We visited Blenheim (Churchill’s birthplace) on the way back home to Scotland after our trip to the Netherlands (more of that trip at a later date but if you want to see photos of a wonderful railway station have a look over at Jack’s blogpost here) and after seeing Blenheim we looked around the village of Woodstock which is on the edge of Blenheim estate. It’s one of two villages which are on its doorstep, the other one being Bladen.
It was a gorgeous evening, perfect for showing that golden Cotswold stone at its best.
It was getting on for our dinner time and touring Blenheim had given us a good appetite, so it’s just as well that we found the Woodstock Arms which turned out to be a wee Scottish oasis in the Cotswolds as it had a very Scottish menu with fare such as cock-a-leekie soup, smoked salmon, chicken stuffed with haggis and cranachan. The owner of the place is of course Scottish and I must say that the food was very good.
The village stocks are now only for show so folks like me can take photos of them. These ones don’t seem too bad as it was obviously only your legs which were locked into them, sometimes it was your head and arms too.
The house below is called Chaucer’s Cottage and it was lived in by Thomas Chaucer, Geoffrey’s brother, Thomas was Speaker of the House of Commons. I’m sure the house wouldn’t have had wooden louvre shutters on it in his day, they spoil it I think.
But the doorway is very attractive.
I had no idea that Coleridge had based his Ancient Mariner on a real person, apparently one Simom Hatley who lived in Woodstock.
In fact, this is the building which he lived in.
These ancient houses are still being used as family homes, there should be plenty of echoes of the past going on in them, but I always wonder if they have been gutted with all the history removed from them or are they still recognisably old internally.
We didn’t have enough time to see everything we wanted to see while we were in that area so we’ll be going back again. I’ll have photos of Blenheim on here soon though.
If you’re wondering what the insides of the old houses look like, I’d suggest an evening walk when you go back. If they haven’t drawn their curtains, they are, in my opinion, inviting you to take a peek. Not nose against the window, of course, but a polite glance as you pass!
I love old villages and wish we had more of them in the U.S. Either they’re expanded drastically, incorporated into larger towns, or they have no center, essential for small town or village life. The soft mellow color of the Cotswold stone is so pretty. We went to Blenheim on one of our trips to England, but I don’t remember stopping in Woodstock, just passing through.
Joan,
That’s a good idea although I hate the thought of anyone seeing in my own place so I shut the blinds and curtains as soon as the lights go on. My sister was once looking in a house in Falkland, thinking it was an antiques shop, she was almost nose up against the window when she realised there was an old lady sitting by her fireside, staring back at her!
Woodstock looks lovely. Love the Cotswold stone, and that first street scene reminds me of Richmond in North Yorkshire though with grey stone.
Evee,
I suppose Woodstock is as old as Richmond but Richmond is of course much bigger, next time we’ll have a look at the other nearby village – Bladen.