The Hidey Hole  

LILL3261  $28.00

Cowden, Kent

First appearances can often be deceiving, and this delightful ‘little’ cottage certainly proves the point, as it is actually only a small section — the cross-wing — of a former medieval timber-framed hall-house that once stood on the same site but was sadly pulled down in 1833.

When it was first built in the sixteenth century the timber frame would have been exposed on this attractive cottage in Cowden, Kent, but you will notice that the walls of the upper storey have been covered with decorative hung tiles. Apart from this being the height of fashion in the 1690s, this also had the added bonus of making the unprotected soft wattle and daub infill panels less vulnerable to damage from the ravages of the harsh elements of our English climate.

A Little Something

LILL3262 $28.00

Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Offering ‘a little something’ for lovers of all things literate, this adorable little shop sells ‘Books & Gifts’ and can be found nestling between a mid-nineteenth-century Congregational Chapel and another shop on Cranbrook High Street, Tunbridge Wells.

Grade II Listed, it dates back to the seventeenth century and was probably larger at that time, but today it appears in a rather truncated ‘squeezed in’ form, lending it truly Lilliputian proportions.

Tunbridge Wells, or to give it its full name of Royal Tunbridge Wells (as it was given its ‘Royal’ prefix in 1909 by King Edward VII), became a fashionable spa town in Georgian times, and although ‘taking the waters’ is no longer fashionable, visitors still flock here a-plenty to admire the charm and atmosphere of this wonderfully historic place.

Ferry Cottage

LILL3263  $44.00

Kingswear, Devon

Situated on the eastern bank of the River Dart opposite Dartmouth, the village of Kingswear grew up around the fishing industry dating as far back as the twelfth century, when trade was conducted with France and later the rest of the world. Today, apart from the leisure and holiday cruisers, the colourful little fishing boats catch mainly lobster and crab.

This charming Grade-II-Listed cottage situated on the ferry landing stage at Kingswear is a veritable picture of the calm and tranquillity that epitomises the small village today and which draws visitors to this peaceful corner of Britain. It may come as a bit of a surprise then to discover that Kingswear was in fact the headquarters of General de Gaulle (later the French President) and the Free French during the Second World War.

St Winifreds Well 

LILL3264  $35.00

Woolston, Shropshire

Thanks to fascinating links with a seventh-century saint, miracles, novels and holy water, Woolston’s famous St Winifred’s Well still draws visitors as it did centuries ago. The story goes that the water first sprang from the earth in exactly the spot where the remains of St Winifred’s body were placed by monks resting on their journey from Holywell to Shrewsbury Abbey, where the saint’s relics were being taken in 1138 to form a shrine. Reference to this resting place appears on numerous occasions in Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books.

Dating to the late fifteenth century, the timber-framed well house is believed to have been created by the wife of Henry VII, Margaret, Countess of Beaufort, who was responsible for the site at Holywell too. The water is said to heal bruises, sore eyes and broken bones.