As visitors to Little Hall leave the library, they see mounted on the chimney of the inner hall fireplace a semi-circular relief of a girl kneeling in prayer. This was rescued from a demolition site in London in 1917 by Major Robert Gayer-Anderson, who saw it by chance lying in three pieces on a pile of rubble. After paying the workmen five shillings he carried it away and subsequently incorporated it into the Hall.
This attractive enamelled yellow and blue on white terra cotta relief and its ‘rescue’ is an example of the brother’s attitude to collecting and restoration which included acquiring interesting things that might be useful later.
Thomas wrote that he and his brother were amazed at the way items from one old house seemed to fit into other old houses. The terra cotta relief of the praying girl is an example. Robert appears to have believed that this phenomenon, as they described it, derived from a paranormal source rather than from their own tastes. Thomas describes the panelled room as a complicated mixture and was pleased with the overall result. Elsewhere in the house they incorporated important tiles from India and Egypt into the walls as part of the decorative scheme.
The Little Hall we have today is a mix of the medieval and the Gayer-Anderson brothers’ restoration. Their decision to rescue and live in Little Hall was deeply influenced by its importance as an ancient English building, their ‘Bits and Pieces’ pressed into service to make it into a home.
