Cotswold architectural features showing Churches, Cottages, War Memorials, and Tombs.
Churches
The original steeple for this church was demolished in 1563 because it was too heavy for the supporting arches. It's truncated spire is now topped with an unusual and distinctive coronet.
Cottages
via
Arlington Row, Bibury built in 1380 originally as a monastic wool store, but converted during the 17th century into weavers' cottages - William Morris described Bibury as "the most beautiful village in England".
War Memorials
Tombs
The Stonemason's own tomb
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| These are known as Cotswold table top tombs |
Cider with Rosie - Edge of Day - As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. Here Laurie Lee rests in his beloved Slad Valley
Landscape and Man No.1 here.
Your photos are amazing! Thanks for sharing a part of Great Britain.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your very kind comment and your visit. I am pleased that you enjoyed seeing them.
DeleteHello Rosemary,
ReplyDeletethe photos are great and remind me of paintings.
The composition, color and texture of the images have much plasticity.
Congratulations and a big hug
Hello Antonio - you always make the most generous comments. I am happy that you enjoyed seeing them. Comparing my little photos to paintings, and coming from yourself, a great painter, it is indeed a compliment - thank you.
DeleteVery nice, Rosemary! I can't keep up with your posts! You are such a productive blogger! Another nice post. I love the images showing the pretty villages, where real people live and work. There must have been a lot of activity going on in the area, in the past (Weavers'cottages) but now, I guess the pretty village must rely on tourism as their main source of income (I'm probably wrong!)
ReplyDeleteSeeing Laurie Lee's epitaph, on hid gravestone, I couldn't help remembering Shakespeare's "Here he lies, where he longed to be. Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter's home from the hill!" I hope I remembered well! Nice, isn't it?
ANNA
Dear Anna - you are right when you say this part of the Cotswold is where people live and work - it is not tourist Cotswolds it is hidden Cotswolds. Tourist go to the names they know such as Stow-on-the-wold, Burton-on-the-water, and Moreton-in-Marsh. If they just ventured off the road they would discover no end of undiscovered unspoilt villages.
DeleteDear Anna - you definitely have the words right but the words are those of Robert Louis Stevenson on his gravestone.
Shakespear's grave reads:
Good Friend, for Jesus' sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
By the way I have lots of posts in draft form and this is one of them.
Your post is amazing! I'm shocked by the photos, I've to read quiet all the information.
ReplyDeleteMarina
Dear Marina - happy that you enjoyed the little trip around the area where I live.
DeleteStunning photos of stunning places! It's also nice to see some blue skies! x
ReplyDeleteWhat a big difference a bit of deep blue sky makes to the whole appearance.
DeleteHello Rosemary, These photos are all so beautiful, and caused me to wonder whether the area is in such nice condition because people there simply care for all old buildings, or whether this is now very expensive real estate. In the U.S., most old areas that are not "prime" quickly acquire a dilapidated appearance.
ReplyDelete--Road to Parnassus
Hello Jim - I really do not know the answer to your question. The area does have expensive housing but there are also lots of little artisan cottages too. It is not a show place but a place where people work and live. There are a lot of artists and crafts people too who make their home here.
DeleteIn the past the area grew very wealthy on the backs of sheep. The wool trade brought huge wealth to the area, most of the churches and large houses were built with wool money. During the Industrial Revolution the woollen mills here were also booming, two of the very successful products being the green cloth for snooker and billiard tables, and the red wool cloth used for soldiers uniforms. The mills still stand but are not unpleasant buildings like so many others of that period. Mainly I think that it comes down the the stone of the buildings which is local and the architecture which is very distinctive. Steeply pitched roofs with stone tiles, stone mullion windows, and as you mention people do care and look after their property.
Stunning photos. We were in Bibury only a few days ago visiting the OH's dad who lives nearby!The Cotswolds are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJune
Dear June - you really do get around. Bibury is very near to me, and no doubt you recognised the photos of the cottages I showed from Bibury.
DeleteBeautiful photos. The different styles of the churches are interesting and Arlington Row is very pretty - even more so at this time of year with the garden flowers and climbers in full bloom. The war memorials are a reminder that even these quiet,country places experienced the horrors of war.
ReplyDeleteDear Wendy - the most typical type of church around here resembles the first one which has a very tall pointed steeple. These were to show off the great wealth of the wood merchants who paid for them. You are right it is a salutary reminder of how many young men lost their lives when travelling through these little hamlets all across the country.
DeleteThis is a verry beatiful side off Great Britian.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago i was in Broadstairs, This side is nicer i think.
Youre photo's are amazing.
I looked too my chetnuts tree, and yes... the same flowers...
Greetings,
Inge, my choice
Dear Inge - glad you checked out the chestnut flowers, they are really very pretty and quite interesting when you look at them closely.
DeleteThis area is always considered quintessential England, and the terrain of hills and deep valleys adds to its charm.
I would have to agree with William Morris. Beautiful structures all! Just spectacular!
ReplyDeleteI think it is the mainly the result of the buildings fitting in with the landscape, use of local stone and a long held tradition of vernacular architecture.
DeleteIt surely must be the most beautiful village in England.
ReplyDeleteI have photographed several communities here Olive but all within a radius of about 15 miles.
DeleteLovely cottages, they look very pretty. The photograph of the church in the distance with the cow parsley in the foreground is stunning.
ReplyDeleteI took that photograph last Sunday. We drove down off the escarpment to the local river and canal and past that little church on the way. It was completely alone - may be it belongings to a private estate - it had a private drive, but it was swamped in cow parsley. I shall investigate further sometime.
DeleteIt was a pleasure to look at part 1 and 2 of your photo essay. I love old churches and can spend a happy hour or more inside and out. I could almost feel the warmth of the sun radiating off the stone walls.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that you enjoyed the photo essay just one more part to come. When we first moved to the area I was struck by how many of the buildings are designed and built with what seems to be love and a great deal of care and attention.
DeleteSo beautiful and scenic. Also looks so peaceful. I would enjoy visiting the Cotswold one day.
ReplyDeleteYou have been to so many places Pamela - you must come and see us too.
DeleteHow many times do you make me sigh in admiration and contentment, rosemary? Absolutely fantastic photography of the utmost beautiful places and architectures of Cotswold!
ReplyDeleteYoko
Dear Yoko - when we first moved here, and for quite a number of years, I felt as if I was on holiday. I now know that it is actually my home, but I still appreciate the landscape and the attractive stone buildings.
DeleteYou're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, Rosemary. I really envy you. I just love English scenery. Those pictures and views are like from tv-series.
ReplyDeleteThe ambience in the area is something that has been acquired and built upon over hundreds of years, and it is really our ancestors that are responsible for most of what is around us here today.
DeleteI can imagine you have a holiday feeling living in such a wonderful area. I love what I see.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day Rosemary.
When the sunshines then I do not want to be anywhere else, but the sun is rather elusive this year Marijke.
DeleteI enjoyed reading and seeing your first photos and post of the Cotswold.
ReplyDeleteNo. 2 is stunning. I know that the Cotswold will be on my next list of places to visit when i go to England.
What a beautiful place indeed it is. The little cottages. Yes,! I would like one.
I find the English graveyards a little sad.
Hundreds of years of history ..those walls could tell us many a story.
The stonework is amazing .. and the stonemason even built his own memorial ..
I did so enjoy seeing all the lovely photos of your area.
Thank you Rosemary.
I also liked the words you wrote that are on Shakespere's grave.
val
Just one more post to go on this theme Val. I do love the pyramid that the stonemason made for his own memorial.
DeleteThe words on Shakespeare's grave do have a rather comical ring to them and show his sense of humour.
I am perhaps a bit maudlin but I do love wandering around graveyards - to me they are like free open air sculpture galleries with stone works of art.
You must try and find time to visit the Cotswolds one day Val.
Just stunning. I haven't seen anything like your village, such wonderful buildings. When travelling it's good to venture past, beyond the main attractions.
ReplyDeleteThese images are actually not from just one village but from several little hamlets in a radius of about 15 miles. The local cotswold stone does make some beautiful houses.
DeleteThere is something so peaceful about cemeteries, maybe it comes from the term "laid to rest." But there is also a sense of the stone and the way things blend into the landscape, like the cottages in photo #7, idyllic, peaceful, lovely.
ReplyDeleteCemeteries create many different reactions, but for me they are places that I actually enjoy wandering through, I don't find them at all unpleasant but quiet peaceful places often full of wild flowers and bird song.
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteYou certainly live in a beautiful area. I could see myself living in Bibury, or any part of the cotswold for that matter. I was also struck by the beauty of the headstone in the last photograph. I see sandblasted headstones in the U.S., but never ones truly carved anymore. It looks as though it might be a 200-year-old design.
Dear Mark - Laurie Lee's gravestone is beautifully carved out of local stone. I cannot be sure but it is probably carved by one of the stonemasons who work on either Gloucester Cathedral or Tewkesbury Abbey. We have a hand carved fireplace that was done by a Gloucester Cathedral stonemason.
DeleteRosemary, I do enjoy your different series that you do. The cotswold stone is a beautiful colour making the buildings looks so attractive. A lovely carved grave stone for Laurie Lee. I had to study "Cider with Rosie" for my O level and it was only a few years ago that I re-read it and really appreciated the description of living in the Slad valley at that time.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
Dear Sarah - I only have one more left in this little series,
DeleteI think that if you were to visit the Slad Valley you would find that nothing had changed from the description Laurie wrote in his book. The Woolpack Pub still sits across the road from the church and the little cottages straddle along the street just above the valley. Photo № 4 is the little church in the Slad Valley where he is buried.
Wonderfully delightful scenes!!!! Bibury looks amazing, like the images of movies and dreams. Do they shoot movies there today? Such a delightfully English town. However I wouldn't want to swap my big windows with all the natural lighting and fresh air they bring for the quaintness of these cottages for real life living.
ReplyDeleteThere is an assumption here too that cottages are dark inside, but that is not necessarily the case. The tudor cottage belongs to friends of ours, and it is very light inside.
DeleteBibury was one of the locations in Bridget Jones Diary, and also Stardust, a film that I do not know.
Your photos really do capture the beauty and charm of the English countryside perfectly, Rosemary. Sorry to be so brief and late, but life's a bit hectic. :-)
ReplyDeleteI can well imagine that it is Perpetua, I do appreciate that you to called and commented - thank you, and enjoy your upcoming trip to Scotland.
DeleteI think all your followers must have turned green with envy - I have. Oh to live in such a beautiful area!
ReplyDeleteIf only the sun would shine Nilly.
DeleteI just love the English countryside , the landscapes are really stunning, and the villages so charming, and I love how the english keep and maintain things from the past . Love it ! Bibury....wow !
ReplyDeleteIt is true that now we are more aware of our past, but there was a time in the 60s when many wonderful buildings were sadly knocked down in favour of putting up something made of concrete. Most towns now have a Heritage Society who are the guardians of their buildings and fight for them if they are threatened.
Delete¸.•°❤❤⊱彡
ReplyDeletePassei para admirar suas fotos.
FantĂ¡sticas!!!!
Boa continuaĂ§Ă£o da semana!
Beijinhos
¸.•°❤❤⊱彡
¸.•°❤❤⊱彡Obrigado por sua visita e gentil comentĂ¡rio¸.•°❤❤⊱彡
DeleteTruly, truly a 'green and pleasant land'. There just aren't any better words.
ReplyDeleteThose are almost the same words that I said to H this morning - 'what a green, green land we are living in at the moment' - we really need the sun.
DeleteBibury is so beautiful and picturesque, seems like it came out of a fairytale
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos dear Rosemary
I've told you before they make me travel : )
enjoy a lovely Thursday
xoxoxodemie
and I think I have told you that I enjoy having you with me. Take care dear Demie.
DeleteWhat a stunning tour! I've loved the books of Lauri Lee, what an artist he was and brilliant.
ReplyDeleteDear Paul - the fourth photo shows the little church where Laurie Lee rests. As he wished his grave is between the church and the Woolpack Pub. He used to love sitting outside the Woolpack on a long summers evening, and legend has it that he used to enjoy watching visitors looking for his grave! The sleepy valley is still the same as it was when he was a boy.
DeleteYour photo's are beautiful Rosemary and bring back lots of good memories of our visit to The Cotswolds last year. The photo of the fields with Queen Anne's Lace and the church in the background looks like a dream!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely evening!
Madelief x
Dear Madelief - that picture of the church was taken last Sunday - it was completely surround by the flowers almost as if it was sitting in a cloud. Glad the distinctive stone buildings reminded you of your trip to the Cotswolds last year.
DeleteDear Rosemary,wonderful pictures of the English countryside,that i always love to visit one day!!Beautiful village,and very preety buildings.Exellent photos and shots!Thank you for sharing!Have a lovely evening!
ReplyDeleteDimi..
Hopefully you will have the chance to visit one day Dimi - thank you for your visit and kind comment. The weekend is nearly here wishing you have a happy time.
DeleteOh, Rosemary, I want to move to the Cotswolds!! Is that round cottage still available? :) And it is located in the Cotswolds, right? Your photos are stunning, as usual.
ReplyDeleteHello Loi - I live high up and the round cottage is down in the valley below me - it is too small for you Loi - when I post No. 3 in this series I will show some gorgeous houses - there will be some that would be much better for you and allowing you to use your talents.
DeleteLove the photos
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and glad you enjoyed seeing the photos.
DeleteSo very beautiful - the spring blossoms and the lovely old stone architecture are a heavenly match :-)
ReplyDelete