the second floor are complete.

A small window went above Mo's desk. We added two more larger windows—light downstairs being more important than security. The back of the east wall includes an extra door to give adults direct access to the ships ladder to the second floor.

Two more boards for the east wall and the doors for the south face, and the exterior will be almost complete. Lots of painting and caulking still to go.

The south entrance will have a double door.  Side door is for adult access.

Snow fencing helps keep the children out of the poison ivy and brambles.