Childrens Walk - 0.5 miles (0.8 km)

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: Childrens walk leaflet

1. Start at the Parish Office. At No. 27 Norfolk Ave, you can see a large stone in the brick wall. This commemorates the site of the Old Wesleyan Chapel.
2. From Norfolk Ave, turn right into the High Street and walk down towards the 'Sheffield Arms' pub. On the way you will pass No. 23 on your left. This is a Grade II listed building and although it is dated 1818, its main structure is 18th Century. On your right, you will see No. 20 which for many years was a saddler's shop.
3. No. 16 High Street was for more than 100 years, a butcher's shop and this and the adjoining house were built in the 17th Century
4. The cottage behind the bus shelter (on your right) was for many years the village smithy. Continue along the High Street to No. 5, the 'Old House', a Grade II listed building. Cross over the road to the Lych Gate, which was built in 1910 in memory of Laura Sophia Sheffield, who died on 3rd December 1898.
5. Walk through St Andrew's Church churchyard. The church was built in 1160. At the main church door turn right, walking around the church. Note the two cottages, one of which stands partly in the churchyard. One of the oldest buildings in the village, it is thought to have been the original vicarage.
6. Beyond these cottages stands the Old Vicarage, built in 1829, on the site of an earlier one built in 1729. A Grade II listed building, it has an impressive Mansard roof.
7. With your back to the Old Vicarage, cross the road and follow the footpath on the right back into the High Street. Pass Church Farm House. The part fronting the High Street is Georgian. The adjoining house was for many years the home and surgery of the village nurse, employed by the Nursing Association at a cost of one old penny a week.
8. Cross the top of Stather Road from the 'Sheffield Arms' and go back up the High Street. Continue past Todd's Lane, where the village stocks once stood, until you reach No.43 High Street. Between here and the white cottages is the entrance to Barrack's Yard, used by Royalist troops during the Civil War in 1643. Note the plaque on the gable end of the white cottage.
9. Cross the High Street once more to return to the Parish Office.

Lych Gates

Lych gates were first mentioned in the 14th Century and were used for sheltering although many existing ones are Victorian or Edwardian Memorials, as is the one at St Andrew's Church. Between 1678 and 1814, clergymen had a duty of ensuring that a woollen shroud had been used to clothe the corpse. This law was enacted to support the woollen industry and the inspection usually took place in the shelter of the lych gate.

Buildings in the Conservation Area

The steep gable with upstand on the 'Old House' suggests that it was at one time thatched. An example of a 'tumble gable' can be seen in the end gable of No. 9 High Street. These show Dutch influence, following the arrival of William and Mary in 1688. The Pantiles, used for roofs throughout the conservation area, were also introduced by the Dutch. No. 41 High Street, has a date stone of 1691 fixed on the house's gable wall. The low building next door, which used to accommodate itinerant workers, unfortunately obscures this. The bricks used for No. 41 are various sizes. In 1784, a brick tax caused builders to use the larger three inch brick, rather than the smaller one. No. 47 and 49 are typical late 17th Century cottages. In front of these, is what remains of the village green, where the stocks would have originally stood.