EXPERIENCES ENGLAND’S CHARMING VILLAGES
By Glynn Burrows
The first things that spring to my mind, when I think about the quintessential English village, are the Church, the Pub, the Village Green, the Village Shop, Cottages with large gardens bursting with colour, and children playing at the Village School.
Perhaps those things are all in my mind because I grew up in a village with all of those things, and, although they are getting to be exceedingly rare to find all in one village these days, they do still exist.
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: This episode of Big Blend Radio’s “English Connection” with Glynn Burrows—historian and owner of Norfolk Tours—explores the unique charm and cultural richness of England’s small towns and villages. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
Many visitors to the UK think that they need to go to the Cotswolds to see picturesque villages, but I could take you to any area of the country and you would see villages which look as if they have just appeared off the front of a chocolate box.
The first thing you can find in all villages is the Church. Some may be in ruins, and some may just be foundations, but most will still be a standing reminder of just how old our villages are. In Norfolk, for example, we had over 700 Medieval Churches, and Norwich alone had over fifty within the city walls. Today, there are fewer, due to bombing during the war, declining population, and lack of funds, but there are still many hundreds of Churches, some dating back to the 11th Century.
The Normans not only built enormous Castles, Monasteries, Priories, Abbeys and Cathedrals, although there are lots of those in the countryside, they also built some very tiny places of worship, and these are well worth a visit.
Sadly, many old village Inns have closed their doors over the last couple of decades. The last nail in the coffin for many of these businesses was due to the after-effects of COVID, when people were stopped from going out and then got out of the habit, but many such establishments had already been feeling the pinch due to the large supermarkets selling alcohol much cheaper than they could even buy it wholesale. Add to these problems the escalating cost of food and labour, and you see that running a pub or small restaurant is a very difficult business.
We do still have a lot of amazing village pubs, so, where they still exist, we all need to support them, and I always do my bit with my guests as we always eat in a local establishment and never in a chain pub, to keep these village assets functioning as well as to taste real food. On my last trip, with two ladies from California, we sampled food which would have stood shoulder to shoulder with any London restaurant, and the surroundings were much better than a city centre eatery. One evening, we were sitting in a 17th-century coaching inn, overlooking the village street and listening to the Church bell ringers practicing. How evocative is that?
The Village Green is something which many settlements had, as in the past, the Green served as a marketplace, common grazing area, focal point, and central meeting area for local inhabitants. The main buildings of a village were often around the Green, as this made sense to have places such as the Pub, the Church, the Blacksmith, the Shop, the Wheelwright, and other trades in the place where most people would congregate.
Now, the Village Green is often the place where the local fete takes place, where sports are played, and where the villagers hold various functions, so do look out for signs showing the way to the Village Green as there may be something interesting going on there.
In the village where I live today, we are so fortunate. We have a Green, a Pub, a Church, and, standing on the Green, is the Village Shop. It sells all the things you would expect of a village store, and it is also a good meeting place to catch up with the village gossip. But we realise just how fortunate we are, as most villages have lost their stores due to the dreaded supermarket takeover.
It is a real joy to ride around the British countryside and discover the village shop still going strong, and, where I find one, I often pop in and buy something. If we all just spent £5 in such a local outlet, it would make a massive difference to the local economy and help these stores, which are a lifeline for many who can’t get out to the towns.
Many of these village stores are also used by other local businesses as their outlet, so you will often find local meat, vegetables, eggs, preserves, drinks, etc, alongside the usual breakfast cereals and newspapers. Every purchase from a local supplier is so important; please do support them where you can.
The word “Cottage” is very often used for houses which are nothing like a cottage, as the word shares its origin with the word “cotter”, which means “a labourer whose dwelling comes with his work”. When I was growing up, we lived in a cottage which came with my Dad’s job and, as such, it was called a “Tied Cottage”. For this tiny home, which consisted of a kitchen, living room, and small side room downstairs and two small bedrooms upstairs, Dad paid 30p per week. There were no indoor facilities, and the toilet was in an outhouse. (A bucket under a wooden bench.)
Most Cottages also stand in a large plot of land, because the original inhabitants grew their own vegetables and often kept a pig too, so you will often see a lot of beautiful flowers and shrubs in well-laid-out gardens surrounding these lovely little countryside havens these days.
We are really very fortunate that a lot of these tiny dwellings still exist all over the country, and many of them are available to rent, so if you ever fancied the idea of living in a little thatched cottage, with roses over the door, that can be arranged!
The village school is sadly something which is disappearing fast. My own Primary School, where I attended from the age of four, was closed recently, and the children from my home village now have to be transported up to eight miles by car to get to school. As my old school was founded in 1859, it is a real shame that it was closed, but it is a sign of the times. The number of children in villages has been dropping for some time, and the powers that be just can’t afford to have a school open for under ten children.
You can still be lucky enough to find a village school functioning as intended, as my own granddaughter attends one such establishment, and to hear the children in the yard and on the playing field beside the school is a real delight to the ears.
When you do travel, wherever you go, get off the main roads and go into the villages. Pop into the Ma & Pa shops & cafes and spend a few dollars/pounds/euros, you cannot imagine the difference you can make!
Glynn provides customized, private tours and also helps his clients trace their English family history. Past guests have visited and experienced stately houses and gardens, castles and churches, ruins and villages, birding and wildlife, World War II airfields, and general area taster tours too. Accommodations can be in all types of establishments, from character buildings such as windmills, thatched cottages and castles, self-catering or five-star luxury – just say what you want, and it can be arranged. Nothing is too much trouble for Glynn!
Visit www.Norfolk-Tours.co.uk
