Chapter XI      (quotes from the book are in olive)

     This chapter is devoted primarily to the Lichgate Oak and tells of the first known marriage to take place beneath its branches.  She begins the chapter speaking about the two other structures on site, the garage and Kip's dog house writing,

      "Near the house stand a dog house for Kip and his progeny and beyond lies the carport. The carport was built to conceal my car. Although the car, too, is an antique, I wanted no anachronism, for someone had told me it would be more appropriate to ride into Lichgate in a carriage."

     The story of the dog house is covered on the Audio Tour portion of this site and this structure is thes  one that lies just behind and to the south of the cottage.  In disrepair today, the dog house was enclosed in a picket fence that surrounded both the cottage and dog house, portions of which still stand today.  Lichgate lore says that the dog house was both heated and cooled long before Laura's own home so her precious four-legged companions would be comfortable in Florida's weather extremes. 

     The garage mentioned in the opening paragraph refers to the other structure that lies on the property that can be found along the overgrown brick pathway to the north of the cottage.  Bearing a cedar shake roof like that of the cottage, this squat structure housed Laura's car during her time at Lichgate.  Lichgate lore says that Laura only owned one car in her life, a 1955 black Chevrolet 150 4-door sedan.  This was the vehicle she learned to drive in, and was mentioned in Chapter 7 of her book, Lichgate on High Road.  There she writes, "During the winter the house was invariably cold, even though logs were burning in the fireplace, but about ten in the morning the sun rose high enough to heat the glass of my windows. Then for several hours my bulldog, Ch. Fearnought’s Ace (Kip), and I would go outdoors and sit in the car to keep warm. Thus seeking the sun, we enjoyed the benefit of solar heat without the expense of installation."