Archive for January, 2008
Irchester, Northamptonshire
Irchester was once a Roman settlement, and this fact is reflected in the inclusion of a helmet in the Greco-Roman style on the village sign.
As the only known Roman road leaves the village in a southerly direction towards the crossing of the River Great Ouse at Turvey, It is thought that most transport and communication [...]Ratby, Leicestershire
Ratby village apparently has a long and interesting history. The oldest known human settlement in Ratby was at the Bury Camp on the edge of Ratby, an Iron Age encampment later used by the Romans.
The Church is the next oldest structure, built in the medieval period. There are also some cottages dating back several centuries. [...]Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire
One of Leicestershire’s most important monuments is in the parish of Kirby Muxloe, and is depicted on the village sign.
Built in the late 15th century by Lord Hastings, who was executed in 1483 before the building was completed, Kirby Muxloe Castle now has a Grade I listing. Standing back from the road and behind a [...]Earl Shilton, Leicestershire
The village is first recorded in the domesday survey of 1086, it was then known as Scheltone. By 1279 the name had become Schulton. Both of these names relate to ’shelf’ as the town was perched on a hill. The prefix ‘Earl’ came later, possibly from the 1st Earl of Leicester.
The main industries of the [...]Tenterden, Kent
A ship is shown on this sign, signifying that Tenterden is one of the Cinque Ports (actually a Limb of Rye). Tenterden lies some 10 miles from the coast now, but was once an important port, primarily for the shipping of wool.
The broad tree-lined High Street offers a selection of shopping facilities, and is dominated [...]Fordcombe, Kent
Fordcombe is a small village on the River Medway which here forms part of the county boundary between Kent and Sussex. The village church is that of St Peter (hence the keys motif?)
The village used to have a paper mill (Chafford Mill), but it went out of use in 1913 and was demolished in the [...]Cooling, Kent
A difficult sign to photograph, bounded by high bushes during my visit!
Charles Dickens is thought to have based the opening of “Great Expectations” in the local churchyard here. 13 small graves there, known as “Pip’s Graves” relate to the graves Pip’s brother is visiting when he has his terrifying encounter with the escaped convict Magwitch. [...]Blean, Kent
An all-metal sign, depicting the twin brother Saints of the village church: Cosmus and Damian.
The Blean is an area of ancient woodland around Canterbury, Faversham, Whitstable and Herne Bay. Blean village lies in the heart of this area.
The Blean web site produes an interesting series of newsletters about events and facilities in the area.
The Blean [...]Biddenden, Kent
The sign shows the ‘Biddenden Maids’, Mary and Eliza.
According to tradition, these twin sisters were born in 1100, joined at the shoulders and hips. The story describes how Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst lived in this condition for 34 years, until one of them died. The other, refusing seperation (was such surgery possible in the 12th [...]Bidborough, Kent
This sign seemed in dire need of renovation when I visited, being simply painted onto a wooden background (and no varnish?)
The sign depicts St Lawrence Church,which is one of the oldest in the area. Although little is known of the church’s exact origins, part of the present building dates back to the 10th century, when [...]