IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
St. Mary Bourne, ANDOVER, SP11 6BP

One of a tightly packed group of thatched cottages around the village centre.The narrow but widening passageway appears to lead to another house. Perhaps that is where the name "the wedge" originates.

This cottage is right on the road and from the sign they have obviously lost the thatch when it has been hit by large vehicles.

In this archetypal Hampshire village thatched cottages and charm abound. To the right of the picture is a good example. Oak Beams is Grade II listed with English Heritage Building ID: 138406. It dates from the 17th or 18th C.

C18. One storey and attic, 3 windows. Thatched roof, with eaves raised above the upper windows, which have cills at eaves level. Red brick walling in Flemish bond, cambered ground floor openings, cement plinth. Casements. Two boarded doors in solid frames. The easternmost quarter of the front turns at a slight angle, to continue straight along the front of the adjoining building. (Source:Historic England)

Early C19. Two-storeyed house with a shop front, 3 upper windows. Slate roof, stepped brick eaves. Red brick walling with long and short flint panels, brick plinth, stone cills. Sashes in reveals; the ground floor at the south-east side has an original moulded cornice, frieze and thin pilasters to a shop front which has been made narrower, by the infill of flint and brick walling on the east side. Four-panelled door in a solid frame, with a hood on carved brackets. The easternmost quarter of the front turns at a slight angle, to continue straight along the front of the adjoining building. (Source:Historic England)

Wistaria in bloom on the parish church porch at St Mary Bourne and an old yew tree - a very common feature in churchyards. www.stmarybourne.org.uk

One of the more important graves in the churchyard, and a fascinating thatched building behind where the thatch almost reaches the ground.

If you cannot afford a coffin, alternative facilities are available.

The graves in the churchyard are extensive and packed closely together. Fortunately for family historians there is a map and record of all the graves available in the church.

These four large graves stand immediately outside the south (main) door of the church. The consistency of size and carvings indicates they are probably all members of the same important family.