A SEAT WITH A VIEW - EASTLEACH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE

After a good service at Church, we set off with our picnic and made our way through Lechlade through some narrow country lanes to the Cotswold village of Eastleach where Mr. HCB had spotted a seat when we passed through the village a couple of weeks ago and had earmarked it for one of my “Seat with a View” challenges.

We are very fortunate to live so close to many pretty little Cotswold villages, some of which are famous, but some less so.  Many small villages have a pub at the centre, which draws visitors, and there is one at Eastleach, The Victoria, but we didn't go in!  It was some distance from us, so we were able to walk around and enjoy the beauty of this unspoilt village and breathe in its rural history - there doesn’t even appear to be a shop in the village, although there is a large village hall. 

Today we were spoilt for choice, as there were at least three seats.  The one on the way into the village, which bears no inscription, overlooks the church of St. Michael and St. Martin shown in the middle left picture of the collage.  We then wandered around and found another dedicated to the memory of Frances Katie Clack, who died in 2006, by the side of the clapper bridge, from “cleaca” meaning “bridging the stepping stones” and Mr. HCB obligingly sat on this so that I could take a photograph.

The clapper bridge, which crosses the River Leach, is often called “Keble’s Bridge”, after the early 19th century churchman, John Keble, who was a curate at the church.  It has a series of low piers supporting a row of flagstones and they were quite wet because we arrived as the little family shown at the top left were leaving, and from the shouts we could hear, and the noise of the water, the children had obviously been paddling!  You can see the clapper bridge in the bottom middle photograph and I managed to shoot it whilst a couple were crossing. 

Eastleach is divided into two, Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville, the name ‘Eastleach’ coming from the River Leach (meaning a stream flowing through boggy land) and the position of the village relative to its larger and better-known neighbour, Northleach.  

An unverified tale suggests that the two churches facing each other across the river  were built by two sisters who argued, and each put up their own church but unfortunately the truth is less dramatic. The estates of Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville were always separate, and each church was built by the Lord of the Manor for use by his family and retainers. 

Eastleach Martin’s church, the Church of St. Michael and St. Martin, is now in the hands of the Churches Conservation Trust, and is no longer used for worship, whilst St. Andrew’s Church, shown in the middle right photograph, has a service every Sunday at 11.00 am – usually ‘Morning Prayer’ from the 1662 “Book of Common Prayer”, with Holy Communion once a month.

The third seat we found was in the churchyard of the church of St. Michael and St. Martin and the inscription says, “Presented to Star and Maitland Wright on the occasion of their Golden Wedding, 30th June 1987.”  I do hope they got to sit on their seat and enjoy the beautiful surroundings - perhaps they even got married in this church!

The top middle photograph is Bridge Cottage, which can be seen from the first seat in the village, and looking up we could see Kingshiil house, formally Greenbury House, at the top right of the collage, but it was up rather a steep hill, so we just viewed it from a distance.  I have earmarked the cottage at the bottom right of my collage as a good place to visit in the Springtime when the wisteria should be blooming and we were told that there are also lots of daffodils by the side of the river, so watch this space next Spring.

I found this quote, and I’m sure it is true in most communities, not just in villages:

The best thing about living 
     in a small village is
          when you are not sure 
               what’s going on in your own life…..
                    someone in the village usually does!
Anon