Shutford

This morning started bright and cold so we decided to do another village this time driving into the wilds of Oxfordshire and the pretty village of Shutford.   Actually  it was not too far over the border, but it did take us into Tier Two territory, the bad news is the one and only pub in the village didn't open until 5pm.

The reason we chose Shutford was because they actually advertise themselves on t'net  and produce a couple of leaflets, one a walk round the area and the second, which we used, a walk round the village pointing out old and interesting  things to look at, take photos of in my case, and annoy the locals.  Actually  the very few locals we did see were quite friendly, except for the lady who glared at us when we unintentionally parked by their one and only bus stop, we moved the car.

Shutford is renowned for the weaving of Plush silk fabric which was undertaken as a cottage industry in the village for 200 years, 1747 - 1948.  There is a stone and plaque celebrating the fact erected in 2009.

So we followed the map and had a nice walk round the village, detouring now and then as our wont took us.  The church, which is very old, 13th century I think, was next door to the pub, the George and Dragon, on one side and the Manor House on the other. Very convenient for the landed gentry.

I quite like this (almost) fish-eye view of the pub and church.  There is a wicker model of St George  and the dragon in the picture, though not very clear in this light so I've added another pic I took of it in the extras.