A Quintessential English Village

Over a week ago we were in Datchworth, a quaint little village in Hertfordshire, just 40 minutes away by train from central London. Before Datchworth became a civil parish it is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon charter dated 969 during the time of King Edgar, and it is recorded as an agricultural village with over 1500 acres of arable land and 200 acres of pasture.

This is the main street (in London we call them ‘high street’), it has a pub and a tea room.

The old post office has been converted into a tea room where you can have a traditional afternoon tea.

The iconic red telephone box and an old mail box still remain in front of the old post office building.

The agricultural character of the village has remained ever since it was founded. Even the pub is named “The Plough.”

 

It’s remarkable that a lot of the houses are ‘Tudor’ or ‘Elizabethan’ style.

And each one of the cottages has a plaque with a name like ‘Tudor Lodge’ or some quirky name you’d easily forget.

And most, if not all of them, have flowering plants and with an English-style garden.

This is what I call a perfect country house. 🙂

 The big old tree and a generous front steps give this little cottage a unique character.

There’s a few modern houses around the village but this one is impressively peculiar with solar panels on the roof. Again, it has a name: Sheffield House.

A very attractive ‘Mediteranean-English style’ house. 🙂

This cute door with hardware/iron details caught my attention.

 It was a rather cloudy day with just a glimpse of sun late in the afternoon but there was plenty of games: cricket, football, volleyball, etc. — going on.

Even the cricket players stand out in the field from miles away because of their white uniform.

Some kids were busy playing volleyball.

Despite the clouds looming in the horizon, the picturesque rolling hills was a sight to behold.

A typical ‘Anglican’ village church with graveyard surrounding the building.

Datchworth Village Hall is where the residents hold special events such as wedding receptions, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

The winding and narrow country roads are all lined with beautiful trees and charming thatched cottages on either side. With foundations dating back to the 9th century, Datchworth is indeed a charming tiny English village, seemingly tranquil and wholesome, and I can only imagine, a great place to raise a family. 🙂