A Free Tour of Crick (Remember, you might get what you paid for. :)

Our boat has been mored on the Leicester Branch of the Grand Union Canal for a few days.  The closest village is Crick and Mike and I have been exploring it during our daily (unless pouring) walk.  (We walk 1-1 /2 hours a day.  Aren't you impressed?  I sure as heck am. :)

Now Crick is just a typical English village but boy is it beautiful, full of history, and the building!  Well, look at the wonderful buildings:

This used to be the Crick Abbey before Henry the 8th decided to leave the Catholic Church and become head of his own church.  Monasteries, nunneries, etc. were dissolved, including this one.  Today it has been converted to multiple living units.  I wish I knew what else it has been over the centuries.  See the last picture and the window in the thatched roof.  That building is the gateway into what used to be the Monastery.  The little room above was traditionally the home of the local priest.  Really. Not exactly prime accommodations.

Besides these buildings, all that remains is a local road named Monastery Lane.

Above is the Crick church.  I was unable to discover how old it is but by looking at the stone, it is old.  I am talking hundreds and hundreds of years.  They have added on to it but that part is just too normal to take a picture of.

This was the village's old primary school built in the mid 1800's and used until after WWII.  This type of school was then seen everywhere in England and was the backbone of the education system for the working man's children.  They were two room schools.  One room housed the very young children up through age 7 or 8.  The second room housed the older children up through age 14 when most left the formal education system and started in their field of chosen employment.  Now villages have primary schools for the young and then the children are bused to schools that either prepare them to enter college or prepare them to enter the work force.

Many private homes as well as the former monastery are still thatched. Thatch used to be the roofing of the working class but now, due to lack of skilled craftsmen, it is the roofing of the rich (or those on England's equivalent of the historical registry.  I hope they never disappear completely because for me, they are an integral part of Britain.

Another traditional part of England is the public footpath.  If history shows that a path has traditionally been a public path from point A to point B, although you might own the actual property the path is on you can not restrict the public from the use of that path.  Above is the gate to such a path. If you look in the background you can see a fence that is very high and very solid (no peeking through this fence).  Apparently the current owner and resident of an over the top McMansion is not in favor of the common man viewing his or her private space.  Now, on the left side of the path is a group of nice houses that take it in their stride that their fellow village residents will be walking through their backyards on a regular basis and that is exactly what we did.

Although this was very hard to get a picture that does it justice, the three sides of this U shaped building are, of course joined.  This used to be the stable block of a local prosperous person.  It is now been converted into the home of a local prosperous person.  Beautiful with all that old stone.

These pics show how, over time, new buildings have been attached to existing buildings and they didn't need to match.  For me, that is part of their charm.

And this, this is their local pub (one of 3).  British individuals take their locals seriously.  It is like belong to a social club.

And villages like this are ALL OVER Britain.  This is not unique.  Wonderful!


The tour is over.  You may exit via the back of the bus. :)