Out of the churchyard

This way out.

Signs

Which way do you want to go?

Stove shop

Half-timbered building in Claverdon, selling stoves.

St Michael and All Angels

Claverdon's parish church.

Claverdon

The village of Claverdon is in the west of the county of Warwickshire, near to Warwick, Leamington and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Houses in Claverdon

Information
County:	Warwickshire
District:	Stratford-upon-Avon
Population:	1261 (2011 census)

The name Claverdon comes from the Old English for clover hill. The village is listed in the Domesday Book, the manor owned by the Count of Meulan. The manor later on entered the ownership of the Earls of Warwick. Later still the manor was owned by the Spencer family (though several centuries before the birth of Diana!)

The village has no real notable industry, though is amid extensive farm land. The most notable building in the village is the parish church of St Michael and All Angels - the chancel arch may date from the fourteenth century though the rest is the result of nineteenth century rebuilding.

North-east of the village is Stone building: an isolated rectangular tower. Claverdon Hall dates from the seventeenth century though has been much altered in recent years. Claverdon has a railway station and is not far from the Stratford Canal.

The village and parish retain their rural feel, the village is surrounded by farms though most workers in the village commute elsewhere. The village has a tennis club, a surgery and a village shop.

Churchyard

Wheat field next to the village

Houses near the church

St Mary Magdalene

The parish church.

The Crown

Pub in Albrighton.

Memorial

In Albrighton.

Small businesses

A couple of small businesses in Albrighton.

Albrighton

Albrighton is a large village in the east of the county of Shropshire, indeed the most easterly settlement in the county.

Pretty shops in Albrighton

Information
County:	Shropshire
Parish:	Albrighton
Population:	4326 (2011 census)

The village was listed in the Domesday Book as Albricston, the farm of Albric, the village's origins are 6th century. Albrighton received it's Borough charter in 1232 allowing it to form a Corporation and hold markets and courts. The charter was renewed by Charles II in 1664. 

The parish church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene dates from 1181 though much of the current church is from a Victorian restoration. Very close to the church is the parish church of St Cuthbert in Donington. The border between the two parishes being Humphreston Brook, this now feeds a nature reserve.

Albrighton's industry was mainly agriculture though brick, clock and button making was also well-known at different times. The railways arrived at Albrighton in 1849. The village is close to Cosford air base and the home of an RAF museum.

Across the railway bridge

The Angel

A former stagecoach inn.

Queen Victoria diamond jubilee memorial

To celebrate the great Queen's jubilee.

Kennet and Avon Canal

Along the picturesque canal in Woolhampton.

Gill Campbell Memorial Hall

Used as a club in the village. The Reverand Gill Campbell was a former curate of the village.

Woolhampton

Woolhampton is a village in the south central part of the county between Newbury and Reading.

The A4 road through the village

Information
County:	Berkshire
Unitary authority:	West Berkshire
Population:	886 (2011 census)

The village has Saxon origins, the original name of the village was Ollavintone and may be derived from the Old English for Ridge Place. Woolhampton is located on the Kennet valley and nowadays is on the Kennet & Avon Canal. 

Woolhampton was a stop on the stagecoach route to the west known as the Bath Road. The village had a number of coaching inns but only one, The Angel, survives as a public house. Woolhampton railway station was opened in 1847, however due to the possibility of confusion with Wolverhampton (apparently!) the station was renamed Midgham in 1873, Midgham is a separate village about two miles away from Woolhampton.

Village shop

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal (as it now is called) flows through the town.

The Crown

Pub in Berkhamsted.

Berkhamsted castle

Plus the railway line in the distance.

St Peter's

The parish church.

Berkhamsted

Berkhamsted is a market town in Hertfordshire near to Hemel Hempstead.

Berkhamsted

Information
County:	Hertfordshire
District:	Dacorum
Population:	18, 500

Berkhamsted has been inhabited since the Neolithic with stone flints found in the centre of the town. Traces of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman settlements have also been found in the area. The first mention of Berkhamsted is from 970CE when it was bequeathed in the will of Ælfgifu, queen consort of King Eadwig. The name of the place was Beorhðanstædæ which could be from the Old English for hill or birch and homestead. Berkhamsted was also listed in the Domesday Book.

The castle at Berkhamsted was an early Norman motte and bailey example, probably built soon after the conquest. It is now in ruins though was important for a long time, even used as a residence for a time by King Henry IV. It was nearly destroyed by the building of the railway in the 1830s and became the first of what is now many buildings to receive legal protection.

Berkhamsted became a market town in 1156, the charter granted by King Henry II. The wool trade became important in the town in the Middle Ages. The town fell into decline after the abandonment of the castle in the 16th century and remained limited in size until the town began to grow again with the arrival of various trade networks including the canals and railways.

The town gained a number of important trades though has become a largely commuter town in the late 20th century.

Timber framed building next to the church

What time is it?

On the river

A boat on the Trent.

Bridge

A rather fine looking bridge at the nature reserve.

Level crossing

Caution, trains crossing.

St Mary the Virgin

The parish church.

Attenborough

Attenborough is a village on the south western border of Nottinghamshire, on the banks of the river Trent.

Attenborough

Information
County:	Nottinghamshire
District:	Broxtowe
Population:	2328 (2011 census)

The village has been in existence since Saxon times when it was known as Addensburgh. The church of St Mary the Virgin was listed in the Domesday Book and probably has Saxon origins from around 964CE, though the oldest parts of the current church are the chancel which dates from 1042.

Attenborough was the birthplace of Henry Ireton, a son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell and one of his generals during the Civil War. Close to Attenborough is the village of Chilwell where a munitions factory was situated. On July 1st 1918, 134 people were killed in an explosion at the factory, this remains the largest loss of life from a single explosion in mainland Britain. There is a memorial in St Mary the Virgin's churchyard.

Former gravel pits near the river are now a nature reserve. Attenborough has had a railway station since 1856.

This way to the river

The nature reserve

Fenny Stratford railway station

The railway station.

Red Lion

Canal side pub.

St Martin

The parish church.

Yellow shops

Yellow retail in Fenny Stratford.

Fenny Stratford

Fenny Stratford is one of the towns which make up the "new town" of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. 

Grand Union Canal in Fenny Stratford

Information
County:	Buckinghamshire
Unitary authority:	Milton Keynes
Population:	21,471 (Parish)

Fenny Stratford was recorded in manorial rolls as early as 1252 as Fenni Stratford, the name is Old English for marsh ford on a Roman road, the Roman settlement of Magiovintum was nearby. Watling Street runs through the town. Fenny Stratford was awarded a market charter by King James I in 1608. The town had a successful market until the plague hit the town badly in 1665, the market never recovered and Fenny Stratford went into a severe decline.

The town's recovery was helped by new transport links including the canal (nowadays part of the Grand Union Canal) and the railways, Fenny Stratford railway station is now a stop on the Marston Vale Line. The diesel engine can be said to have had it's origin in Fenny Stratford. Henry Akroyd Stuart built the first successful heavy oil engines in 1890, two years later Rudolph Diesel based his designs on Akroyd Stuart's and the rest is history.

St Martin's church

Properties in Fenny Stratford

Memorial

Memorial in Ash.

A home

A nice looking house in Ash.

Basingstoke Canal

Canal side properties in Ash.

St Peters

St Peter's parish church in Ash.

Ash

The village of Ash lies on the border of Surrey and Hampshire. It is close to Aldershot (and is included in the Aldershot urban area) and Farnborough.

Down the road in Ash

Information
County:	Surrey
District:	Guildford
Population:	6,120 (2011 census)

Ash has Saxon roots (though there have been people living in the area since the neolithic at least), it was known as Esche in the 7th century, in Norman times known as Assche. The village probably had a mill though one is not listed in the Domesday Book. In the 12th century the parish church of St Peter's was built on the site of an earlier Saxon church.

Ash was granted to Chertsey Abbey by Azor, a nobleman and one of the guards of King Edward the Confessor, at the time of the Norman Conquest. The village remained the property of the abbey until it was granted to King Henry VIII in 1537. It was later granted to Winchester College. 

Ash is served by Ash railway station with Ash Vale and North Camp stations also close by. The Basingstoke Canal runs through the parish.

The Swan pub alongside the Basingstoke Canal in Ash

Ash railway station

Memorial

In Chirk.

Chirk Aqueduct

Chirk Aqueduct, and the railway viaduct behind. The Welsh-English border passes through about half way along both.