Pottering Through Pirton

The village of Pirton lies just three miles or so (less than five kilometres) from Hitchin's town centre in pleasant but unremarkable English countryside. I walked through while on a walk back in January and said I'd come back again in summer. My life is scattered with such promises to myself (and sometimes to readers of this blog too) which remain unfulfilled. Yesterday however I took my bike on the train to Letchworth and pedalled off to Pirton.

I found a fairly typical English village: some beautiful, well-tended gardens; some interesting old houses mostly gathered around the church; village streets with haphazardly parked cars; a couple of pubs; and some new houses being built around the edge. Also, like almost every other village in the land, a history going back well over a thousand years.

It stands on the Icknield Way which is nowadays synonymous with a walking, cycling and horse-riding route of 110 miles (177 Km), but which has a much more ancient history as England's oldest road, following the ridge of chalk which gives rise to the Chiltern Hills. 

Its strategic location caused it to be chosen as the site for a motte and bailey fortification back in the twelfth century. Today you can ascend to the top of the mound on a gentle set of steps, though in its day it would have formed a formidable stronghold, with a ditch at its base and wooden palisades at the summit. It was probably built during that period known as the Anarchy which followed the death of Henry I in 1135, when his daughter, Matilda, and his nephew, Stephen of Blois contested the throne.

The fortress was de-commissioned when it was no longer needed but a surprising amount remains to be seen, including a large area of meadow which once constituted part of the bailey, or outer courtyard. This would have included houses and other buildings, the raised platforms of which can still be made out on the ground and on the above photograph.

The church also stands within the bailey area and it's thought that an earlier thatched church would have occupied the same site when the fortifications were erected. The present church was much renovated during the Victorian period.

We'll now set out on a tour around the rest of the village which has a number of picturesque corners.

"Now where did I put my level and plumb-line?".....a cottage which has settled itself down comfortably, if a little alarmingly, over the centuries.

The village High Street retains its shop/Post Office, features which have been lost in many smaller villages. It's tempting, especially for those who live in such idyllic retreats, to oppose new homes being built in their area; but without some expansion of settlements these amenities tend to be lost.

The village Maypole stands on the green; there are a few of them in this part of the country.

Nearby stand this fine old dwelling.

The village duckpond. A nearby sign tells the story of how this pond was almost lost as it became silted up. Too many ducks and too much bread thrown in by over-enthusiastic children had caused the water to become polluted and foul-smelling and had killed off much of the vegetation. A concerted community effort has now re-established it as a haven for wildlife. 

In the past allowing a pond to become neglected would have landed those responsible in very deep water (!) as there were strict laws protecting ponds. They were vital to many aspects of village life; this one is known as "the blacksmith's pond".

Above is Walnut Tree Farm. For all I know it may still be a farm but it certainly looks a lot smarter than I would usually associate with an agriculturalist. As farming changes these village-based farms have  mostly become impractical and, as farms increase in size, much of the land is managed from outside the area.

A family of concrete sheep would appear to confirm my feeling.

Village pubs too have to rely on drawing in customers from elsewhere and generally sell more food than beer these days. I go out for a pub-lunch most weeks and it's a long, long time since I've been anywhere that hasn't maintained a high standard. Gone are the days when all you could get was a bag of crisps or a pickled egg in the local.

This is Hammond's Farm, an outstanding example of an early-sixteenth century farmhouse. I really fell in love with this building and maybe there's even some agricultural connection still; I found this in a nearby field...

Take care.