I have been using a 40+ year old AA Guide to GB travel guide. It covers pretty well every corner of the UK in double page spreads with small maps and highlights and brief descriptions such as:

Crawley One of Hampshire's most charming villages built almost entirely in the 16th century. A large pond flanks the manor house and a pink thatched cottage stands at the foot of a long hill of houses. Halfway up is an inn with bowed and latticed windows. The village is supposed to be the "Queen's Cawley" of Thackeray's Vanity Fair.

CRAWLEY derives its name from the from the Saxon CRAWAN-LEA meaning "meadow or clearing of the crows"

I asked Prof. Google if he could tell me more. Apart from a website with the history of Crawley Court which was at the top of the village and was demolished in the 1070's, absolutely nothing. Well, there was a link to a newspaper article from May that reported that The Fox and Hounds pub has been sold to a guy with a history or rejuvenating village bubs as fine dining venues. It will reopen next spring. The Fox and Hounds is the inn referred to in the AA Guide. There was also a small number of reviews of the F&H's on Trip Advisor from 2015; one from a guy from Albury. He may have been the last Australian to pass this way. It's not on the way to anywhere and you wouldn't stumble across it.

Everyone else's loss is our gain. Best I can do is post an album of photographs here in this blog.

We stayed for a long time, strolling up and down the village, and then headed back for another attempt at Winchester.

We sought out the tourist office, and collected various guides, including a guided walk of the old town. Went to a café and oriented the walk we would take, and then set out. Half way around, Ches became ill and I had to rush back across town to the carpark and then try to navigate my way back to her. Again, a photo album will have to suffice.

We have pretty well given up on Winchester. I had wanted to walk to the top of the iron age fort on St Catherine's Hill, however it is not to be.

Ches is fine now. We were home by 3.00 and after a good afternoons nap, she's up for some jousting and archery at Arundel Castle tomorrow.

16th Century Homes

In the Middle Ages rich people's houses were designed for defense rather than comfort. In the 16th century life was safer so houses no longer had to be easy to defend. It was an age when rich people built grand houses e.g. Cardinal Wolsey built Hampton Court Palace. Late the Countess of Shrewsbury built Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

People below the rich but above the poor built sturdy 'half-timbered' houses. They were made with a timber frame filled in with wattle and daub (wickerwork and plaster). In the late 16th century some people built or rebuilt their houses with a wooden frame filled in with bricks. Roofs were usually thatched though some well off people had tiles. (In London all houses had tiles because of the fear of fire).

Furniture was more plentiful in the 16th century than in the Middle Ages but it was still basic. In a wealthy home it was usually made of oak and was heavy and massive. Tudor furniture was expected to last for generations. You expected to pass it on to your children and even your grandchildren. Comfortable beds became more and more common in the 16th century and increasing numbers of middle class people slept on feather mattresses rather than straw ones.

Chairs were more common than in the Middle Ages but they were still expensive. Even in an upper class home children and servants sat on stools. The poor had to make do with stools and benches.

In the 15th century only a small minority of people could afford glass windows. During the 16th century they became much more common. However they were still expensive. If you moved house you took your glass windows with you! Tudor windows were made of small pieces of glass held together by strips of lead. They were called lattice windows. However the poor still had to make do with strips of linen soaked in linseed oil.

Chimneys were also a luxury in the 16th century, although they became more common. Furthermore in the Middle Ages a well to do person's house was dominated by the great hall. In the 16th century well off people houses became divided into more rooms.

In wealthy Tudor houses the walls of rooms were lined with oak paneling to keep out drafts. People slept in four-poster beds hung with curtains to reduce drafts. In the 16th century some people had wallpaper but it was very expensive. Other wealthy people hung tapestries or painted cloths on their walls.

In the 16th century carpets were a luxury only the richest people could afford. They were usually too expensive to put on the floor! Instead they were often hung on the wall or over tables. People covered the floors with rushes or reeds (or mats of woven reeds or rushes) which they strew with sweet smelling herbs.

In the 16th century prosperous people lit their homes with beeswax candles. However they were expensive. Other made used candles made from tallow (animal fat) which gave off an unpleasant smell and the poorest people made do with rush lights (rushes dipped in animal fat).

In the 16th century the rich had clocks in their homes. The very rich had pocket watches although most people relied on pocket sundials.

Rich Tudors were also fond of gardens. Many had mazes, fountains and topiary (hedges cut into shapes). Less well off people used their gardens to grow vegetables and herbs.

None of the improvements of the 16th century applied to the poor. They continued to live in simple huts with one or two rooms (occasionally three). Smoke escaped through a hole in the thatched roof. Floors were of hard earth and furniture was very basic, benches, stools, a table and wooden chests. They slept on mattresses stuffed with straw or thistledown. The mattresses lay on ropes strung across a wooden frame.

In 1596 Sir John Harrington invented a flushing lavatory with a cistern. However the idea failed to catch on. People continued to use chamber pots or cess pits, which were cleaned by men called gong farmers. (In the 16th century a toilet was called jakes).