Opening our home to the public, has been one of the most amazing experiences in our lives. From the work we put into our home and garden prior to the big day, to the feelings of utter overwhelm in the moments before the public were let into our home, this day taught us so much, about our home and ourselves. We had never thought of our family home as one of the Great Houses of Ipswich, but it seems the public had other ideas. Pen Y Llechwedd was the most visited home on the day, and now has the record as the most visited Great House of Ipswich, ever.

The Builder and I were so bowled over by the amount of people lining up to be let into the house, before it even opened. We had a constant stream of visitors from 10am, all the way through until about 3.45pm, with the last visitors let in at 4pm. What filled us with much excitement, were the children. So many children being given the opportunity to enjoy the history of our home.

We had a feeling that we would have visitors from the previous families who shared in our homes history, and we were delightfully surprised to have a family reunion of the Golbey family at our dinning room table. Last year Alan and Barbara Johnson returned to Pen Y Llechwedd, Alan’s childhood home, a visit very close to our hearts. We were not sure if we would see Alan and Barbara again, as I had lost the contact email address I had for them, and didn’t know if they had heard about the day, but as fate would have it, they did and this time bought more family to visit. It was such a thrill to watch the family explore the house and share in his stories. Alan very generously bough with him, the original contract for the house to be built, and very kindly provided me with a copy that I will share with you in the coming weeks.

We also had visitors from the Gardener family and the Cottman family and have now finally been able to piece together all the history of our wonderful home, including when and why the name was changed to Pen Y Llechwedd. Not only did this amazing day give us the opportunity to share the historical aspects of our home, it gave us the opportunity to share in so much more of her history.

I have plenty more tales to tell in the next few weeks, but for now would like to say a very big thank you, to those of you who visited our home. You have contributed to the history of our Great House of Ipswich in the most positive of ways. The Builder and I sincerely thank everyone for being so respectful of our home, with every visitor leaving it just as they found it. Thank you. A very big thank you also to the organisers of the Great Houses of Ipswich, who understood the significance of our home, and invited us to opens its doors. These tireless volunteers are who made the day the success it was. Thank you.

Nicole xxx