Page 9 - The Devil's Arsonist

satiate my seemingly impossible and overwhelming desire to be in another time; which I
knew to be where I truly belonged. I had to live as those now dead, see what they saw, touch
what they could and be where they walked.

My own house contained little of the accepted possessions of modern-day convenience; for it
had no television or radio, as I had no need or desire to learn of what transpired in the wider
world; electricity was present but rarely used, candles being my preferred means of light; all
washing of clothes was achieved by hot water and soap in an old Butler sink in the scullery;
central heating was dispensed with in favour of log fires. No oven or refrigerator was to be
found in my kitchen, a wood burning stove prepared my hot meals, all fresh meat, vegetables
and fruit were stored in a cool stone larder prior to their use. Running water and a toilet were
not considered to be a sacrifice to the past or out of place, as the Romans were possessed of
such similar innovations. It was in thus a manner that I now led my changed life. Despite all
of these changes, I still felt trapped in a world into which I did not belong.

The answer to that which I sought, was in the end most obvious, it lay in the characteristic of
my obsession that was the strongest of all that I felt and craved. It was in the ancient cottages,
houses, manors and buildings that were everywhere, surrounding me, down every lane, across
from each field and by any church. This was where I must go. It was within their walls, under
their roofs and out in their gardens, that I would at last find peace from all that tormented me.
For, I knew them as well as their owner or as a tenant would. It was they, that would direct
me towards all that I now do tell.

Following this realisation, I embarked upon a further period of intense learning, but now one
of a more practical nature; one that gave me insight into the trades and crafts that brought
about the creation of the ancient homes that surrounded my own modest house. In a time that
lasted one month short of two years I had mastered the means of their building: the laying of
bricks in the variety bonds that were the bricklayers trade and the making and firing of them
by hand: the art of the medieval carpenter and the mastery of tools all but forgotten needed to
prepare oak timbers, a knowledge of the joints used and the wooden pegs that would hold
their walls and roofs together for centuries to come. The skill of the thatcher was not
forgotten in my education nor the use of wattle and daub to fill the space between their oak
timbers.

The ability to identify and date the many varied materials and styles present in the walls,
floors, ceilings, windows, chimneys, columns and fireplaces of houses both great and small
was also perfected. With this newly acquired knowledge I could now date a property and its
evolution through time by the plan of its layout, the joints used the in construction of its roof
and the pattern of its timbers or the bricks in its walls. I could tell the age of a fireplace and
the architect of its realisation as easily as that of its oak paneling, the chimney stacks on its
roof, the glass in its windows and the doors to its rooms. Every conceivable aspect of the
house’s being were all clear to me as though I had been present at its birth; so much so that
each and all of those artisans who taught me their skills acquired over decades were
incredulous as to how one much adverse to physical labour could master with consummate