Sunday 15 January 2012

Sunday Stroll - The Village of Saints

Sunday morning brought more in the way of 
clear blue skies and frost.  

It also brought an early morning wake-up call from the people monitoring the intruder alarms at Mr U-t-B's workplace, so with him up and dressed early after going to check all was well (and me dressed too -I didn't set forth in my pyjamas, even if it is becoming increasingly popular round these parts!) we decided to go off for a walk.

We headed through Farnham and out to Upper Froyle, where we parked up.  

Although it is less than ten miles away, it was not until I attended a craft fair in Lower Froyle last October that I became aware of this pretty and historic village.




'Bounded by two ancient trackways and a Roman road, Froyle has probably existed since the early Christian era.  There are Saxon foundations beneath the Church and the Manor was in the hands of the last Saxon king, edward the Confessor.  At Domesday, it was held by the Nuns of Winchester until the Reformation, then sold by Henry VIII to William Jephson.  It passed through a number of families, as did the sub-manors of Husseys and Brocas, until it came into the hands of Sir Hubert Miller (1868).  he did much to beautify the Church and adorned many of his cottages with statues of saints.  In 1953 The Lord Mayor Treloar Trust established its college in Froyle Place where the school for disabled children flourishes today.'

{Actually, the school and college have recently re-located to nearby Holybourne.}

Pretty cottages abound.  The three on the left here have pillar-box red porches and front doors, very striking!




The village's War Memorial has to be one of the most peaceful I have ever seen.  Situated on the hill between Upper and Lower Froyle (interesting to climb the hill from Upper to Lower Froyle!), it has beautiful views.



Now it may have said that Sir Hubert prettified the 'cottages' with statues of saints, but this isn't quite my definition of 'cottage'.  You can clearly see the statue above the front door.


Here we have what I call a cottage, complete with its statue.



Idyllic surroundings!



Another 'cottage' it would seem.   It has three beautiful gates like this one, though only this one had the sweet kissing gate at the side.





Back to more cottage-y proportions...





I didn't take a photo of this um...er...cottage, as it was undergoing renovations and the portaloo rather detracted from its Georgian loveliness.  However, you can see from its five window span that it is a cottage fit for the most acquisitive of people.  


Another statue glimpsed through a picket gate...


And another in its nook beneath the eaves...


Just a little post for this one...


But a pretty canopy beneath which to shelter for this one...


I'm a bit of a sucker for a pretty gate, so here's one that I couldn't resist snapping...


I'm also partial to interesting outbuildings.  This one looked like a gypsy caravan that had come to rest beside the barn and had grown old and plump there...


We ended our walk with a quick scout around the church yard...


A peaceful resting place...



Some of the graves are the bricked over type that I've only ever seen in my local church yard.  I believe the bricking over was to deter grave robbers.



Upper Froyle - definitely worth a visit!

8 comments:

  1. Oh what a pretty village, I would love to live in thatched cottage.Love Jill xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an attractive place to visit ... I'll keep it in mind !

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a beautiful place and so many lovely photos. English countryside at its best. I miss it!

    I will look into sewcountrychick, makes me think back to the days where i made nearly all the clothes for the family.

    Thank you for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really enjoyed your walk - it looks absolutely lovely. Can I just ask you - how do you add your name onto your photos, I've been trying to find out about it for ages. Hope you don't mind me asking? Fairly new to blogging and trying to pick up tips along the way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I want a statue on the front of my house!
    Great pics, feel like I've been there too.
    Have a good week
    x
    ps like Patricia above can I also ask how you put the name on your pics?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just in case anyone else wants to know - I have added my blog name to my photos in two ways. To begin with I found that when I export the photos (to make them smaller to load quicker for anyone who looks at my blog) there was an 'Add watermark' box to tick and type in what you want them watermarked with. But I couldn't chose the font that way, so I now do it when I edit the photos in Picasa. I just chose to add text before saving and exporting them without a watermark. It's a bit laborious, but I like the way it looks! Hope this helps - if I can do it, anyone can!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just my sort of place. I could see myself happily living in any of those gorgeous dwellings (dream on!) You have some stunning villages in your area and your blue sky weather gives a wonderful backdrop. We have lots of grey stone building in Lakeland and sadly a sky to match much of the time!! I'm envious

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just my sort of place. I could see myself happily living in any of those gorgeous dwellings (dream on!) You have some stunning villages in your area and your blue sky weather gives a wonderful backdrop. We have lots of grey stone building in Lakeland and sadly a sky to match much of the time!! I'm envious

    ReplyDelete