We reported in the Autumn newsletter that Wymering Manor, the oldest house in Portsmouth and currently home to Portsmouth's Youth Hostel, suffered a collapse of a key corner post with the result that two rooms are propped up and unused. John Sewell has since written to update us on progress.

"Many thanks for putting details of the problems at Wymering Manor on your website. I'm sorry not to have been in touch earlier - I'm having to split my time between here and the youth hostel in Brighton (another lovely old council-owned house that needs attention!), and at the moment, we're busying ourselves tidying up the interior decoration in the rooms we have left! Hopefully we can get the decor more in keeping with the surroundings!"

"All through November and December, various people from the City Council have been dropping in here to prod and measure things, and the understanding I had is that the repair work will be done sometime in the future. Nobody can give me any idea of timescale yet, but I also heard that the work will actually cost substantially less than the £200,000 that was originally claimed."

"I have also received communication from the YHA Buildings Manager for the Southeast, who tells me that the Manor is top of his priority list for capital investment programmes in 2003. In practice, this probably means that the heating will get a much-needed overhaul, and if I'm lucky I might get the exterior painted (not before time!)"

"My Operations Manager is looking at sites in Portsmouth to which the YHA can move in the long term. The preferred site was the historic no. 9 storehouse in the Naval Base, but now this looks unlikely to happen. There are apparently several other sites he's looking at, but knowing how long these things can take, I reckon we'll be at the Manor for at least the next 4-5 years. I'll keep you posted on any further developments."

John Sewell, Wymering Manor