picture &editing ©Denise
Far Leys
Somewhere just on the corner, before the bend in Bateslane,
stands a grand & beautiful
house; Far Leys. This is the house where Rodney Drake and his family moved
into after
returning to England. Nick Drake spend quite some time here; his early childhood,
home visits
inbetween schooldays and his time in London, his last days...
Years have passed in the meantime. Nick's parents both passed
away as well and Gabrielle has married
and lives elsewhere. Molly Drake, before moving into a smaller place, sold
the house to a new family;
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzpatrick. They now have been living there for over 14 years.
It is their house now.
Due to decay through the years and in order to create a very own home of course,
the house has changed
somewhat. The house has been given a bit of a fresh start, but 'Nick's room'
is nolonger there.
Mr. Fitzpatrick says he can somewhat understand that people
would want to see the house.
Through the years however he has also experienced the lesser parts of living
in a house with a legacy.
He would kindly like to request the lovers of Nick's
music to please respect their privacy a bit. It's
understandable one would want proof to have been there, it may be nice to
refrein oneself or to limit
oneself to perhaps one quicksnapshot of the front of the house; all from a
respectful distance of course.
It is of course a house with a legacy, but it's not the Drakes' anymore.
Do please think about that before acting.
Gabrielle still visits the house every now and then. Mr. & Mrs. Fitzpatrick
are ever so kind to hand her any things
left by fans for keepsafe. Also in order to keep the connections well and
warm for her; If you can't abide by
the simple request to respect the privacy of the new family, then do it out
of respect for Gabrielle.
Additional info on the house
Bought by the Drakes in 1952 from a Mr. Stanton, a BBC director
of music. Mr.Stanton purchased
the property during the 40's; before that the house is said to have been owned
by a doctor
who twice won a Nobelprize and was in the team which discovered DNA!
Far Leys and Bateslane
) View from the beginning of Bateslane towards the Town's Center |
) The beginning of Bateslane |
) First view into the street |
) Along the road towards Far Leys |
) And on along the road |
) And nice looking trees too |
) The street to the side of Far Leys |
) The side of Far Leys in view |
) Front Far Leys leftside (1) |
) Front Far Leys leftside (2) |
) Almost all (1) |
) Almost all (2) |
) Front right side (1) |
) Front right side (2) |
) The whole front created out of 2 separate pictures |
by the family I was staying with, he was kind enough to let me take some pictures of the front of the house.
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