Views of Bishopsbourne

Click on the small images to open a separate window with the full sized photograph

This first image shows the village, snowbound, from the main road. There are two lanes down to the village from this road. One is narrow and the other is even narrower! KCC try to confuse people looking for Bishopsbourne by abbreviating the name in a number of different ways on local street signs. Anyone visiting will have to decipher these signs along the way. Looking at the map above this shot was taken from the yellow road running next to the green road (the A2).

Another image from the main road. Peeking through the trees on the right are the white chimneys of "Oswalds", the house Joseph Conrad owned and wrote in. The church is behind Oswalds and hidden in the trees. Station Hill can be seen climbing away to the left of the picture and The Street isn't visible but runs along from the church. The trees at the top are part of Lyminge Forest.

Looking down Frog Lane and over the bridge into the village. Behind the trees on the right is Oswalds and beyond that the church. After the bridge The Street is on the left.

The Street in snow. Looking towards the village hall (on the left) and The Mermaid (round the corner on the right)

St Mary's Parish church has some superb mid 14th Century wall paintings as well as lovely views across Bourne Park along the valley towards Bridge.

This is the terrace of houses I live in - it's called Bourne Cottages. Check out the large image and look at the different bricks used. From the left, the end house has been extended, then two cottages were added to the initial three. Two others were added at the far end and that has also been extended. Hence three became seven and it explains why the chimneys are not arranged in an orderly way.

The church but in spring this time (March, 2005). Notice the traditional Lych Gate at the entrance to the churchyard. This is where the bier (coffin) would be rested before burial. Lych is an Old English word for a corpse. On the extreme left of the photograph is the plinth on which stands the memorial cross visible in the snow shot.
The children in the shot are my son and youngest daughter.

Station Hill looking down towards the village. Bishopsbourne was on the Elham Valley railway line (dismantled in 1947) and behind me on this shot is the road bridge over the old track bed and the old station which is now someone's home. The red roof on the right in this shot is the old school house and the church is the red tiled roof to the left of the photo. The map shows a cutting, bottom left, and this view is looking from slightly past the cutting towards the church.

Reverse shot from the ones of the church. This is looking from the church towards The Street - further down, on the right, is The Mermaid. The road going off to the right in the foreground is Station Hill and to the left is Frog Lane heading back towards the A2.

This shot from the back of the terrace clearly shows the different bricks and tiles where cottages were added at different times. The oldest houses are the one with the blue door, the one I live in (door open) and the next along on the right in this shot. The mismatched chimneys are also clearly visible. One resident has lived here over 50 years and moved in before running water or indoor plumbing were installed.

From the end of the terrace looking towards Charlton Park and the cricket pitch. Our peripatetic neighbours pop down to the field by the road to drink from a water trough before heading back up the hill. The background shows again the diversity of trees planted in Charlton Park. Note too that it's so warm at this time of year that the sheep have taken off their woolly jumpers!

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Views of Bishopsbourne Click on the small images to open a separate window with the full sized photograph

This first image shows the village, snowbound, from the main road. There are two lanes down to the village from this road. One is narrow and the other is even narrower! KCC try to confuse people looking for Bishopsbourne by abbreviating the name in a number of different ways on local street signs. Anyone visiting will have to decipher these signs along the way. Looking at the map above this shot was taken from the yellow road running next to the green road (the A2).
Another image from the main road. Peeking through the trees on the right are the white chimneys of "Oswalds", the house Joseph Conrad owned and wrote in. The church is behind Oswalds and hidden in the trees. Station Hill can be seen climbing away to the left of the picture and The Street isn't visible but runs along from the church. The trees at the top are part of Lyminge Forest.
Looking down Frog Lane and over the bridge into the village. Behind the trees on the right is Oswalds and beyond that the church. After the bridge The Street is on the left.
The Street in snow. Looking towards the village hall (on the left) and The Mermaid (round the corner on the right)
St Mary's Parish church has some superb mid 14th Century wall paintings as well as lovely views across Bourne Park along the valley towards Bridge.
This is the terrace of houses I live in - it's called Bourne Cottages. Check out the large image and look at the different bricks used. From the left, the end house has been extended, then two cottages were added to the initial three. Two others were added at the far end and that has also been extended. Hence three became seven and it explains why the chimneys are not arranged in an orderly way.
The church but in spring this time (March, 2005). Notice the traditional Lych Gate at the entrance to the churchyard. This is where the bier (coffin) would be rested before burial. Lych is an Old English word for a corpse. On the extreme left of the photograph is the plinth on which stands the memorial cross visible in the snow shot. The children in the shot are my son and youngest daughter.
Station Hill looking down towards the village. Bishopsbourne was on the Elham Valley railway line (dismantled in 1947) and behind me on this shot is the road bridge over the old track bed and the old station which is now someone's home. The red roof on the right in this shot is the old school house and the church is the red tiled roof to the left of the photo. The map shows a cutting, bottom left, and this view is looking from slightly past the cutting towards the church.
Reverse shot from the ones of the church. This is looking from the church towards The Street - further down, on the right, is The Mermaid. The road going off to the right in the foreground is Station Hill and to the left is Frog Lane heading back towards the A2.
This shot from the back of the terrace clearly shows the different bricks and tiles where cottages were added at different times. The oldest houses are the one with the blue door, the one I live in (door open) and the next along on the right in this shot. The mismatched chimneys are also clearly visible. One resident has lived here over 50 years and moved in before running water or indoor plumbing were installed.
From the end of the terrace looking towards Charlton Park and the cricket pitch. Our peripatetic neighbours pop down to the field by the road to drink from a water trough before heading back up the hill. The background shows again the diversity of trees planted in Charlton Park. Note too that it's so warm at this time of year that the sheep have taken off their woolly jumpers!

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