Architectural Features of a Norfolk Village (1)

I am treating this as the first of a series of related posts owing to the fact that time restrictions on Wednesday when I took the photographs that are its raison d’etre meant that we (my mother and I) accounted for barely a tithe of the interesting buildings in the village (East Rudham).

We had hoped to start with the Manor House but this was not accessible, although the publicly accessible part of its driveway provided an angle to capture the rear window of The Old Reading Room and also a section of brick and flint wall…

Brick and flint walls are classic for the part of Norfolk.
Brick and flint walls are classic for the part of Norfolk.
The rear window of The Reading Room
The rear window of The Reading Room

Having got a shot of the rear window of the building, The Old Reading Room was an obvious next port of call…

The front door of the Old Reading Room
The front door of the Old Reading Room
A close up of the name plate.
A close up of the name plate.

Just across the road from the Old Reading Room, is the Wesleyan Chapel, these days a private residence rather than a religious building…

The Wesleyan Chapel
The Wesleyan Chapel
A close up of the name and date plate.
A close up of the name and date plate.

After the Wesleyan Chapel came several very quirky specimens of local archiecture at the near end of School Road…

The lines of brickwork show the original shape of this building.
The lines of brickwork show the original shape of this building.
A modern version of a brick and flint gable end.
A modern version of a brick and flint gable end.
This outhouse roof section was a real curio.
This outhouse roof section was a real curio.
Another gable end whose history can be read clearly!
Another gable end whose history can be read clearly!
Brick and flint is the regular mix in this part of the world, but this building features brick and carr (the dark brown stone)
Brick and flint is the regular mix in this part of the world, but this building features brick and carr (the dark brown stone)

From the near end of school road, we proceeded round the south side of the village green, starting with a shot of a section of brick and flint wall and continuing with a couple of a large barn behind which lurks a modern house…

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Before proceeding to take front on shots of the barn and the cottages that adjoin it, I took a couple of panoramic views from the green…

The line of properties on the main road ends with one that until recently was both an eyesore and a health hazard (years of neglect had left it so run down that even the rats had moved on)
The line of properties on the main road ends with one that until recently was both an eyesore and a health hazard (years of neglect had left it so run down that even the rats had moved on)
The village pub and the tea room next door to it.
The village pub and the tea room next door to it.

The barn has a very fancy weathercock above it…

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Next we come to two cottages painted in pastel colours (one yellow, one blue)…

The yellow cottage
The yellow cottage
Both cottages in one shot
Both cottages in one shot
The blue cottage
The blue cottage

These two properties are separated by the width of what I have called “Fox Gate” from the detached cottage called Caradon…

"Fox Gate"
“Fox Gate”

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Caradon
Caradon
The name plate
The name plate

Between Caradon and the old post office (a very short distance) were a number of other properties to be photographed…

070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079

The building that used to be the post office is now much improved from the mouldering wreck it had become before restoration…

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From here, via a shot of the side of the pub it was on to the church, the approach to which goes past an old cottage…

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I took several shots of the church, was is almost entirely 19th Century, with a few hints of older stuff around…

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The entrance ti the building.
The entrance ti the building.

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I spotted this quirky window on the way out of the churchyard.
I spotted this quirky window on the way out of the churchyard.

Although it involved some mildly unpleasant walking, the churchyard provided a few other good brick and flint shots and a slightly tree obscured shot of the Manor House…

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The penultimate phase of this picture gathering expedition involved taking close ups of London House and the adjoining building that had not so long ago been an eyesore and a health hazard – there were loose tiles on the roof, and a not terribly wide pavement between the front of the building and the A148 (and for all that for that part of its length IT IS THE VILLAGE STREET not many motorists take due note of this important fact)…

This is the replacement for the derelict shop which had become an eyesore and a health hazard.
This is the replacement for the derelict shop which had become an eyesore and a health hazard.
And this is London House
And this is London House
The name plate.
The name plate.

The final picture was this ‘home shot’ – on the right of the shot as you look is Mulberry Coach House and straight ahead is part of Mulberry Barn (this property now forms a right-angle, as two loose boxes have been converted into extra rooms)…

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