Chiselborough Chronicles
Enjoy vivid and fascinating articles—written by the village, for the village
Manor Farm Field Names
Like most farmers, Louise & Richard Holloway know every field by its name. Some of the names have changed over time, and some have an interesting back-story. Here you can discover for yourself the names of the fields that are the major part of our landscape.
Holloways
Originally lanes or tracks, holloways are ancient, formed by centuries of wear by feet, animals & cart wheels. Data about them is now being collected & mapped by Natural England. We have two superb examples close to the village—Smoky Hole Lane, and Skillgate Lane as it ascends out of our village. Words & pictures by Dee Edwards.
Looking out for our wild bees
The majority of wild bee species are having a tough time and are rapidly declining in numbers. Nigel Stone explains how to ‘think bee’ when planning our gardens.
A Bee’s Life
The Secret Life of a Chiselbourough Worker Bee, as revealed by his keeper, Neil Cook.
Chiselborough Artists
Enjoy artwork by some of the very good amateur artists living in our village.
Easter Trail, April 2021
After a long winter, we enjoyed creating and seeing brilliantly imaginative Spring displays around the village.
Chiselborough Bells
Of its 5 bells, Chiselborough Church has three dating to around 1380—some of the oldest both locally and nationally. Jane & Michael Spencer describe the bells, and provide an insight into bellringing.
Heavens Above!
Simon Spurway gives a photographic narrative of steeplejacks repairing Chiselborough Church spire in January 2021; Ben Dawson of Dawson Steeplejacks shares an array of thrilling photographs of our village from a dizzying viewpoint; Ian Hodge and Dominic Fairley show Dick’s intrepid sponsored climb on April 10, to inspect the works.
An Allotment of Joy
Caroline and Mike Hockey have been allotmenteers for over 30 years. In the ‘lockdown’ year their allotment at Greenham’s Cross in Norton meant even more to them than ever. Caroline and Mike share some tips.
The story in the Geology
Martyn Morris reveals the stories within the stone that many of our houses and garden walls are built with. You’ll never look at our stone walls in the same way again..
Chiselborough Forge
The photograph in our Historic Gallery of Gordon Snellgrove’s forge lit a fire of interest from website viewers—the array of smithy tools, from floor to rafters, speaks evocatively of the work and experience of a true craftsman. Now in this photo-essay, we show more fascinating pictures from the forge.
Thomas Hardy
The majority of the novels and short stories by the great Thomas Hardy were set just a few miles from us, within an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Colin Sherrard takes us to several evocative Hardy locations.
Sue’s Nature Walks
For Sue Hasell, it’s the unusual and unexpected that makes walking around our Parish such great fun. Foraging (carefully) for foods is a terrific added bonus.
Apples, Orchards & Cider
Apple orchards are a vivid feature of our landscape and cider-making is deeply engrained in our regional identity and heritage. Graham Wheeler shares an overview.
My Native Village
June Perry’s Grandfather, William Langdon, wrote the poem My Native Village in the spring of 1920 while sitting on the side of Gawlers Hill looking down on Chiselborough. June added her own verses in 2011.
We’d like to make the information on this site as widely accessible as possible to all in our village. If you know of a resident who is unable to go online, but would like to read one of these articles on paper, please let me know and I’d be pleased to drop a printed version of the article through their letterbox. E: chiselboroughwebsite@gmail.com