Thatched cottage, Deeping St James

This unusually small thatched cottage (named Clematis Cottage) stands by the road in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire. It sits uncomfortably next to a taller, later neighbour, with a narrow space between the two buildings to allow maintenance work on the walls. Like many thatched or timber-framed buildings it has a brick chimney for safety, this one relatively tall and braced with a strip of metal. The keystone/datestone shows it to have been built in 1819 using local stone featuring the area's "signature" courses of irregular width. The thatch has wire netting over it to lessen the impact of weather and birds. Access to the back of the cottage is via the gate which is probably shared with the adjacent neighbour. There appears to be a (necessary these days) extension and I wouldn't be surprised if the narrow plot stretches back quite a way.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus E510   2009

River Welland at Deeping St James

I've photographed this landscape view a few times because it holds some of the features that I most associate with the lowlands and the Fens - a church spire rising above the roofs of the surrounding village, willow trees by the riverside, and the slowly moving river itself, meandering through the fields and settlements, raised banks protecting the surrounding areas from its overflow.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100