Walking Information

A 1˝ mile circular walk around the 
village of Felmersham
 

The walk starts at St. Mary's Church and the route takes the walker around the old part of the village, details are given of many of the old buildings to be seen on the walk. Remember that the houses you are looking at are people's homes. Please respect their privacy.



The street map above shows the route of the walk.

 

The Tithe Barn built 1428

Opposite the Church is the Tithe Barn, built in 1428, it was sympathetically converted into four dwellings in the early Eighties. Prior to this it had stood empty for many years and it was the conversion that saved it from demolition.


Walk east along Church End and you are now following the old road to Sharnbrook, the original cobbled pathway is still visible near the churchyard wall. On your left is a new development called St. Mary’s Close which is built on land belonging to the former Plough Public House.

< St Mary's Close at the rear of the former Plough pub

The Plough was built in 1938 it is one of four identical looking pubs in the area, it is now a private dwelling. The present building replaced an earlier pub.

Next door are two mansard roofed, semi-detached cottages, built circa 1994. They already blend in with the other older stone properties.

< The Old Plough and two modern cottages

College Farm House, takes its name from Trinity College, Cambridge and dates from the late 18th century. From 1826 to 1846 it served as a vicarage.

The two cottages next-door, shown on the left, are mid 18th century and they were originally thatched. The line of the previous thatched roof can be seen level with the up stairs window sill.

College Farm House >

Corn Close has a mansard roof with two front dormers possibly built late C18 and named after the field at the rear of the property.
The three cottages next door are early C19 and were originally thatched however in the 1930's the roof caught fire and it was replaced with the present tiled mansard roof with dormer windows.

Corn Close >

Walk on to the junction of Memorial Lane, at this junction stands Manor House. The main building was built circa 1840 as an extension to the original farmhouse which is 300 years old. Some of the farm buildings belonging to Manor Farm were converted, in the early Seventies, into a dwelling known as The Old Barn.

< Manor House               Manor Farm Cottage >

Opposite is Manor Farm Cottage, part of which dates back to the early 17C. Its early history is unconnected with the farm. A recent development is the conversion of a barn to the rear of Manor Farm Cottage. Memorial Lane takes its name from the memorial at the top of the lane. It records the deaths of 19 parishioners who gave their lives in the First World War (44 returned safely home) and the three Wells brothers who were killed in the Second World War.

 
Retrace your steps back
to the Church.

Opposite the Church is a Rose Cottage, built as a priests house it dates from the 16C.

Next door is the Old School House, built in 1846 it was used as the village school until its replacement was built in 1974.

Rose Cottage >   The Old School>>

Head towards the river, on the corner stands St. Mary's Cottage, although built in 1984 it blends perfectly with its setting. Opposite is Bridge Cottage, the front extension was once the village forge.

Felmersham Bridge was built in 1818 it was strengthened and repaired in 1993, but there has never been a weight restriction placed upon it, a tribute to those early 19C bridge builders.

< Felmersham Bridge Built 1818

Bridge Cottage >

Head west up Hunts Lane, on the right is the Grange. This Victorian “Tudor” manor house was built circa 1850. An enterprising developer split the property in half by removing the centre section, the laudable result was East and West Grange.
Turning left into Grange Road on the corner is the Old Stables. Originally it was a coach house, stable and groom's quarters for the Grange.

< Hunts Lane             The Old Stables >

Grange Road has a mixture of old and modern properties. On the right is the Old Farmhouse. It is over 300 years old and has served as a farmhouse, an 18C inn, and farm workers cottages.


Former Six Ringers public house

                                            Town Lot Lane >

 
 
Typical stone cottages

On the left is former pub known as the Six Ringers, it is of uncertain age but it may be over 400 years old. Why Six Ringers when up until 1955 the church had a ring of five bells? A report in 1880 indicated that two men were needed to ring the “heavy hung” 1 ton tenor! Hence the need for six ringers. In 1955 the bells were re-hung and augmented to a ring of 8 bells. To the right of the "Ringers" is Village Farm a converted barn.
Moving on up the hill on the right is Town Lot Lane which gets its name from Town (the old name for village) and Lot (meaning allotment). The village allotment was part of the Enclosure Settlement of 1776 and the allotments at the top of the lane are still in use. Walking down the hill the two cottages on the left (above right) are date stoned 1761 however they are likely to be over a 100 years older.

The Sun Inn has been a pub from at least 1822 and before that it was three cottages which were built at the beginning of the C17, or even earlier.
On the corner opposite, which is now the garden of Gladstones, there were two dwellings.    They were demolished in the 1960’s.


< Sun public house      Bank Top >

On the other corner, opposite the Sun, are two cottages known as Bank Top, they are much older than the red brick front suggests. The large detached house shown in the picture as being behind the Bank Top cottages was until quite recently the bakery and village store. On the corner, near the phone box, can be seen one of five water taps still preserved in the village. A reminder of the days when there was no running water in the home.


Water Tap*

Arriving at the junction of The High Road, the row of former labourers cottages opposite were built in the late 1840’s. On the right of The Row is Beaconsfield Cottage. In this double fronted Victorian cottage once lived the village undertaker whose former workshop is at the rear and is now part of the house.
Head towards the church and on your right is No 7 High Road. An interesting building because it was originally three cottages! In the early 50’s the properties were converted to a single bungalow by removing the upper stories. For many years it also served as the Post office.

Victorian Semi, The Row and Beaconsfield Cottage in the background >


The Old Rectory, Rectory Cottage and to the rear the Old Stables

The large stone building with the high pitched roof is the former vicarage. Known as the Old Rectory it dates from the C17 and at one time was a farmhouse. In the 70’s it was converted to two dwellings. At the north end is Old Rectory Cottage, dated 1846 and to the rear are the Old Rectory Stables converted to a dwelling.



Lych Gate - 1917


Bus Shelter - 1936

After your walk take a rest in the Bus Shelter and reflect on the similarity between the shelter and the church Lych Gate. The former was built in 1936 and the latter in 1917.

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© K F Shrimpton 2004 
* One of the 7 parish water taps in common use before houses were supplied with mains water.
References:  County Records Office, Grain and Chaff by W E Draycott and
Felmersham - The History of a Riverside Parish.