REBECCA SHAW

Apart from the village school, which was built by the Templeton family during the middle of the 1850’s, the centre of the village of Turnham Malpas is untouched since the early 14th century. There are no street lights, no traffic signs, no pavements, no house numbers (despite rigorous efforts by the council), so the cottages large and small have white painted walls with the original black beams showing, and thatched roofs just as they were when first built. They are all Grade 2 listed so there are strict regulations about any changes the inhabitants might like to make to modernise their homes. Down Shepherds Hill, along Church Lane, Hipkin Gardens, and the Culworth Road there are houses built since the 14th century that are not restricted, but even they have to be designed to fit in with the old houses around the Green. The Church and the Village Hall had their thatched roofs replaced by slate tiles during the latter part of the 20th century after a disastrous fire.