The family firm worked in beautiful villages, stately homes and farm estates in the area.

In WHITFORD, before my time, we built a nicely elevated bungalow for Miss Wood and Miss Jennings, two school mistresses from Axminster Secondary School. We built an extension whilst I was back with the firm – but I always took my retired grandfather with me, when I visited as they had a "soft-spot" for "Uncle George" – the name by which they knew him.

We converted some apartments at SHUTE on property which was formerly Shute School for Girls – beautiful rooms with ornate ceilings and cornices. The school closed in the 1970s with Miss Joan Freeman as head teacher, a lovely lady who retired to live in Axminster. We also carried out work on another handsome building in Shute – The Old Vicarage.

In 1987, I had the uncomfortable experience of estimating for the redecoration of a bungalow in UMBORNE following the murder of Ivy Batten. The walls of two of the rooms of the property were partially spattered with blood – hence the need for the redecoration, prior to the sale of the bungalow. Ivy Batten was a most amiable, elderly lady, who waved to the train drivers as the Axminster to Exeter train travelled immediately past her property. Brian Parsons served 15 years of a life sentence for her murder – but pleads his innocence and still fights his conviction to this day.

R Moulding & Sons built a very nice chalet bungalow at HIGHER HAMPTON Farm for Mr and Mrs Williams. I believe Higher Hampton is a farm which has a robotic milking parlour, one of the first in the area.

In KILMINGTON, the firm carried out extensive works on a retirement bungalow for Gordon Dendle, former manager at Barclays Bank and honorary treasurer for a variety of clubs and organisations in the area. We also worked at Haddon Corner, between Kilmington and Shute; building a double garage and workshop for Dr Chris Sutton, now retired, one of our well-loved doctors at the Axminster Medical Practice.

Amongst other projects in MEMBURY, we virtually rebuilt Sportley Cottage, at Membury Cross, on Waterhouse Lane, for Mr and Mrs Prime, a couple who worked hundreds of miles away and had intended the cottage to be their ultimate retirement home. Sadly, due to early ill-health and the distance to travel, they sold the cottage to the late Tony Birks, who I occasionally met at Lyme Regis Golf Club. The rebuilding of Sportley, involved several trips to Portland, to select the right size and shape of natural stone, which we needed for the construction.

At the other end of MEMBURY we worked at LEA HILL FARM HOTEL for Jim and Hilary Reaney, who ultimately moved into Kerrington House in Axminster and then to run the Arts Café. Sadly, we didn't complete the work at Lea Hill as our firm closed, part way through the project.

Beyond Membury, we travelled to FURLEY, where we carried out major works for Henry Yool, former Allhallows School teacher and father of my good friend and cricketing colleague, Nick Yool, a bowler of some repute!

We worked on a secluded holiday home, off Membury Road in the BEWLEY DOWN direction. It was a disaster! Part of the work involved timber repairs and woodworm treatment in the roof-space. Before we started, a bat survey revealed that there were Horseshoe bats living on site (I can't remember whether they were Greater or Lesser?) – so work couldn't start until the breeding season was over.

That meant a delay of several months. Eventually, the work commenced and a specialist company carried out the woodworm treatment for us – not just in the roof space but on all the timbers – floors, ceiling joists, studwork walls, etc. The specialist firm provided us with a certificate and underwritten guarantee.

About a year after the work was finished, I had a phone-call from our client, who was extremely apologetic – but there was a problem. I visited the property and where every studwork timber was sited, it was like a machine gun had gone up through it. Holes everywhere and further investigation on floor and roof timbers, it was just the same, it was riddled – DEATH WATCH BEETLE. What was even worse was that the woodworm specialists had gone out of business and apparently, he hadn't paid up for the underwritten guarantee and it wasn't worth the paper it was written on. It cost a fortune to put everything right!.

One of our furthest trips was to DUNKESWELL Aerodrome, where we were contracted to execute the foundation works for a prefabricated building.

In COTLEIGH we built a large extension for my charming Rotarian friend, Bob Marsh, who was secretary of the Rotary Club of Axminster for several years.

We also worked at OFFWELL House, a beautiful country residence on a large estate. The property was built by Edward Copleston, Bishop of Llandaff, Dean of St Paul's.

At STOCKLAND we converted a cottage in the centre of the village for a Mr Hicks, who eventually sold the property as a holiday home to Simon Gray, the renowned playwright, for whom we carried out further adaptations.

We installed a new bathroom, kitchen and utility room at SHOREBOTTOM for a former council lengthsman, Harry Larcombe, who became a good friend. Not too far away was BROADHAYES House, another beautiful country residence, where we worked for Mr Carrick-Smith, who owned a security alarm system business in Axminster.

Also near Stockland, we renovated FORD FARM for John White (J. D. White), former head teacher of Axminster Secondary School, who then sold to Derek and Yvonne Stevens, for whom we built a "granny annexe". Derek and Yvonne also became good friends of Mary and myself.

On the road back from Stockland to Axminster, we carried out some works for Mr and Mrs Dudley, a gentleman farmer, whose wife was a playwright, writing short plays for radio. I listened to one of them - but it was a bit "dark".

Family home of IRA supporter Rose Dugdale

On the Stockland Road, travelling back towards Kilmington, we worked extensively for the Dugdale family at YARTY FARM. The property became famous through the actions of Rose Dugdale, who was brought up at Yarty Farm, but became a Republican renegade, tangled up with the IRA. Rose turned her back on her life of privilege to join the 'Irish cause' and is to date the only woman to pull off a major art heist.

Rose Dugdale was an art thief who knew art and she stole from her own family home, Yarty Farm, as she needed money to fund her fight for Irish freedom. She was ultimately jailed and had a child in jail by one of her IRA colleagues.

At Yarty Farm, we worked for Rose's parents, Colonel and Mrs Dugdale and in later years, for their son, James Dugdale. Some members of our firm worked there for months on end. Colonel and Mrs Dugdale wouldn't have anyone working at Yarty Farm, other than Leonard Grinter for carpentry, Jack Hine for masonry, tiling, plastering, etc. and Bill Legg for decorating. My uncle went out to Yarty once and found that Leonard was driving cows. A herdsman was off sick – so Leonard was called to action!

On another occasion, Jack Hine was repairing some plasterwork on a staircase, when Mrs Dugdale breezed by from a bathroom to a bedroom – absolutely stark naked! "Hello Jack," she said, "lovely morning!"

In the rear garden, Jack Hine was laying a "paved" area, about the size of a tennis court, forming a shell pattern in radiating cobbles. Colonel and Mrs Dugdale were away at their London home for about a month and arrived back, just as Jack had finished this "work of art". "Oh Jack," she said, "you've done it beautifully – but I would prefer the cobbles to be radiating in the opposite direction". Jack had to take the lot up and start again!

On another occasion, the Dugdales had ordered an extremely expensive fireplace surround in marble. When it arrived, Mrs Dugdale didn't like it – so she instructed Jack Hine to geta labourer with a sledge hammer to smash the whole thing up.

The Dugdale family loved their shooting and Bill Legg was working there one day, when they had a big shoot, with half-a-dozen guns and several beaters, driving the pheasants. Bill was sat in the back garden at break-time eating his sandwiches, with at least a dozen pheasants, no more than ten feet away from him scrounging a few crumbs from his crusts. Late afternoon, the shooting party arrived back saying that they couldn't find many pheasants. They were obviously in the back garden eating Bill's sandwiches.

My uncle arrived at Yarty farm one day as the firm hadn't been paid by the Colonel for some months. Just as he arrived, one of the Colonel's men was walking back to the farm with one of their horses. The Colonel asked the farm-hand if the horse had been shod by the blacksmith in Stockland. "No" said the farm-hand and the blacksmith chipped in "when the Colonel pays his ……. bills, I'll shoe his ……. horse"! That was an ideal opportunity for my uncle to remind the Colonel that R Moulding & Sons had sent him several bills which hadn't been paid. So they went into the Colonel's drawing room, opened the bureau – and the invoices poured out. Apparently, my uncle spent the morning writing out dozens of cheques, which the Colonel signed. Thankfully the firm's cheques were amongst them.

Colonel Dugdale was a Lloyds underwriter and I don't imagine he was short of a "bob-or-two". On one visit to Yarty Farm, the Colonel walked around the estate with Uncle Cecil and commissioned masses of work for our firm. Coming towards the end of the session, they walked through two fields where the Colonel's cows were in both fields.

However, the drinking trough was in just one of the fields and the Colonel asked Cecil, how much it would cost to form an opening in the hedge, so that the cows could graze and drink from one field to the other. As the Colonel had just committed thousands of pounds-worth of work to our firm, Cecil said that we would do that for a "fiver". "Too much, Moulding," said the Colonel – and the opening in the hedge was never made.

Near DALWOOD, we worked on a nice little cottage in the pretty hamlet of Hawley Bottom and further up the road, we carried out major works at Moorcox Cross, on the old Taunton Road, on both sides of the junction. On the northern side of the junction we built a conservatory for my good Rotary Club friend, Alan Cooper whose business developed, as one of the very first manufacturers of plastic Rawl Plugs, when they replaced the original wooden variety.

At the northern end of DALWOOD, off Danes Hill, we worked on a house conversion at LOWER CORRY for Titch Glenday and her husband. Titch Glenday and I are of kindred spirits, with our love of Contract Bridge. Titch is a renowned teacher of bridge, though I am not sure that she still lives in this area.

Stunning views over the Corry Valley

At HORNER HILL, we built a lovely retirement bungalow for Philip and Stella Moore – with stunning views over the Corry Valley, somewhat spoiled by massive electric pylons in the near vista. (It would be fabulous if the system can eventually be "under-grounded"). Sadly, Philip died from dementia, before he could enjoy his retirement from the photographic industry.

Another distant journey was to CREWKERNE, where we worked on Crewkerne post-office. In that direction, we also installed a new plumbing system at a GPO sub-station at WINDWHISTLE – next door to the Windwhistle Inn – a regular haunt on our way back from cricket matches in the Crewkerne/Yeovil area.

The firm carried out bathroom and kitchen installations on a row of cottages in PERRY STREET and at TYTHERLEIGH, we built an extension for my old friend Ted Parsons, when he retired from the "earth-moving" business. Ted had a happy life in retirement, as he moved from JCB's and bulldozers to driving the narrow-gauge steam locomotive for family rides at Cricket St Thomas.

At CHARDSTOCK we installed new bathrooms and kitchens at the Five Bells Cottages, just opposite the church. We also delivered an interesting conversion at Little St Andrews, adjacent to the church, where all the new windows had ham-stone reveals, which were made from reclaimed ham stone by England and Harvey of Stoke-sub-Hamdon.

Just down the road from St Andrews Church, we built a large extension for another Rotary Club friend, David Starmer and his wife Jean. Following his retirement, David worked as our bar steward at Cloakham Lawn Spots Centre.

My career in the construction industry (Part Four – More Villages, Farms and Estates) will be in the next edition of "Moulding's Memories"