The Duntisbournes

Hidden deep in the Cotswold Hills are four small hamlets each going by the name of Duntisbourne, taking their name from the idyllic Dun Valley named after an Anglo-Saxon chief; the river, although not much more than a brook, meanders through all four communities, down their roads, through their gardens, and over their meadows as it flows onwards to join the River Churn and eventually the River Thames.

The hamlets of Duntisbourne Rouse, Duntisbourne Abbot, Middle Duntisbourne and Duntisbourne Leer all have typical honey coloured Cotswold stone cottages, houses, barns, and share two lovely churches

The River Dun trickles along road gullies into a shallow ford where vehicles cross and then

 continues merrily on its journey across the meadows. 

St. Michael's church, Duntisbourne Rouse

 

 Sitting on the side of a steep grassy hill looking down into the valley the tiny church of St. Michael is enchanting

Everything is in miniature, the tiny saddle-back tower, Perpendicular with an Elizabethan upper stage and a lovely stone slate roof. The nave is Saxon as can be seen from the typical herring-bone construction in the wall to the right.

A view of the whole church showing the early Norman chancel 

The slope enabled the Norman's to build a crypt below the chancel large enough to house a chapel where, conveniently for us, a seat had been placed - a perfect spot to enjoy lunch looking down over the valley
There is a small cross on the floor of the crypt which is lit by the early morning sun through the glassless small Norman window above the seat 

The church has a calm and serene interior with simple lime-washed walls

Traces remain of C13th medieval wall painting in the Norman chancel

A Norman arch leads from the Anglo-Saxon nave into the chancel

Early Gothic Font

The entrance and exit paths have gates unlike any I have encountered before resembling a pair of scissors

The departing pathway was strewn with early spring flowers