I went down to London at the weekend, mostly it was to see my in-laws before Christmas but i also had time to finally track down the Roman wall fragment i had failed to find earlier in the year (though i had actually been very close to it!) I also took some photos of the Tower of London. You can see my photos here.
The village of Clifford Chambers is a mile and a half south of Stratford-upon-Avon. Until 1931 it was part of Gloucestershire.
The village has Saxon origins, land was granted at Clifford by the Bishops of Worcester in the early 10th century. Clifford manor was later granted to Gloucester Abbey and was given to the Chamberlain of the Abbey, hence the Chambers part of the name. The manor was later owned by the Rainford family, Sir Henry Rainford was known for his love of poetry, writers including William Shakespeare visited him.
The parish church of St Helen is Norman, there being records of a priest in Clifford Chambers since 1086. The church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 12th century, the tower being added in the 14th.
Clifford Chambers has remained a small village with a population of only 325 in 1951 and 418 in 2001. The village has a single pub and has a garden centre nearby.
It is that time of year again, as December comes and the end of the year is in sight and so it is time to look back over the last twelve months. Being a traditional sort of gent i will start in January...
The year began with a trip to Merseyside to check off a few more stations. Next i headed to Wales (just about) to visit the Llangollen Canal for the first time in Chirk. This was followed by a trip to Northampton and then finally i went to Wrenbury in Cheshire, and another stretch of the Llangollen!
The highlight of the month was receiving the advance copies of my first published book, it was such a thrill to hold in my hands a book i had written and created.
So, a good start to the year but things were about to take a downward turn! Song of the month was "both sides" by Yatte.
