High Street (South)

No.1 The High Street is a large old farm building with adjacent barns and yard. Recent changes to the outside appearance of the building has seen the Victorian front bay windows removed and the house returned close to its original construction. The barn to the side of the property has been developed and is now used by the household.

No.6, The Small House, is the location of the Oldham & Co.'s bottling plant. It is rumoured that it is called the Small House because it housed the servants from the manor and it is the smaller of the two properties.

Oldham & Co. was a manufacturer of "non intoxicating liquor". Little is known about the factory now, so if you have any information about it the please let us know. What we do know is that it sold Ginger Beer and other such bottled drinks. The water for the drinks came from a spring at the rear of the property and was piped into the factory. It is thought that the factory closed in about 1935.

A plaque on the wall of the Small House reads: 'B. WE.1753'

No. 10 or The Swan has been the site of an Inn for many years. It was refurbished in the mid 1900's, when it came into the hands of the Charles Wells brewery. At this point the top floor was removed and a new roof fitted.

Charles Wells closed The Swan in February 2009, but after a campaign by villagers, it re-opened in December 2009 as a Free House under new management. This did not last and it closed again in November 2010 to be converted to a private house.

No.12 High Street, a row of 4 'one up, one down' cottages, converted to one property. The entries for three of the four dwellings are on the front, with the access to the 4th property on the right hand side of the building. The evidence of three front doors in the stone front wall is fairly evident, as they have been filled in with red brick.

Nos. 5 to 19 is now a block of low rise flats, built on the site of a collection of old buildings. The architect has loosely based the design of the new flats on the shape of the original buildings.

No.21 Post Office Stores is a converted private house that has been the Post Office and Store for many years.

Between the Post Office and the flats is the entrance to Leys View, a small development of six dwellings.

No. 21a is always known as ‘The Corner Stores’. This property was mentioned on the 1796 enclosure map and has been many types of business. It was finally closed in 1993.

Archive photographs of the southern High Street: click on the photo to view full size