Thatched cottages in Ogbourne St George
Location of the Ogbourne villages
Good satelite images of the villages are now available at Google Maps -
After their 40 mile journey from Gloucester they repaired to the Parklands Hotel and Restaurant in Ogbourne St George where they acquainted the owner (Jenny Naffine) with the nature of their mission and were given a warm reception. Jenny made a
phone call to the vicar who broadcasts occasionaly for the BBC but unfortunately he was out. Not to be deterred a further phone call summoned Edith Coplestone who has lived in the village for many years, and was a fount of knowledge. In fact David, who is no slouch in the art of conversation, was completely silenced for some 40 minutes. In the event a tape recorder would have been helpful.
Edith Coplestone, now 83 years of age, confirmed that the Manor House stands on the spot where The Priory once stood, a short distance from the present Ogbourne St George Parish Church Part of the manor house can be seen top left. Edith went on to say that in her youth her father had shown her the underground passages leading from the Manor House to the church. The tunnel was not inspected, perhaps as our intrepid co-reporter Olive is not too fond of spiders. In fact the owners of the house now advise that there are two tunnels which go from the house to two places in the garden, but expert opinion now indicates that it is more likely to have been a drain than a secret passage. Edith also disclosed the connection with the Abbey Bec in France ‘The Bailiwick of Ogbourne’ to whom rents were paid from the 12th century, though these were later diverted to King’s College Cambridge.
Their next visit was to the Manor House, where they were initially deterred by two very large dogs, but were rescued from a thorough licking by the lady of the House. Those wishing to enter the church outside normal services need to go to Mrs Frost for the key, although it was confirmed that there are no references to personal names of Ogbourne therein.
On to Ogbourne St Andrew, where
as in St George there are numerous
fine thatched cottages
and houses which are typical
of Wiltshire, though more usually
found in the southern half of
the county. The post offices in
both St George and St Andrew are
now closed, but the former postmistress
of the latter kindly gave our
reporters a couple of
post cards of the village church
and elsewhere they gleaned
a copy of ‘The Ridgeway Bell’,
the parish magazine for the villages
and nearby Chiseldon parish. In
it we learn that new singers are
always welcome to come to join
the ‘Ogbourne Singers’
on Friday evenings at 7.30pm in
the Old Post Office, Ogbourne
St George. Ogbourne St Andrew
church is said to contain the
only known example of a 'long
barrow' (pre-historic burial mound) within the churchyard. To read more about this see this webpage
The other principal hostelry in St George is ‘The Old Crown’ where the author of this homepage has ‘taken the waters’ in the past - ‘the pub with the well’ - if you wish to reserve bed and breakfast here the phone number is 01672 841445. The advertisement in the parish magazine clearly states ‘no juke box’ and ‘no pool table’ so one may be assured of a peaceful atmosphere here.
Brief histories of the parishes
of Ogbourne St Andrew and Ogbourne
St George are included in John Chandler's
'Marlborough and Eastern Wiltshire'
published in 2001 by Hobnob
Press, of Salisbury, Wiltshire,
ISBN 0-946418-07-1
The Frances Frith Collection of images of Ogbourne
St George and Ogbourne
St Andrew
ROMAN VILLA FOUND AT OGBOURNE !
The Club Ogbourne downs local golf club has it’s own homepage on the WWW.
In summary our reporters say that 'all three villages have lovely thatched cottages with marvellous gardens. Ogbourne St Andrew is partly on the main road, but the part laying back and the other two villages have an ambience of quiet serenity and peace.' Clearly a warm welcome can be expected for visitors with an interest in the villages. It was said that they are not unused to visits from Ogburns and the like with American accents, one of whom endeared himself by a generous donation to parish funds.
Revised 22 November 2007
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Read the Times report of 3rd March 1997
