Lilliput Lane January Introductions
These pieces should arrive mid March but you may preorder them now.
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L3262 A Little Something
Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Offering 'a little something' for lovers of all things literate, this adorable little shop sells 'Books & Gifts' and can be found nestling between a mid-nineteenth-century Congregational Chapel and another shop on Cranbrook High Street, Tunbridge Wells.
Grade II Listed, it dates back to the seventeenth century and was probably larger at that time, but today it appears in a rather truncated 'squeezed in' form, lending it truly Lilliputian proportions.
Tunbridge Wells, or to give it its full name of Royal Tunbridge Wells (as it was given its 'Royal' prefix in 1909 by King Edward VII), became a fashionable spa town in Georgian times, and although 'taking the waters' is no longer fashionable, visitors still flock here a-plenty to admire the charm and atmosphere of this wonderfully historic place.
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L3265 The Bakery & Well House
Aldbury, Hertfordshire
The picturesque Hertfordshire village of Aldbury offers much for the visitor including numerous timber-framed cottages around an immaculate village green, which retains its village pond, stocks and whipping pole - so it is little wonder then, that it has served as a location backdrop for many TV and cinema productions over the years.
The village's name is believed to come from the Saxon Aldeberie, which means 'old fortified place' and 'old' it definitely is! The quaint oak-framed building, with red tiled roof and lofty octagonal chimney that inspired The Bakery & Well House, however, is not so ancient in origin, dating to the mid-nineteenth century, when it was built for the Brownlow Estate as a communal bakehouse on the site of an existing well.
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L3304 Blencathra (unsnowed)
Threlkeld, Cumbria
Also known as 'Saddleback', Blencathra stands at 2,847 feet (868 metres) and features five individual ridges that sweep down majestically towards the Keswick to Penrith road (A66), which is probably why A W Wainright dedicated more pages (thirty-six to be precise) to Blencathra than any other fell in his seven guides. He considered the arête of Narrow Edge to be: 'the finest way to any mountain top in the district', whilst Sharp Edge remains the biggest challenge to many visitors.
Situated at the foot of Blencathra, Threlkeld's Old Mission Room was built in 1885 by the Keswick & District Christian Workers' Band, using Lakeland slate rubble for the walls and green slate tiles for the roof. Look closely at our version and you will see a rucksack and some boots have been left outside - the owner must have abandoned their 'mission' to get to the top of Blencathra in favour of some easier recreation!
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L3266 The Egyptian House
Penzance, Cornwall
Situated on Penzance's historic Chapel Street, the three-storied Egyptian House is perhaps the 'jewel in the crown' of this oft-visited street of great architectural merit. Exotic extravagance probably best describes this landmark of the town. It has a peculiar mix of Egyptian emblems, such as trapezoid 'pylon' shapes, obelisk caryatids, lotus columns and sun disks of the Sun God Amon-Re, alongside heraldic coat of arms topped with an eagle rampant.
It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is certainly an eye catcher, which was probably the intention, as it was originally designed as a museum of natural curiosities. It was built in the 1830s for a local mineralogist, John Lavin, who had it styled after Robinson's Egyptian Hall, in London's Piccadilly, which was also a mineral museum.
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L3263 Ferry Cottage
Kingswear, Devon
Situated on the eastern bank of the River Dart opposite Dartmouth, the village of Kingswear grew up around the fishing industry dating as far back as the twelfth century, when trade was conducted with France and later the rest of the world. Today, apart from the leisure and holiday cruisers, the colourful little fishing boats catch mainly lobster and crab.
This charming Grade-II-Listed cottage situated on the ferry landing stage at Kingswear is a veritable picture of the calm and tranquillity that epitomises the small village today and which draws visitors to this peaceful corner of Britain. It may come as a bit of a surprise then to discover that Kingswear was in fact the headquarters of General de Gaulle (later the French President) and the Free French during the Second World War.
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L3268 Happy Times
Bucknell, Shropshire
What an idyllic scene, a spring wedding with cherry blossom and love in the air - the perfect recipe for Happy Times! Our happy couple have just tied the knot in Bucknell's pretty Church of St Mary and are standing outside posing for photographs under the porch.
Parts of the church, which is built of roughly coursed limestone rubble walls topped with a slate roof, date back to the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, however major renovations were undertaken in 1870.
The church has not always witnessed such happy times, however, as in the late twelfth century Andrew de Stainton, the Lord of Bucknell, was forced to flee England after upsetting King Henry II's court, and so gave the church to the Abbot and Convent of Wigmore Abbey, on the condition that he was given sanctuary until arrangements for his safe passage to Scotland could be made.
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L3269 Hawker's Cottage
Coombe, Cornwall
This pretty Grade-II-Listed whitewashed Cornish cottage has many of the vernacular features of the region you would expect to see, including cob walls and wheat straw thatch, but it has some most unusual features too - take for instance the timber porch, built with salvaged roof boards the sides of which splay out at the bottom to form a highly unusual and very pleasing shape indeed.
Another unique feature is the decorative cross-shaped window above the porch. As you might imagine, it was designed by a religious person - none other than the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker, the famous poet, eccentric and vicar of Morwenstow who is responsible for starting the church's tradition of celebrating harvest festivals in 1843, and who lived here for a brief moment in time.
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L3305 Haystacks (unsnowed)
Buttermere, Cumbria
At a mere 1,959 feet (597 metres) what it lacks in height this fell makes up for in fame, because it is here that the famous A W Wainwright chose to have his ashes scattered. In his book, Memoirs of a Fellwanderer, he wrote: 'and if you, dear reader, should get a bit of grit in your boots as you are crossing Haystacks in years to come, please treat it with respect. It might be me.'
Built in 1841 with stone taken from Sour Milk Ghyll and the slopes of Red Pike and with roof tiles of local slate, Buttermere's picturesque St James' Church enjoys equal fame. Wordsworth wrote: 'A man must be very unsensible who would not be touched at the sight of the Chapel of Buttermere', and inside there's a plaque dedicated to Wainwright, which is strategically placed at a window overlooking his favourite fell - Haystacks.
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L3306 Helvellyn (unsnowed)
Thirlmere, Cumbria
Majestic Helvellyn's summit rises to a mighty 3,118 feet (950 metres) above sea level and at its foot lies Thirlmere Reservoir. It is here, along its tranquil shores that this stunning example of Victorian industrial architecture can be found.
With its round tower, slit vents and battlemented parapets, it looks every bit like a castle but is actually a straining well and valve house - purpose built to collect the water from the reservoir, straining it through wire gauze before it enters the one-hundred-mile-long aqueduct, built by the Manchester Corporation Water Works, to supply Manchester with up to fifty-five million gallons per day. The valve house enables the water flow to be stopped incase of burst pipes. Deer can be seen roaming the grounds of our version, with its distinctive Lakeland slate walls and red sandstone dressings.
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L3267 The Hermitage
Dorney, Buckinghamshire
The Hermitage has been inspired by a charming nineteenth-century folly built in the grounds of Dorney Court, Buckinghamshire, a magnificent Tudor manor house that has remained in the Palmer family for the last 450 years. With its flint and rubble walls it was originally built as a tower and the two side storeys were added later.
The village of Dorney appears in the Domesday Book, its importance, no doubt, lying in its location on the western fringes of Royal Windsor and all of the wealth that that once brought to the area. But Dorney has another claim to fame: as the place where the first pineapple in England was grown in 1661 and a stone pineapple carving graces the Great Hall to this day in honour of the fruit being presented to Charles II!
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L3261 The Hidey Hole
Cowden, Kent
First appearances can often be deceiving, and this delightful 'little' cottage certainly proves the point, as it is actually only a small section - the cross-wing - of a former medieval timber-framed hall-house that once stood on the same site but was sadly pulled down in 1833.
When it was first built in the sixteenth century the timber frame would have been exposed on this attractive cottage in Cowden, Kent, but you will notice that the walls of the upper storey have been covered with decorative hung tiles. Apart from this being the height of fashion in the 1690s, this also had the added bonus of making the unprotected soft wattle and daub infill panels less vulnerable to damage from the ravages of the harsh elements of our English climate.
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L3271 Old Vicarage
Methwold, Norfolk
Remarkably, there hasn't been a resident vicar in the Old Vicarage in Methwold for the last two centuries, but that is not the only interesting question that surrounds this venerable old building, because one is left wondering just why such a magnificent and imposing building was built in such a remote, rural location. The answer must surely be that Methwold was once a village of some esteem, as other impressive buildings have also survived.
All questions aside, one is left in no doubt that this is a building of great architectural importance, hence its Grade-I-Listed status. The beauty of the jettied, timber framed building with close studding is surpassed only by the glorious late fifteenth century brick gable end with impressive central octagonal chimney that is uniquely decorated with various early Tudor patterns in terracotta and brick.
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L3307 Skiddaw (unsnowed)
High Ireby, Cumbria
This lovely little Lake District Lodge House is nestled into the Cumbrian fells near to the famous Skiddaw mountain. For those of you who admire the dramatic grandeur of Skiddaw but feel that you could not bring yourself to clamber all the way to the top of its 3,053 feet (931 metres) summit, then fear not. You can get great views of the 'Back o' Skiddaw' taking in the dramatic ridge of Ullock Pike, swerving to meet Carl Side and Skiddaw and on to Bakestall, from the much smaller fell, Binsey (the most northerly of the Lakeland fells), at the foot of which stands this very attractive former gatehouse.
Built in the nineteenth century, our little lodge also features sandstone mullioned windows and once served the High Ireby Grange Estate, the magnificent house of which sadly burned down sometime after 1952.
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L3264 St Winifred's Well
Woolston, Shropshire
Thanks to fascinating links with a seventh-century saint, miracles, novels and holy water, Woolston's famous St Winifred's Well still draws visitors as it did centuries ago. The story goes that the water first sprang from the earth in exactly the spot where the remains of St Winifred's body were placed by monks resting on their journey from Holywell to Shrewsbury Abbey, where the saint's relics were being taken in 1138 to form a shrine. Reference to this resting place appears on numerous occasions in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books.
Dating to the late fifteenth century, the timber-framed well house is believed to have been created by the wife of Henry VII, Margaret, Countess of Beaufort, who was responsible for the site at Holywell too. The water is said to heal bruises, sore eyes and broken bones.
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