Prologue

Welcome to the Field House Chronicles. It has been over seven years since Katherine and I became the owners of this wonderful house in Tavistock. It is funny to think that we could actually own such a house, since both long before we arrived, and long after we are gone, the house has stood and will continue to stand here, watching families come and go, and grow within its walls. A while back I saw a photograph of the first owner, standing in front of one of the easily identifiable pocket doors in the living room, taken about 1910 or so. I said to myself "look at that, he is standing in my house! Fantastic!" But the reality is, it is not my house, nor is it his, nor anyone who lived here. We are simply caretakers, those granted the privilege of living within, and given the responsibility to maintain it for all the caretakers to follow.

The Field House is a beautiful yellow brick Victorian era home, built in 1888 (or 1892 - another possibility) by J. G. Field, the owner of J. G. Field and Son Woollen Mills on Hope Street in Tavistock. The house is of double brick construction, with lath and plaster walls, tall heavy baseboards and beautiful door and window frames, yet simple and clean, otherwise unadorned walls and ceilings. There are two living rooms on the main floor (a parlour and a formal living room I suppose) separated by fabulous etched glass panel wooden pocket doors. A dining room and front foyer are beside the respective living rooms, with a sunroom addition on the front of the house added before the Great War (1910 or so). A rectangular winding staircase leads to the second floor, which has five bedrooms and a bath. The Kitchen is at the back of the house, and a small second staircase climbs to the back landing. This staircase then leads up again to the attic, which is fairly large, and fully floored, but otherwise unfinished.