The Meanderthals: August 2026

MULTUM IN PARVO

MINITUDES :- Mike, Danny and John.

No Multitude I'm afraid but plenty of Parvo. This was a shame as Chipping had an amazing amount to offer.

Chipping is a tiny village on the edge of the forest of Bowland. Although some building has taken place in recent years it still remains very small.

But if you take the time to explore it there is much to see.

After an initial difficulty we parked the car in the Pay and Display and within seconds found ourselves in the heart of this ancient village. It's original name was "Ceapan or Ceping" which means "Market"

As we walked along Windy Street we passed the old school. Founded by John Brabin. This, as you can see, is the girls entrance.

We know this because....................... It says so

and because................... there's a girl waiting at the door.

Could this be the boys side ?....................................... Looks like it. He appears to be carrying a cricket ball. Football did not have the popularity it has now.

From here we visited the Catholic church almost hidden away in the tree clothed valley.

A phone call the previous day had promised us that the church would be open, A strong push on the door, which bore no handle , seemed to tell us differently. We left.

In the church grounds and right in front of us in the church grounds and just to the left as we had left was a solitary if not lonely looking cottage (house ?)

The address and the name of the occupant were displayed on the front door and we were very naughty and joked that this must be Spanish for "Mosquito" and moved on quickly for fear of getting irritating "nibbles" or worse still Susan's wrath.

A grassy path led us to a part of the garden which had become a community wildflower garden.

Not many photos as it began to rain quite steadily at this point.

From the garden we could see a large house made of brick. Something of an anachronism as the rest of the village was mostly stone. As we left the church grounds we took a look at the big house but had no idea why it was so large and different.

Back to our walk of discovery. As we searched for a cafe we passed this solid looking building which served as the Town Hall. (Town's Hall ?) In later years it became a butchers shop. JW who has long associations with Chipping could remember it quite well in it's butcher days.

The once famous "Cobblestone Corner Cafe" was closed on Thursdays ( How many times has that happened to us ?)😕😠

There was , however, an equally prestigious cafe only a few yards away.

At the door of the cafe was an instruction . We followed it but wasn't too difficult.

The combined shop and now cafe have been trading continuously for.........

343 years

Gold medal stuff that !

After having an excellent Coffee and an equally refreshing tea we set off to explore more of this "Tardis" like village. We left by the back door passing a miniature garden and making use of the outdoor loo.

Here's Mike having just made use of the loo over which there was an amusing if rather "Bold" message. "Now wash your hands you dirty rogue" (or something similar)

Before visiting the Anglican church of St Bartholomews Danny suggested we further investigate the large brick house wich had intrigued us earlier in the morning

We speculated at random. The arched windows made it seem ecclesiastical.

Something to do with the church we surmised.

As we turned once again to the middle of the village an elderly woman and her companion stopped to chat (thought we'd never get away)

They told us two things of interest to us that Afternoon.

1. That the mystery large brick house was infact a replacement for the original Vicarage for the Anglican church of St Bartholomews

2. That the Catholic church was indeed open and our efforts to open the RIGHT hand door were of no avail. we had to push hard on the LEFT hand door.

.......and so in we went.

Leaving the "Papists" behind we now went to see the Anglicans.

Danny, nimble as ever, waited for us at the top of these rather daunting steps. They were not meant for ageing meanderthals, particularly when wet.

WELL HOW STUPID. I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE OF THE CHURCH 😖

This is a proper church.......with bell ringers

and a delightul flock of paper doves

The first church on this sight was during the 5th Century. Long gone.

The present one was built in the 13th Century and rebuilt in1450.

As with all old buildings there are always debates about dates.

In my humble opinion some minor parts of the church were rather anachronistic. in particular the modern light fittings (JW) ( No way are you 'umble-....... Big 'ed ) It was still, nevertheless, a uplifting to wander around and read many of the enlightening inscriptions.

OUR VISIT WAS COMING TO AN END

But before leaving the village we climbed into the car to follow John's wish to return to his childhood and "Feed the Ducks"

We drove north out of the village passing "Berry's Chairworks and "Tweedy's Foundry" Both now defunct. As we drove Danny told us that Barbara and himself had a couple of Berry's chairs when they were younger. John also said he had a Berry's chair. Here it is.