Newman House exposed

A month ago I posted a picture of Newman House in Ham Street covered in scaffolding and now it has been uncovered, and delightfully so. 

Newman's House is hidden

I call this building, now part of Grey Court School, Newman's House because Cardinal Newman once lived there and while Google thinks it is called Grey Court Cottage (?), I will stick with my name until a better one comes along. 

That said, obviously the reason for posting this picture is that it is covered in scaffolding for some major works. This comes also exactly two years after there were major works to the far side of the building.

One of our walls was missing

All the previous pictures that I have taken of this have been taken from the side of the house through the large gate so it was something of a shock to walk past and find the high brick wall gone.

While the wall's disappearance gives a better view of the house it is too high a cost to pay. High brick walls define that part of Ham and are found surrounding Beaufort Lodge, Ham Manor, Ham House and others.

Losing the wall here is a big mistake and I am astonished that somebody thought of it and that somebody else allowed it.

Update: According to a comment posted below the wall is being rebuilt. I hope that is true and I'll be back there soon to check.

Further update: As the second comment below says, the wall has been rebuilt.

It was good to be able to see the full-frontal view of the house when the old wall had been taken down but it is better that it is back and it will be even better once the wall has weathered a little and starts to look as dark as its much old neighbours.

School works

Grey Court School in Ham Street is also taking advantage of the Summer break to do some work on its buildings. This former grand residence (and home of the future Cardinal Newman) is now part of the school that surrounds it, though I have no idea what they use it for.

This is another building site that I will be watching with interest over the next few weeks to see what emerges from behind the scaffolding and the stacked portacabins.

Newman's house

The house where the future Cardinal Newman once lived has a commanding position on Ham Street facing on to Ham Village Green. The tidy brickwork and the overall shape and proportions reassure you that this is one of Ham's treasures but it has fallen on hard times and, like many similar houses across the country, it now suffers the indignity of being part of a school.

Cardinal Newman in Ham

I have nothing to add to what the blue plaque says other than the building that boasts this historical fact is in Ham Street and is now part of Grey Court School.

Cardinal Newman lived here

The blue plaque on this house in Ham Street, down by the Royal Oak, is for Cardinal Newman and informs us that he lived here for some of his early years.

The house is impressive, if not grand, and sits comfortably among its neighbours Beaufort House and Ham Manor.