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The local people assumed that the Nicolsons would be living in the Victorian farmhouse, at least temporarily, but Vita had no interest in living there. The farmhouse was let to Oswald Beale, a prominent farmer, and the Nicolsons camped in the ruins or stayed at a hotel in one of the nearby villages. Vita's first love was for the tower, which she claimed for herself. The Nicolsons spent their first night in the tower on September 18, 1930, Vita wrote "We sleep at the top of the tower on two camp beds. We read by candles". The South cottage was ready for occupation by the 6th of December, when Harold and Vita spent their first night there, and while they didn't fully move into Sissinghurst until 1932, they spent most weekends and holidays there.
Vita, Harold, and their two sons spent the summer of 1930 exploring the property and cleaning up the vast amounts of rubbish left over from the period when the farm had served as a poorhouse. The lean-to buildings which had been erected against the remaining walls of the Tudor manor house were removed and the Nicolsons began to plan a garden within those walls.
My next article will be about the home that the Nicolson's created for themselves at Sissinghurst Castle.
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