The Village Of Great Budworth

One of the most beautiful villages in my home county of Cheshire, is the historic village of Great Budworth.

A quintessential English village, first mentioned in the Doomsday Book in the year 1130.

Set in the heart of some of England's most picturesque countryside, it is home to the magnificent St Mary and All Saints Church, The George and Dragon Pub, and the Great Budworth Ice Cream Farm, all within walking distance of it's cottage-lined streets.

What a magical place to call home......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cottage Homes of England!
By thousands on her plains,
They are smiling o’er the silvery brooks,
And round the hamlet-fanes.
Through glowing orchards forth they peep,
Each from its nook of leaves;
And fearless there the lowly sleep,
As the bird beneath their eaves. Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793–1835)

Friendship Days

Monday started out dark and dreary.
I gave some thought to looking around a few shops, and seeing what is available now the Christmas season is drawing closer.
Instead, I had a visit from a wonderful friend, a dear lady who has been in my life for many years, and has shared the ups and downs of expat life together.
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I visited her hometown when I was in England recently. A medieval city founded as a Roman fort in AD 79.
Chester and my hometown share the same county and is a popular tourist destination to thousands of visitors to Britain each year.
It's streets are lined with some of the best timber-framed architecture throughout the land.
We enjoyed a pot of tea, and Scottish shortbread biscuits, as we reminisced and giggled like two school girls.

 

 

 

Of Cottages And Tea

Some of my most prized possessions are gifts my parents have bought for me throughout the years.

They always put a lot of thought into choosing them, something usually that would remind me of England, and would be a worthy antique to pass along to my daughter.

On one occasion we were enjoying a day out at Beeston Castle ; http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/beeston_castle.htm where they often hold flea-markets and antiques sales.

One of the stalls sold Cottage Ware, and I immediately fell in love with the look of the quaint little country gardens and shapes of cottage teapots with their thatched roofs.

My parents surprised me with the tall coffee/water pot, milk and sugar, and a butter or cheese dish, I have since added the teapot to the collection.

It is mostly displayed in the kitchens of English homes, to inspire culinary glory, with the herbal gardens and flowers surrounding the thatched cottages.

If you are not familiar with Cottage Ware it is the name given to a class of ceramics formed in the shape of, or decorated with English country cottages.

These delightful designs came into their own in the early part of the twentieth century, after WWII there was a building boom, and the style and decoration reflected the pride and joy of young Britons buying their first homes after tenement living.

Price Brothers Pottery of Staffordshire were the most popular in production of the whimsical pieces, but later merged with Kensington, another well-known cottage ware producer.

Sadly the manufacturer closed it's doors in 2003.