The Church Loft. Late 15th century, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
In 1929 West Wycombe village was put up for sale by the Dashwood family (of the nearby stately home West Wycombe Park) to raise cash following that year's Wall Street Crash. It was bought in its entirety by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (better known as the Royal Society of Arts, or simply the RSA) as part of the Society's "Campaign for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages". In 1934, after extensive repairs, the Society handed the property over to the National Trust.
Today it survives as a perfectly preserved village of cottages and inns from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
Although the village is mostly linear, running along the old A40, Church Lane which passes under Church Loft is a pleasant diversion. A steep street of listed cottages running up to the Dashwoods' Mausoleum, West Wycombe Caves, aka Hell Fire Caves, and the Church of St Lawrence.
Although long distance traffic has mostly been diverted onto the M40 a few miles to the west, the old A40 remains quite a busy road that does this picturesque village few favours. It always looks incredibly dusty and I fear the neighbour across the street cleaning her windows must have a thankless task. However I console myself that the dust is probably 'authentic', and the village looks more like it did when roads were unsurfaced than the usual sterile perfection of most National Trust properties.
(And let's hope the National Trust don't slather it with whitewash and take all the character out of it like they have with so many of their timber-framed properties in recent years.)
The Church Loft. Late 15th century, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
In 1929 West Wycombe village was put up for sale by the Dashwood family (of the nearby stately home West Wycombe Park) to raise cash following that year's Wall Street Crash. It was bought in its entirety by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (better known as the Royal Society of Arts, or simply the RSA) as part of the Society's "Campaign for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages". In 1934, after extensive repairs, the Society handed the property over to the National Trust.
Today it survives as a perfectly preserved village of cottages and inns from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
Although the village is mostly linear, running along the old A40, Church Lane which passes under Church Loft is a pleasant diversion. A steep street of listed cottages running up to the Dashwoods' Mausoleum, West Wycombe Caves, aka Hell Fire Caves, and the Church of St Lawrence.
Although long distance traffic has mostly been diverted onto the M40 a few miles to the west, the old A40 remains quite a busy road that does this picturesque village few favours. It always looks incredibly dusty and I fear the neighbour across the street cleaning her windows must have a thankless task. However I console myself that the dust is probably 'authentic', and the village looks more like it did when roads were unsurfaced than the usual sterile perfection of most National Trust properties.
(And let's hope the National Trust don't slather it with whitewash and take all the character out of it like they have with so many of their timber-framed properties in recent years.)