Village centre

In Aspley Guise.

Aspley Guise

Aspley Guise is a village on the border in Bedfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, near to Milton Keynes.

Aspley Guise

Information
County:	Bedfordshire
District:	Central Bedfordshire
Population:	2195 (2011 census)

Aspley Guise is derived from Aspenlea, meaning aspen clearing, and from the de Guise (de Gyse) family who were lords of the manor in the 14th century. The first recorded settlement in the area dates to the 10th century and the parish was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The area remained mostly agricultural with two windmills in the parish mentioned in the 16th century. The village is situated at a cross roads and has remained small. A market charter was granted in 1267 by Anselm de Gyse though the market has long since been discontinued.

By the 20th century brick making and clay extraction had become major industries though nowadays many inhabitants will work (and commute to) elsewhere.

The parish church of St Botolph dates from the 13th century, from around 1223. Aspley Guise railway station was opened in 1905.

House in Aspley Guise

Level crossing at the railway station

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

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