SU6491 : Ewelme primary school: chimney, belfry and angle-buttress
taken 5 years ago, near to Ewelme, Oxfordshire, England
Ewelme primary school: chimney, belfry and angle-buttress
The school, along with the almshouses just next door, were founded in 1437 - and much of the 15th-century fabric has survived. The brickwork is said to be some of the very earliest in Oxfordshire, the work of East Anglian brick-layers in the employ of the Earl of Suffolk.
The timber structure projecting from the gable-end is the belfry. The bell, I have to say, is a great deal bigger than the traditional hand-bell I remember from primary school days. I imagine that in earlier centuries - before every household owned a clock - it was sounded to summon pupils in from the countryside around.
A detail I didn't expect to capture in this shot is the swift, top right - a pleasant reminder of a very warm July afternoon.
Jerome K Jerome was of course he of 'Three Men in a Boat' fame - to say nothing of Montmorency! The companion graves shown are those of his stepdaughter Elsie, and his sister Belinda, Not shown is that of his beloved wife Ettie, which is in the same churchyard. see http://www.jeromekjerome.com/man.htm