Re: Beckfoot layout


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Posted by Ed Kiser on October 30, 2008 at 20:41:23 user Kisered.

In Reply to: Re: Beckfoot layout posted by Ed Kiser on October 30, 2008 at 19:48:02:

In PM CH3

"I'd like to ramscramble the one that put it into her head to
come," said Cook. "Where are we going to put her, I'd like to
know. Air the spare-room bed for her! I'll have to put her in
your mother's room."

"Oh, look here, we can't do that. She jolly well shan't sleep
in Mother's bed."
----------------------
This gives evidence of the existance of a bedroom that is where
Mrs. Blackett would normally sleep. The location of this room
is difficult to pinpoint. Perhaps it is directly across the
hall upstairs from Nancy's and Peggy's bedroom, but it is hard
to prove that location.


In PM CH 1

Nancy is busy painting skull and crossbones decorations in the
guest room, when Peggy comes in...

-------------------
Peggy came across the landing with paper for more skulls and
crossbones.

"Here you are," she said. "Come and look at Dick's room.
-------------------
That Peggy came across the landing, and not down the hall, seems
to imply that the guest bedroom and Captain Flint's bedroom (where
Dick will be sleeping) are across from each other, and, by calling
that connection between those two rooms a "landing", implies
that this connection is at the top of the stairs. One goes upstairs
and come onto the second floor at the landing. Thus I picture
that the guest room, where the GA will stay, is directly above
the Study downstairs, and so is at the front corner of the house,
and on the other front corner, directly "across the landing" is
CF's bedroom.

The single upstairs window we see at the front end of the house
in the drawing of Joly's men gathering for the hunt for the GA is
there lighting this landing at the head of the stairs.

The picture I get of that upstairs is that each of the four
corners has a bedroom in it. The Guest Room and CF's bedroom
are at the two front corners, with Nancy and Peggy's bedroom and
Mrs. Blackett's bedroom at the two rear corners.

This leaves each side to have SOMETHING in between the front and
rear bedrooms. Perhaps the BATHROOM is on one of those in between
locations. The other side, in between those two bedrooms, may
be a large storage closet, called the "box room", a place to
dump camping equipment during the off season, along with suitcases
and other seldom used items.

The big "gap" in my floor plan is downstairs, in that I'm sure
of the location of CF's study, as we see Dick climbing in that
window, but what is directly across the hall downstairs?

This is pure conjecture, as there is no TEXT to verify this,
but judging from other homes of that period, perhaps the room
at the front, across from the Study, is the Formal Parlour,
with its fine seatings, where one entertains the Parson as all
balances a tea cup on one knee, trying not to slide off the
horse hair covered sofa. But that is all conjecture.

As for the concept of "the front of the house" -

in PPCH33:
-------
Dick ran out of the back door, across the yard and up the
steps to the pigeon-loft.
-------

I picture this "back door" as coming out of the passageway,
going towards the stable or garage, with the pigeon-loft
in its upper area. The side of the house that faces this
outbuilding therefore must not be the FRONT of the house.
One does not have a BACK door coming out on the FRONT of the house.
It is my concept that the FRONT is really the END of the
house, where the STUDY is, where there is only one upstairs
window over the landing. This front door opens to a hallway
that runs the length of the house. At the opposite end is the
passageway, with two exits: one towards the outbuilding (the
back door) and the other side, called the garden door, facing
somewhat towards the boathouse, overlooking the garden area.

This is the picture that has been in my mind for so very long.

Ed Kiser, Kentucky


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