Grantchester: the village

Last Saturday (22nd September) we spent a very pleasant day exploring a nearby village called Grantchester. Though many places make this claim, this village really is ‘quintessentially English’. It has everything – quaint thatched cottages and pubs; a meandering river with meadows on each side; an ancient stone church and one of the best ‘tea rooms’ in Britain, an old orchard which is set out with a raft of deck chairs under the fruit trees. Here's a sampling...

We also found that there was a village craft sale in progress. Always suckers for a good craft fair, Elizabeth and Laurel made this their first stop. To all of our delight, a famous British wildlife artist, Michael Wood, was exhibiting his pictures there, and had quite a number of prints for sale. Michael illustrated all the wildlife signs and welcome signs at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, which is the oldest nature reserve in Britain.

You can see some of Michael’s work at http://www.michaelcwood.co.uk/index.html

Suffice it say that we all further enriched him and encouraged his efforts at his stall!

Next stop was the Grantchester Church, pictured below (outside and inside).




One of Grantchester’s most famous residents was the poet Rupert Brooke, whose WWI poem ‘The Soldier’ is very famous. It starts with the lines:

"If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England ..."

The church is full of references to him, including his name on their WWI Honour Roll, as well as sundry pamphlets and histories about his life and poetry.

The Grantchester church clock was immortalised by Rupert Brooke in another famous poem entitled 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester'.

“Stands the church clock at ten- to-three?”

It was believed that he wrote the poem while on a trip to Berlin in 1912. It is thought that the church clock was broken in Brooke’s day and the hands appeared to have halted at tea-time, at 10 minutes to 3.00pm. Given his known Bohemian lifestyle, it is doubtful whether the young Rupert actually spent much time in the church. There is a pub named after him though!




(Notice the careful angle of John's photography, carefully designed to reflect the largest amount of light from the flash at the most strategic place on the photo!!!!)

The oldest part of the church, the tower, was built in 1420. Other work was carried out in the 1600s and 1800s. It also has three churchyards, with some most interesting and old headstones and monuments, one of which is pictured below -- along with Elizabeth and Laurel, our friend who took us there, standing at the church door; followed by Elizabeth and John in the churchyard.