- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (25 May 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184513396X
- ISBN-13: 978-1845133962
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 351,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'a book which is a heartbreaking tale of love lost, stoical determination and a poignant secret.'
--The Daily Mail, May 21, 2009
--The Daily Mail, May 21, 2009
Product Description
In 2007 the BBC’s immensely popular Antiques Roadshow broadcast, unprecedentedly, two features on a truly remarkable woman. Her niece, Christine Adams, had come to a Norfolk Roadshow with some memorabilia from the house of her aunt, May Savidge. But this was only a tiny fraction of the house’s contents, and only hinted at the facts of May Savidge’s life. Now, Christine Adams tells how she discovered the full story. May Savidge lived in a half-timbered house in Hertfordshire. When the council served her with a compulsory purchase notice to make way for a roundabout, May decided she had to move – but so did the house. So she had the whole thing dismantled and shipped to the North Norfolk coast… and then spent the rest of her life rebuilding it, single-handed. But she also filled that house with everything she had ever possessed in her life: every bus ticket, item of clothing, and a voluminous daily diary. When she finally became ill and died, and guiltily bequeathed the still unfinished house to her niece to finish, she left behind an amazing archive of one woman’s life. And that life, as Christine found as she started on the daunting task of sorting through May’s house, was itself remarkable in its richness, from being a female engineer designing the Mosquito in wartime to heartbreaking love affairs. No-one can fail to be moved and awed by this indomitable woman. Christine Adams now runs a Bed and Breakfast in May Savidge’s old house in Norfolk. Michael McMahon is also the co-author of My Friend the Enemy (978 1 84513 316 0).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable woman,
By
This review is from: A Lifetime In The Building: The Extraordinary Story of May Savidge & the House She Moved (Hardcover)
May Savidge lived in a medieval (with Tudor additions) house in Ware in Hertfordhsire. The planners wanted to build a new road and a roundabout and May's house was in the way. May decided to demolish her house and rebuild it elsewhere and the place she chose was Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk 100 miles away. This book contains the story of her life and how she moved her house, reconstructed from the suthor's personal knowledge of the lady herself and from May's voluminous records and diaries.
This book is a tribute to a remarkable lady and how she achieved most of what she set out to do. The author - married to her nephew - finished May's work when death finally prevented her completing her task. May was a perfectionist and a hoarder. Everything had to be reconstructed so that the house looked as it had done when it was first built. May completed a lot of the work herself but spent a great deal of time waiting for builders and trades people who didn't turn up when they said they would. What I found fascinating was that May retained every piece of paper which came her way including labels from tins. She recorded everything about her life in over 400 notebooks. She meticulously itemised all the money she spent and kept all her correspondence however trivial including notes to and from the milkman. The book really brings May and her huge task to life. Her ability to withstand conditions most of us could not cope with for a day let alone 20 years shows how focussed she was on her task. This is a really heartwarming book and one which shows how much can be achieved with determination and discipline.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lifetime in the Building,
By
This review is from: A Lifetime In The Building: The Extraordinary Story of May Savidge & the House She Moved (Hardcover)
A thoroughly delightful story of a wonderful lady and her determination. Along the lines of Hannah Hauxwell.
The written content is well supported by photographs which really bring the information to life. Recommended reading.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an inspiration,
By RETIRED AND READING "irene" (EDINBURGH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Lifetime In The Building: The Extraordinary Story of May Savidge & the House She Moved (Hardcover)
I wanted to read this book after reading a newspaper article about this extraordinary lady. It is the type of book you can read a bit and come back to, in this life where everything is instant and pre packaged this will take you to a world where people and things were valued, May Savidge was indeed a very special person in an era where women were expected to be at home looking after children and the house, the world could do with more people like her and my generation (born at the end of the 2nd world war) were given so many advantages because of people like her. she was obviously a bit special so read the book and enjoy her experiences.
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