Cartmell Cottage: A Return Home

By J. Brock (FINN)

For several years now, Cartmell Cottage has been an on-going restorative project for the Stanley Museum. Appeals have gone out to residents who may have in their possession some of the items that originally belonged to the cottage. There was a lot to do because the cottage was a Chelsea Pensioners’ kit house brought to the Falklands in the 1840s or thereabouts. The kit was basic and the homes were not insulated. An effort was made to strip the walls of their modern coverings and replace them with original materials. When the layers came off, the materials used to insulate the houses were uncovered and yielded up packaging, wool, old newspapers, you name it. What historical treasures!

The layout of the rooms and staircase were also put back to their original position and the bricks of the fireplace and chimney were uncovered, showing the original brickwork. Items belonging to the house such as the stove, dolly tub, tables, chairs and beds as well as bed linen, cutlery and crockery were also brought back. In the larder, there is a wall full of framed photographs of past residents of the house. Smaller framed photos are on the mantelpiece above the stove in the kitchen.

On Monday, 10 November 2003, the Acorns group, consisting of many of Stanley’s senior citizens, visited the cottage to sit and remember. Indeed, there have been several such visits to the Stanley Museum by the group. They had been to the cottage in their youth to visit family and friends. It was their attention to detail and memories that made the afternoon opening meaningful for all who attended.

Thanks goes to the work of Museum Trustee, Shirley Hirtle, who showed us around, Museum Curator, Leona Roberts, and Assistant curator, Colin Patterson-Smith. It was their effort as well as that of former Museum Curator, John Smith, that made the opening of the cottage for the afternoon so successful. Soon, it will be open for visitors during cruise ship days this season.