Thursday 4 August 2011

Parwich

My personal challenge for this round of Miss Jenny Matlock's alphabe-Thursday is to post about a location within the borders of my own county of Derbyshire, UK, for each letter of the alphabet.


Look for the letter, to see where I am.



P is for Parwich.
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Parwich is a village of around 500 inhabitants, located approximately 7 miles north of the market town of Ashbourne. There has been a settlement here for some time, the village being listed as Pevrewic in the Domesday Book of 1086.

I'm going to take you for a little stroll. We won't see all of the sights, but I can show you a good selection.

Our journey takes us from the lower green; one of three in the village.


A small stone bridge leads to this footpath, which cuts between the cottages and into the back of the churchyard.


The graves here are neatly tended and the headstones bear some names very familiar to me.

As we walk on through the churchyard, we come to the side of the church building and the main door.


The tympanum in the arch above the church door is thought to date back to pre-Norman England. It shows the lamb of God with a cross, a stag trampling on a serpent, a wolf and a selection of other strange creatures.

Continue through the front of the churchyard and out of the gate into the main street. Here is the church green and from a little way up the street is a good view of the church itself.


There is believed to have been a church on this site for around 800 years. The current church of St Peter, was erected by Sir Thomas William Evans in 1873; a reconstruction of an earlier building. At the time, Evans owned Parwich Hall.



A little further up the main street is the turning for Alsop, just along which is the Royal British Legion building; a social club, established in 1951, for ex-servicemen and their friends and families.


Back on the main street, is the village Memorial Hall; a very modern construction. The original was built in 1962, but was replaced by this new building, opened in September 2010.



Continuing up the main street, this building was once the village shop; now sadly closed.


Just above it, at the head of the village, is the Primary School, built in 1861 (also by Sir Thomas William Evans). The school currently caters for around 50 children aged between 4 and 11.

From the school, we do an about turn and head back down the main street, past the church and round to the other village green.


Here are the swings and see-saw. At the beginning of July each year, Parwich has its 'Wakes' week; a traditional holiday and festival filled with events including the parade, the hill race and the fair. I used to love the fair with its old fashioned penny slot machines, coconut shy and swingboats. I especially loved the swingboats and would pull on the thick rope until the boat was swinging as high as it was possible to go! I used to go round all of the family adults, persuading them to take a ride with me (and pay the fee of course!).



In places like Parwich, housing is always an issue. House prices are sky high and any child who has grown up in the village will struggle to find somewhere affordable to live. That is the reason for this little 'Close' which consists of affordable starter homes for local young people, and also flats for senior citizens.



Across the road from the Close is the Sycamore Pub, which now also houses a small village shop.


...and a stroll along the front of Chestnut Cottages brings us back to our starting point on the lower green. 


Once there was a line of horse chestnut trees here, but most have now had to be felled. When they were planted, they were named after the children in the village. One was called 'Hazel' which always makes me smile; a tree with a confused identity.

PS: I'm away at the moment doing voluntary work. I was hoping to post a photo a day, but it's been so busy, there has been no way :(. I'm also well behind with commenting. I will catch up whan I'm home. Sorry.

21 comments:

  1. For a long time I kept reading and saying to myself "there's no pub!!" and vowing to avoid the place for ever more. But then, at the end, you deliver your knock-out blow and Parwich is back on my itinerary.

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  2. It looks absolutely lovely! I hope to visit the UK one day! Thank you for sharing with us. :)

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  3. Parwich looks a pretty village and the church and school both look very interesting. It is always sad when village shops and post offices close but I'm pleased to see the affordable housing so that young people don't have to move away from the village they grew up in or older people leave it behind. Lovely post:)

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  4. I'm quite fond of Parwich, even though I've only been there a few times.

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  5. So many pretty towns and villages. It would make a walking holiday very interesting. We have the same housing challenge on the Island - I don't know how our children will afford to buy houses at this rate.

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  6. Your photos are so wonderful it's like taking a tour. I love this!

    =)

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  8. The primary school is my favorite building featured. It is just wonderful.

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  9. I like the school as well... and it would be a crying shame were it ever to close

    that said; I'd really love to be able to own, or at least live in, a house that looked like that ;)

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  10. I loved the tour.
    I was hooked at the very first photo of the path next to the little stream.

    cheers, parsnip

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  11. Thanks for the tour! I stayed in Alsop once when I was about 15 for my summer holidays

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  12. I love all the stonework on the buildings. Thanks for the tour - so much history, for so many years! {:-D

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  13. I just came back from England yesterday. I recognize the same kind of landscape. I was in Eastbourne and surroundings and then 3 days in Oxford.

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  14. I think I mentioned before that I have a thing for the architecture of old churches. So different than many of the big shiny things we get around here. Just love your pictures.

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  15. I'm really enjoying these tours. It seems to me that no matter how big or small the town/village, there's always a pub or two!

    Thanks for sharing.

    I'm here:
    Pages Of Love

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  16. Every time I come over to read your newest post for Alphabe-Thursday, I just want to move to England :) I just love this little stroll you took us on and everything you showed us is what I had always imagined whenever I read Jane Austen books :) If my husband ever decides to move to England for work, I'm totally going to agree with him!

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  17. Thank you so much for the lovely tour. Now I want to visit England again! I studied there for 2 years and never had enough of the architecture and landscape. Beautiful!

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  18. Well. I was wondering where you had gone. I've been so busy I haven't been over. I hope all is well with you and yours.

    That school? I want it.

    When you have time, give a shout. Keeping you in my thoughts.

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  19. Almost every week I think, "I want to live there!" and I think Parwich might be the perfect place for me.

    Charming stone houses, lovely green countryside, a perfect little stream.

    Ahhhh...these enchanting trips you take us on, really soothe my soul!

    Hope your volunteer work is going well.

    Thanks for linking.

    A+

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  20. Another perfectly charming village! This was a lovely walk. Thank you!

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