Image from Wikimedia

Portledge is the ‘big house’ in Alwington parish. At the time of Barefoot on the Cobbles and for centuries before, it was the seat of the Coffin, later Pine-Coffin, family. The estate included Peppercombe and the eastern side of the village of Bucks Mills, so for some of the novel’s characters, the Pine-Coffins were the Lords of the Manor. In the novel, both Polly and her mother, work for the Pine-Coffins. It would be highly likely that local young girls would begin their life in service here; there were few other opportunities in the area. When additional servants were required for special occasions, former servants and older women would be drafted in to assist the regular staff.

Although the history of the manor of Portledge is thought to go back to the eleventh century, most of the current house, the house that Polly would have known, is about 350 years old. A few thirteenth century elements of the building survive. After the Pine-Coffins left, the manor house became a hotel. It is now a private residence.

‘On the piano in the corner was a large bowl of roses and a photograph of a young girl, in a heavy silver frame. Mrs Pine-Coffin would be horrified, thought Polly, one of her earliest lessons at Portledge had been that, on no account, should anything be set upon the piano.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author. Kindle editions can be pre-ordered for the UK and also on Amazon.com.