A cute little village of about 300 inhabitants about 6 miles from Oxford. It has one church, one pub and a whole lot of really cute little house.

We loved our stay here.

A few years ago it looked like the pub was going to be sold and closed so the residents got together and bought the pub and leased it out to the couple who currently run it.

We spent a few hours at the Red Lion … we had a lunch and two dinners there …the food was fantastic ... best duck we have ever had. Like all local pubs this one had its local character and yes we got caught by this guy who wanted to tell us everything about the village.

The church is of course Norman and was amazing and had a 12c font. The old Parsonage nearly contemporary with the church was still there now named Church Farm. A rectory was built to replace this and it is huge. It is now a private residence and was just behind our little cottage.

There was an old Bakery and beautiful thatched cottages.

We really enjoyed our stay here.

I wanted to see this as the site covers a huge span of time.

Old Sarum first began as an Iron Age hillfort in about 400 BC … used by the Romans and then by the Anglo Saxons and finally a Royal Castle and Cathedral. In 1226 the Cathedral moved to Salisbury and the site was no longer occupied.

The Iron Age Hillfort of Old Sarum is hard to miss with its impressive ramparts and two earth banks separated by a ditch. The ramparts were later heightened in either the late Iron Age or early Roman period.

As you cross Old Sarum's wooden bridge you step into the heart of a long lost medieval castle. Built around 1070 by William the Conqueror, it was here in 1086 that William gathered all the powerful men of England for a ceremony to assert his royal authority. He built the castle in the middle of the earthworks creating an inner set of fortifications which became home to a complex of towers, halls and apartments, and a huge bailey.

Hi son Henry I built the huge tower and palace and Henry II improved both. All you can see today is basically ruins.

The first Salisbury Cathedral was also built here but moved to the town in 1226.

My interest here is in Henry II … for it is here that he imprisoned his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine after she and her sons rebelled. Love walking in her footsteps.

The day we were there was windy and cold and you could imagine the bleak existence Eleanor would have had here … she was from the South of France a much warmer climate.

Enjoy

There is this Anglo Saxon church in Bradford on Avon that I have always wanted to see … so off we went … little did we know it was down a narrow lane way in which only residents can park. We pulled into the only driveway and the owner came out to see what we were doing. We were almost completely stuck by this time and helped us manoeuvre out of his really tight driveway … there was no parking so I left Michael illegally parked with the car and raced inside to look and take photos … Michael did the same when I came outside … luckily no one complained.

St Laurence's Church is one of very few surviving Anglo-Saxon churches in England that does not show later medieval alteration or rebuilding.

The church is dedicated to St Laurence and documentary sources suggest it may have been founded by Saint Aldhelm around 700, although the architectural style suggests a 10th or 11th century date

It is the most complete Anglo-Saxon survival from this period, and follows what seems to have been a typical monastic plan at the time, though in miniature. Only places for about 30 worshipers. In particular the decoration including fragments of large reliefs gives a hint of richness which documentary remains record in monastic churches … you can see two carved angels in the chancel … they are original. It has a small nave and even smaller chancel and is absolutely stunning.

The nave is where the people sit ... the chancel is where the priest is and is where the altar is.

I hope you enjoy the photographs

Heading out from our Lyminster base we set ourselves a full itinerary too visit two stately homes and a castle – Standen House and Gardens, Michelham Priory and Lewes Castle. If time permitted we were going to fit in Anne of Cleves House.

Standen House and Gardens

This stunning arts and crafts house was created in the 1890s for James and Margaret Beale, Margaret worked closely with architect Philip Webb an associate of William Morris and Co. They crafted Standen house into a comfortable home with extensive gardens.

Standen House today is very much the same as the Beale family would have known it in the 1920s

Inside the house you will a collection arts and carts furniture and decorative art particularly designs by William Morris … a favourite of ours was the trellis wallpaper in the servants quarters... this original paper was designed by William Morris and Philip Webb … Morris designed the trellis and Webb added the birds.

The house was full of wall hangings cushions and bedspreads designed and produced by the leading lights of the arts and crafts movement and metalwork by John Pearson.

The lamps dotted throughout the house were amazing … some were designed to be both the table lamps and removeable wall mounted lamps. This house was stunning.

As it was quite chilly and to save time we gave the gardens a miss and motored on.

Michelham Priory

Our next port of call about 30 miles away from Standen was Michelham Priory.

A stunning 14^th century gatehouse is what you see as you approach the moat. Seven acres of beautiful gardens surrounds this beautiful medieval and Tudor house.

Only one rooms of the medieval house remains … this was originally the Priors room. It is a large room with a stunning fireplace and beautiful mullioned windows and a collection of strong boxes. The guide showed us how one of the boxes had a concealed lock and very sophisticated locking mechanism.

While the restored Tudor rooms were stunning we were a bit disappointed that not much of the medieval flavour remained. Having said that neither Michael nor I would say no if they wanted to give us the house … who would not want to live in a moated mansion.

Lewes Castle

Moving on to try and beat the rain that was coming we headed off the Lewes about 5 miles away.

Lewes Castle is more than 900 years old and one of the earliest Norman strongholds in England. Originally a motte and bailey construction and rebuilt in stone and flint keep within decades of the conquest.

This castle is unusual in that it originally had two motte with a shared bailey … Brackmount the original motte was abandoned when the stone keep was built.

A Barbican (outer gate to castle) was constructed in about 1350. This is still an impressive fortification today.

Most of the Keep is in ruin however we did climb the 50,000 steps to the top and nearly got blown away for our troubles. The view was outstanding and you can see why the keep was built here … you can see for miles in every direction.

Only the remains of the Keep and the Barbican gate remain of the orginal castle and some people are lucky enough to live in houses built into the bailey walls … what a place to live.

By the time we finished our tour here, with an hour journey ahead of us and gale force winds in action we gave Anne of Cleves a miss and headed home.

Enjoy

I always make me a point to chat with the locals because they know about the hidden gems and we struck gold with two Late Anglo Saxon / early Norman churches near us.

St Nicholas Church in Old Shoreham.

St. Nicolas’ is an ancient and beautiful church, which was founded before the Norman Conquest, being recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. There is surviving Saxon work in the nave walls and a later Gothic choir and wooden chancel screen, but the church's glory is the fine mid twelfth-century stone carving at the 'crossing' under the sturdy Norman tower. There are four stunning Norman arches that look like they had just been carved.

The ornamentation on these includes chevron with pellets, cable with beads, billet, stud, lozenge and rose, wheel studs, and limpet. There is also a cat's face, and human faces, and a carved wooden beam at the east end of the Nave, which may be unique. The painted ceiling in the Choir is Victorian. 

There are two carved corbels in the crossing – a male and a female said to be Henry I and his second wife or King Stephen and his wife Matilda. There is also a stunning original Norman door with all its carving.

This church was memorable not only because of its age but because I left my camera case behind in the nave when we left. We got all the way home before we realised we had left the bag behind which had the key to the front door in it … I suppose a church is the safest place to leave something behind in.

St Andrew and St Cuthman – Steyning

This church was founded in the 8^th century but the current building dates from around 1090 … not long after the conquest.

The original church at Steyning was part of a monastery and together they became part of the lands of the Kings of Wessex. King Ethelwulf (d.853), father of Alfred the Great no less, was buried in the church and in the porch of today’s church is a coffin lid, adorned with the royal symbol of two crosses, that is believed to have been his.

The Norman arcades stretch to from back to front and the massive Norman chancel arch soars upwards to support a tower that no longer exists … once again the carving is so crisp that is looks like it was just completed

There is a stunning wooden screen that dates from the 1500 and the font is 12^th century Norman. The doors and doorways of the church are also Norman.

Why do I like these churches … all of the ones we have seen have had a direct connection with real people in history … Alfred the Great, his father Ethelwulf, Canute and King Harold … all important people in the history of this island … to be able to reach back this far and touch these things is amazing.

Enjoy