Chudleigh

Yesterday afternoon, we nipped over to Chudleigh, a little town which is ten minutes from where we live.

We quite like Chudleigh because it has everything one needs for day to day living...

a bakers, a butchers, a chemist, a post office, a library and the greenest grocers in the land...

And on top of that....one or two watering holes, a couple of charity shops, a junk shop, gift shop, art shop, some very nice b&b places to stay...here's one of them...

And there's Pottery Court ,which is a quaint little court where you'll find a variety of interesting units, in particular Nicky and her rabbits, bears etc.

Sadly, Nicky was nowhere to be seen yesterday but that did not stop me from taking a peep!

Chudleigh also has very a fascinating and diverse history.

There are caves in Chudleigh, where prehistoric remains have been found.

An iron age hill fort overlooks the town and this would have been inhabited by Celts.

The town's origin is Saxon and it is thought that a Saxon church once stood on the site of the present church.

In 1309, a charter was granted by King Edward 11, allowing a weekly market and an annual fair to be held.

Chudleigh grew in importance due to its production of wool.

But then, in 1807 a disaster hit the town...FIRE!

Two thirds of the town was burned down.

The then Lord Clifford of the Ugbrooke Estate, headed a committee which saw the town rebuilt by 1811.

The advent of the Industrial Revolution, meant that the woollen industry declined but

because Chudleigh was on the main coaching route to Exeter , ale houses and post houses opened up and this kept the town alive...until the coming of the railway.

When the railway eventually closed in 1958, there was massive disruption as traffic was very busy in the town, the main road being the A38, which passed right through the middle of Chudleigh.

(Photo from Disused Stations)

A badly needed by-pass was built in 1973 ,which restored Chudleigh to normality.

Nothing remains of Chudleigh railway station ...the new A38 passes right through where the station would have been.

Chudleigh has now doubled in size as it is a very desirable place to live being so close to the A38, M5 giving easy access to Exeter and beyond...and Plymouth.

So that's a snapshot of Chudleigh!

Have a lovely weekend , everyone!

;-)

'Finds'...an old bag... and a winner!! ;-)

Look up!

This is just what I did on Saturday, when I was wandering around

'The Girl's Own Store', in Bridport.

There, in a small room at the back of the shop, hanging high,

were two lovely, large, framed prints.

Beautiful autumnal tones and lots to look at!

My photos do not really do justice to these.

I guess that the scenes are set in Paris.

Moving on...

A find of a different sort, also came home with me!

For ages, I've been hoping to find an old school satchel.

Not only did I want one to accompany my old school desk

but now and again the word ' satchel' crops up in the children's reading or spelling

... and the children have no idea of the meaning of the word.

Well, my luck was in!

Whilst browsing in Fountains Antiques, Honiton, Mr S spotted this

..and at a very reasonable price.

So now I have exhibit A, when I'm asked about the word 'satchel' !

Did you own a satchel? I did and I loved it!

The lady in Fountains said that they sell loads of them as many of us gals love them, preferring

them to today's modern bags.

Of course, it looks so much better adorned and stuffed with vintage fabric!

My other finds at the weekend were this lovely Greengate tea towel and a stringy dishcloth

from the Girls Own Store... and two fab pieces of

vintage fabric from Donna, at the Textile Fair.

And, I've updated my own little vintage fabric shop today,

with some more super duper fabric finds.

Never, in the 1960s, did I imagine that an old satchel could be so versatile

or so sought after, in the future!

******

And finally, the winner of my giveaway on this post:

http://salssnippets.blogspot.com/2010/08/rocke-cottage-tea-roomsanyone-for-tea.html

is Dosie Rosie (please email me your address!)

I just loved reading everyone's comments about their favourite tea rooms!!

Thank you!

I'm sorry that you couldn't all win!

Must fly....I have to work on 101 ways to decorate a satchel!

Have fun!

;-)

The wonderful weekend! ;-)

Well...can you believe this?

We stood in Budleigh Salterton, on Friday, underneath this sign, open mouthed!

'Tea Tiffin and Tat' it is not...but it's pretty darn close, I should say!!

Litigation I reckon!

LOL! ;-)

Budleigh Salterton is a lovely little place but obviously no good for sandcastles!

Otherwise this B&B would be called 'Sand' !

We were on our way to Dorset and had planned to...

...yet pack a lot into the weekend.

We left Budleigh Salterton and by lunch time we were mooching around Fountains Antiques in Honiton.

No photos of Honiton...I am ALWAYS disappointed with Honiton...but my 'star' find in

Fountains will feature very soon!!

;-)

Charmouth next!

The weather was threatening but nevertheless that did not stop us.

After Charmouth, a brief stop in Axminster...well...the jury is out on Axminster...not much

there really, is there?!

I didn't even like the look of the River Cottage Cafe...sorry if I have said the wrong thing but I

thought it looked very uninspiring !!

''You have reached your destination... ha ha ha , you are a genius''

(Anyone with The Simpsons Sat Nav will get that!!)

This was our destination and this was heaven!

Nestled in the Marshwood Vale, with stunning scenery all around, this 16th Century farmhouse was our home for just two nights.

Phew! We slept well on Friday night!

We needed to!

We had a date with Hen, Harry and Andy, in Bridport and not forgetting

The Girl's Own Store!!

I mean , could Mr S contain himself?!

My purchases were not many...but I was pleased with what I found!!

Next time's blog for that!

Bridport was heaving and we'd soon had enough, which was fine as I had fabric on the brain.

We were soon off to Ilminster for...

The Talent for Textiles Fair!

In my excitement, I only took two photos but this stall of Donna's was the best stall there, by far...absolutely beautiful!

And that was Saturday, over in a flash!

Sunday was just as manic but my camera stayed firmly inside my bag.

Hen, Andy and Harry had very kindly invited us for coffee, which was a real treat

and the idea was that we would follow them to the Yeovil Car Boot Sale.

Our finds there were almost nil..but our grasp of the Polish language is now pretty good!

...LOL!!

Nuff said...!!

We're back home now! We had a brilliant weekend!

Mamy nadzieję, że był zbyt dobry weekend!!

;-)

(And 'show and tell' next time!!)