A Visit to Green Knowe

We had a treasured journey. We wound our way down through Cambridgeshire to the village of Hemingford Grey.

Here lives the ancient house of Lucy Boston, which both inspired and became the setting for her Green Knowe series of books. I read these as a child, lived in their enchanted pages, and I’ve read them to McKinley.

We had to walk along the footpath of the river Ouse to find the house, then the gate opened up on the lawn, and there were the sculpted yews, the garden of magic and dark mystery.

We were blessedly lucky to be welcomed by Diana Boston, Lucy’s daughter in law (married to the artist Peter who illustrated the books) and she told us that a tour of the house would start in a few minutes. Lucky, I say, because these tours need to be booked in advance, but we just walked in on one.

You know how when you return to a childhood place, everything seems smaller? Green Knowe was like that – it was so much more vast in my imagination, with limitless dark expanses beyond the vivid description. The house, miniature though it seemed, was no disappointment. There were the carved angels, even with a bird’s nest; there was the chimney that fit a large

child, or a small Santa. There was the stairs and the bedrooms, and at last, the attic – with the rocking horse and the china dogs, and the mouse! The rocking horse was the only thing that was larger than I expected, since I’d never imagined a rocking horse could be so big, or its hair so real and silky. The mouse was resting at the moment, curled around its wooden tail, waiting for the middle of the night to scurry after crumbs.

better photos, some history and how to visit at their site...

http://www.greenknowe.co.uk/gallery.html