Frontispiece: Denchworth details

“Denchworth [...] is one of the prettiest villages hereabouts. What little there is of it consists of one short street lined mostly with timber framed and straw-thatched cottages. As one advances from the north and west further to the south-east, it is noticeable how the stone houses get fewer and fewer, giving place to the more snug-looking lath and plaster, half-timber, herring-bone red brick, and thatch.

The remains of the village cross by the wayside is very stunted, still none the less welcome from the pictorial point of view. The fine cruciform church stands at the end of the street and mutely speaks of better times when the Hydes were lords of the manor, a name that lingers in “Hyde arm” close by.” (p. 173)