_____________________________________________________________________
General
Chearsley is an unspoilt village of timber-framed cottages on the banks of the Thame. Its name is derived from a personal name Ceolred or Cheored and the word leah meaning a clearing, thus ‘Ceolred's clearing’. At this time, the ninth century, the area consisted of a scattered community of small farmsteads. By the time of the Domesday Survey there were about fifty inhabitants living in the area known as Cerleslai. Later the village grew to the north and east of the church of St Nicholas which remains as a simple parish church as there was no Lord of the Manor to embellish it.
_____________________________________________________________________
Farthing Cottage
In Watts Green, Chearsley there stand two cottages, Farthing and Regency. Of the two cottages Farthing is the older with wattle and daub walls whilst Regency is brick built. It is in Farthing Cottage that the ghost named Old George is said to roam. The cottage was lived in by a woman owner from just before the Second World War until 1958 and she had numerous experiences due to George. Eventually it became too much for the owner and she had the cottage exorcised, after which George would simply move objects around.
Later the cottage was owned by Mrs. Lee who lived there with her daughter. When they were in residence the kitchen window would open by itself during the night which went on for several nights in a row. About every six weeks the thick and heavy cellar door would open by itself with a creak. At that time car keys would also vanish then appear later.
Regency Cottage next door was occupied by Barbara and Stanley Green and they were able to confirm what was going on as they had some experiences themselves. Mrs. Green heard footsteps descending the stairs when the cottage was empty and she once left a neat pile of books only to return later to find them lying in a heap. The only sighting seems to have been made by the Green’s six year old son when he accidentally went into Farthing Cottage, as the door was open, to find a white haired man wearing a white suit sitting at a table counting money.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
_____________________________________________________________________
Local Cottage
Around 1980 the daughter of a couple living in a cottage in Chearsley started having bad dreams. These involved flames and a little girl. It wasn’t until later that they were told that a little girl had died in that room. The information was relayed by Mrs. Phyllis Austin who was the sister of the girl who had died.
At the time of her death the girl was seven years of age and had been left in the care of her sisters and a local woman, whilst her parents went out for the evening. It seems that when the woman was putting the girl to bed she playfully swung her around but she was so near the fire that the girl’s night-dress caught fire. Realising what had happened the woman panicked and fled the room instead of putting out the fire. By the time she returned it was too late to save the young girl.
To view a map of the area click on the button below
|