The cottages and the village life of rural England (1912) (14593264607)

Identifier: cu31924014023463 (find matches)
Title: The cottages and the village life of rural England
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Ditchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson), 1854-1930 Quinton, A.R
Subjects: Cottages Villages
Publisher: London, J.M. Dent & sons ltd. New York, E.P. Dutton & co.
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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walls of the cottage, and festoons ofgay-coloured paper hang from the ceilings, and the squiresservants hall is brightly decorated, and the village choir is expectedto visit the manor-house and sing some such strains as God bless the master of this house, And the good mistress too,And all the little children That about the table go.I wish you a merry Christmas, And a happy New Year,A good fat pig in the larder To last you all the year. Yes, the old holly-tree has some very happy associations. Maythey never die away ! And as we walk up the little path andenjoy the scent of the roses and lilies and mignonette we approachthe porch. It is of rustic woodwork, and is covered with a mantlingvine. Cottage gardens preserve the tradition of the outdoor cul-ture of the vine, which formerly nourished throughout England.Most of our monasteries had vineyards, but perhaps it mighthave been regarded as a monkish penance to drink the wine thatwas made from the grapes grown in them. At Abingdon, in 96
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Cottage Garden, Selworthy, Somerset. LIFE OF RURAL ENGLAND Berkshire, where once a famous abbey stood, there is still a streetcalled the Vineyard, which marks the site of the precincts of themonastery where the monks grew their grapes. Some cottagescan boast of gigantic vines, but the grapes grown on them, savewhen an exceptionally bright summer comes, are seldom eatableand not very delectable. A good tart can be made of them, andthe villagers manufacture a species of grape wine which vies withthe various decoctions brewed by industrious housewives. Thereis a great variety of these beverages prepared from recipes handeddown from our grandmothers. There is a cowslip wine, a some-what sad liquid ; black-currant tea, or wine, as it is sometimescalled; elder wine or tea; and rhubarb wine, which is said to beequal to champagne when properly prepared. These are someof the contents of the countrymans cellar. But he prefers himselfhis glass of ale, or in the West Country his cider, to these f