They were there all along…
At number four, unusual living arrangements resulted in a flat type thing being created on the second floor. The general gist is that the landing has been partitioned off in order to allow kitchen storage (outside of the kitchen area) and a loo to be put on the landing. Most unattractive and rather unsavoury to boot.
In order to achieve this result the original banister and spindles had been hacked off and the space then boarded in to create a bulkhead over the lower landing. This has meant that the flow of light from above and below has been cut off. The natural light was already in short supply as the room at the top of the first flight of stairs has been made into a photogrphic dark room by the owner. By blocking the window and door with black painted boards he made what may have been a very effective darkroom but was also sinister and light stealing from the rest of the house. I had a most pleasant surprise yesterday when I arrived at the house to see the boarding removed and light flooding through both the window and coloured glass door. The whole room is still full of toot of course but this is definite progress.
While admiring this latest revelation the owner casually mentioned a loft space running over the dark room - never noticed myself as access is in the toilet roof! We grabbed a step ladder and after a quick shimmy up I discovered this hidden space. It is full of exciting things that have clearly been there for 40 years plus.
The first thing I spotted was the missing hand rail and spindles from the second floor, covered in thick dust but in perfect condition. In fact they have obviouslyfared much better than those still in situ and look as though they must have been freshly polished prior to being removed.
There is also a huge amount of studio equipment from a photographers in Brixton, acquired by the late husband when the studio closed down. There are amazing bulbs which are about a foot long still in their original 1950' s packaging and masses of photographic plates.
Tucked behind an old water tank , was a huge box of architectural encyclopedias containing stunning colour plates. Next to this was a box of what seems to be 1930's light fittings - again in perfect condition and wrapped in newspaper dated 1963. The owner does not wish to keep any of these items but has asked if he might remove the kitchen sink as this has, apparently , sentimental value to him. A fair trade I like to think.
Just before I left his lovely wife asked if I had seen some Dante prints which she had mislaid. As I have been in and out over the months with various people I was a little anxious she might think that we had taken them, either in error or deliberately. When I asked where they had been she replied that she did not know as she put them down some twenty years ago and had not seen them since…