New Berryfield Copse

Crop field near Windrush Farm

Rectory Hill, West Dean

Crop field near West Dean

Dean (Wilts) railway station

Opened in 1847 on the London & South Western Railway's line from Southampton to Salisbury. View west towards Salisbury. Despite the name of the station in railway timetables showing "Wilts", there was an old Network South East "Welcome to Hampshire" sign on the platform when this image was taken. The station is right on the border.

Footbridge over river Dun and former Red Lion Pub, West Dean

Through the fields towards West Dean

View from a Southampton-Salisbury train - Fine blossom in Fine Wood

View from a Southampton-Salisbury train - The Encampment

Clunch-built wall at The Livery (1)

Part of the perimeter wall around a yard or yards. To protect the permeable chalk from which it is built, the wall has been roofed over with pan-tiles. The road leads north to West Winterslow.

The road to Farley

Shaded by beech trees - as so often is the case hereabouts. On a May day when the afternoon temperature reached 25C (or so) the shade was very welcome.

Clunch-built wall at The Livery (2)

Part of the perimeter wall around a yard or yards. Clunch - the name given to chalk quarried for building purposes - is a traditional material here and in neighbouring counties to the east. This wall is protected by its own little roof of pan-tiles - to rather picturesque effect. I'd imagine that one hazard to be avoided must be permeation by water - as subsequent freezing would shatter the structure.

South Lodge, Tytherley Common

The OS shows a drive leading to Norman Court, a grand house a full two kilometres further north. So this building served as an entrance lodge - though it has a definite swagger about it, and might better be termed a pavilion. I can't find an entry in the Hampshire volume of Pevsner*, but the lodge's Ionic pilasters are its most prominent architectural feature. That squares well with Pevsner's description of Norman Court, where 'giant Ionic pilasters' are a feature of the earlier work. The architect may have been George Dance. *Pevsner and Lloyd - 'The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight'.

Drove Farm Cottage, Tytherley Common

Dean House: red brick at West Dean

Here in Wiltshire red brick often has flint as a partner. The use of brick on its own gives a less rustic impression - was the intention to convey higher social standing? The road runs downhill into the valley of the little River Dun - notice the grit-bin for wintry weather.

West Dean: St Mary's church

Dating from 1866. If I'd had my Wiltshire Pevsner with me, I'd have realised that there is a much older church nearby (or at least the remains of it). The view is south, across the valley of the little River Dun.

Green acres: countryside south of West Dean, early June

Looking north across the valley of the River Dun. From up here on the ridge it's clear that parts of south-east Wiltshire are well-wooded, quite unlike the open downland of Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs. The title I've chosen is a bit cheeky - inspired by the name of a nearby property I spotted on the map. And it has to be said that while the scene is very green to the eye, in another sense the vast area of cereal monoculture is quite the opposite: un-green.

West Dean: the old Red Lion

The frame for the pub sign is still there at the top of its post, but this is yet another village pub that's no longer in business. I ought to say, though, that there's a pub nearby that seems to be thriving. The tall vegetation is growing along the banks of a little river called the Dun. So - for once! - nature conservation trumps concerns for the village's chances in the 'tidiest village' stakes.