Help us find beaut. tiny English Village

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:23 AM

Sorry about the thread creep,but this just jogged one of my favorite English village memories. We were eating dinner at a pub called the Plough in Leigh, Surrey, about 10 miles and 300 years from Gatwick Airport. The church bells started ringing and continued for about the entire meal. I asked the publican what was going on with the bells. "It's Thursday," he replied, as if this cleared up the matter. Upon seeing the confusion on my face, he said "Bell practice" We walked over to the little parish church after paying at the pub, and when the bellringers saw us come in, they insisted that we come up in the belfrey to observe the bells , how they worked, showed us the rather odd music, and them told us proudly that these bells had been hanging in the church when the Armada had come up the channel, had been buried during the civil war to prevent Cromwell's men from melting them down and making cannon out of them, then were lovingly returned to the church. One of our outstanding memories of an English Village experience.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:14 AM

Oops...

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:14 AM

There seem to be lots of small English churches claiming to be the "smallest church in England," if that helps. :)

---Lepus Rex

close bracket added to link
joe clone

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: nutty
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:09 AM

Have you got a picture you could post Rick?????

That might help

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:07 AM

Wish I knew how far it was from the main North South road. Not far....that's for sure (cuz I think we saw somthing from the hiway.)

I'm checking ALL these little villages out now.....BEAUTIFUL!!

I know that the Church was the smallest I'd ever been in. Doubt if it would have held 20 people.

Thanks a ton!

Rick

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 10:06 AM

after reading my own post and that of Keith's I am sure I would be remiss to not mention that Winterton-on-sea in Norfolk is one of my favorites as well as Leigh in Surrey a few miles from Gatwick!, LLangollen in north Wales, Grassmere in Cumbria (I think it is Cumbria, at any rate it is in the Lake District) Well, you get the point, pretty much near wherever you are in England, in my experience, there is a very quaint little village just waiting on being discovered and explored. Wales and Scotland too. Aberfoyle and Callendar come to mind in Scotland, along with Ruthin in Wales, Oh dear, I need to get on a plane!

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 09:41 AM

I agree on the Cotswolds, and you seldom find a church locked.
Likewise Cornwall and Devon.
Keith.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: jimmyt
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 09:32 AM

This reminds me of the Thomas Wolfe "You can't go home again" idea. I have tried to repeat magical experiences frequently in tiny English villages, and somehow they are never quite the same as when you first discover them. Being a lover of English villages,though, I would recommend the Cotswolds with literally hundreds of villages within a few mile span in the corner of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Such places as Upper and Lower Slaughter, Bourton on the Water, Stanton, Stanway and Snowshill, Bibury, Broadway,Great Rissingtooon, Little Rissington, well, as you can see thee list is endless. My wife and I just get in the car and drive for hours, stopping at whatever we fancy. Still have just scratched the surface. For thatched villages, I think Hampshire and WIltshire and Somerset seem to have a lot of quaint villages, and who could leave out the beautiful Devon, Cornwall and Dorset Villages? Well, I have to go plan a trip, see you later!

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Ringer
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 09:12 AM

Isn't Haddon Hall in Derbyshire? (Nr Bakewell?) 60 miles from Peterborough.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 07:28 AM

Rick - you'll just have to come over and make the trip again - stopping off to see all us UK catters at the same time !

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Gareth
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 07:18 AM

Sorry Rick - of course your a Canadian.

Gareth

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: IanC
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 04:49 AM

Rick

How far from Peterborough would you say it was (in miles or in muntes)? Also how far from the main N-S road (the A1)?

I know most of the villages up that way, so might be able to trace some more possibilities.

:-)

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 13 Feb 03 - 04:43 AM

As Jim said, almost all our villages have a medieval church, still lovingly tended by parishoners.
I never tire of exploring country churches and churchyards.
Likewise pubs.
Have a great stay,
Keith.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 10:58 PM

There are LOTS of beautiful villages in England. You might be better off forgetting the one you can't identify and look for different ones instead. Here are some of my favorites: Kirkby Lonsdale. Burford. Stow-on-the-Wold. I've seen other lovely ones whose names don't come to mind right now. (OK, those might be towns, not villages, but what does it matter?)

I've always had my best times in places I didn't really plan to travel to, but just happened to run across.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 09:18 PM

Try that link I gave to Holme - it's got pictures of their parish church, St Giles.

And even if its not the place, it's well worth payingte site a visit -it has a fascinating load of stuff about a floating church the parish used to have, on a narrow-boat in the Fens.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:51 PM

Well it MIGHT be Haddon. I just checked out Haddon Hall and it seems a bit fancy for the place we stopped at. The chapel SEEMS bigger as well...it was VERRRY tiny.

I'll keep checking.

Rick

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:46 PM

Well, Rick, IanC lives in Ashwell in Hertfordshire, and it's about as perfect a village as I can imagine.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:28 PM

Haddon!!!!

That just may be it! I'll check.

Hi Gareth. Well I'm certainly not American....but Canadian distances are even LONGER!

I'll get on the case.

Thanks

Rick

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:25 PM

From what you said it might be Hamerton, Hemington, Holme, Haddon, Helpston or Harringworth. Assuming the "H" is correct.

Searching through Google might come up with the goods - seveal have links. Here's a link to of them Holme, with a drawing of the church, which looks smallish. And a link to a page about a Flower Festival in the church.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Gareth
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:20 PM

A caution - the defenitions of near by US of A standards, and UK standards differ, by several hundred miles.

Just a thought.

Gareth

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Snuffy
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 08:03 PM

Wansford was my first thought too, but if it begins with H what about Haddon? That's even closer to Peterborough (but I've never been there)

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: vindelis
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 07:44 PM

have you tried http://www.eng-villages.co.uk/ ? sorry blue clicky things are not my strong point.

---

The blickie fairy has struck.

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: GUEST,Dagenham Doc
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 07:35 PM

Sadly it's underneath some urban/industrial sprawl by now. Hey nonny!!

Doc

Subject: RE: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: BanjoRay
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 07:31 PM

Was it on a river? Any pub names? Was it Wansford?
Ray

Subject: Help us find beaut. tiny English Village
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 12 Feb 03 - 07:22 PM

Hi folks. I've left the "BS" designation off this 'cause it may be one of the remaining folk music people who helps us find this little gem.

While Heather and I were on our honeymoon 14 years ago and driving from Scotland down to the South of England, we stopped for a couple of hours in an absolutely GORGEOUS tiny village. You'd think I could remember more than this but I can't!!

Perhaps near Peterborough.

Not far from the main "North-South" road.

The tiniest little church I've ever seen. A lady still puts flowers in it everyday.

A couple of farmhouse buildings. The lady said it was built by a Crusader shortly after the Norman Conquest.

A very simple name (possibly starting with 'H')

We wondered aroud for a while and promised ourselves we'd return sometime......BUT....I simply can't FIND it on any map, and I don't have any more information!!

Is this too much of a needle in a haystack? Does anyone have a clue?

Thanks so much

Rick