Last weekend I visited the little village of Shere in Surrey, which has a reputation of being one of the most picturesque in the whole county. Well, I haven’t visited every village in Surrey so can’t compare, but I can certainly confirm its immense prettiness, and say it is one of the loveliest villages I’ve ever visited. If you have ever wanted to feel like you have stepped into a Miss Marple novel, this is the place.
The village is very old, appearing in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Essira and Essire. Within the centre there are 34 listed buildings, most being stone or timber-framed houses from the 16th and 17th century, and at the end of the main street is a Norman church. What is most fascinating about the church is the store of ‘the lady in the wall’: in 1329 a local woman made a vow to devote her life to God, and the Bishop of Winchester gave permission for her to be enclosed in a narrow cell built in the church walls. She received food through a small grate in the outer wall, took communion from a hole within the chancel wall, and her only view was of the altar.
One of Shere’s claims to fame is that it is the place where the game of baseball was first recorded. William Bray, the Lord of the Manor at the time, wrote about a Guildford game of Base Ball in his diary of March 31, 1755. One of the two village pubs is now named after this same William Bray. The second pub of the village, The White Horse, is rather older, dating from 1450. It was used as a base for a local sheep stealing and poaching gang in the 1830s, but more recently appeared as Jude Law’s local in 2006 film ‘The Holiday’.
Shere doesn’t have a train station and is best reached by car, but those travelling from London via public transport can either get the train to Guildford and then a taxi, or make a train change to go on to the station at Gomshall, from where it is only a one mile walk to Shere.
All photos courtesy of my uncle, Richard Davidson.
1960s polka dot mod dress by Berketex
1970s green and red tartan knit jumper dress
1960s black and white check blanket dress
1970s floral print hippy smock dress by Emanuelle
Lovely! Just so you know, posts like these are tiding me over until I can actually one day travel to the UK and visit. So I thank you!
Also, I’m loving the colors you’re wearing here…and that gorgeous bag!
I love Shere, it is so atmospheric all year round… sometimes pretty, sometimes haunting. Also, the pubs are good.
How can I LIVE in Surrey and I have never been to Shere? THE SHAME. Gomshall is on my list of places I want to live though :)
I think this is where parts of Mrs Biggs were shot too x
It looks lovely! I also love Claygate- it’s a cute time-warp village!
What a picturesque English village! I’m an Australian who feels they desperately robbed by not being born in England. I love all those books and BBC shows that are set in English villages. Thanks for sharing! xx Shauna