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Cookley Green & Swyncombe The hamlet of Cookley Green is high in the Chilterns about half way between Nettlebed and Watlington along the B481. It comprises a score or so of attractive houses and cottages set neatly around a small green with the main road running through the centre. The road is lined on both sides by attractive, mature trees and the overall effect is very pleasing!. From Cookley Green a small lane leads westwards towards Ewelme and Wallingford. It is well worth leaving the Cookley Green area and driving along this road purely to enjoy the lovely Chilterns countryside and the lovely views of the Oxfordshire countryside beyond the Chilterns set out before you. Beware though for this road is very narrow and there are one or two nasty blind bends! A mile or so from Cookley Green along this lane, just off the road to the left, you will see the 1,000-year-old church of St Botolph, and Swyncombe House with its cluster of farm and other estate buildings is nearby. The Swyncombe settlement dates from at least Saxon times and in this secluded valley the Manor, church and farm formed an enclosed medieval community. The manor of Swyncombe was originally part of the manor of Ewelme and there has been a manor house here for hundreds of years although the present manor house at Swyncombe is a 19th-century rebuild of a fine Elizabethan house. The name Swyncombe means 'valley where pigs are kept'. The small Norman Church of St Botolph was probably constructed in the 11th century of flint and stone and it is largely untouched. It has traces of early wall-paintings which include some thought to have been painted by medieval knights leaving for the Crusades. February sees masses of snowdrops and aconites which are planted in drifts around the church and people come from miles around each year to see the display. |
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