North Marston Conservation Area NORTH MARSTON CONSERVATION AREA Designated 1st January 1972 The area defined for conservation comprises the north and eastern part of the old core of North Marston stretching from the village hall at the north western end of the High Street to the complex of buildings in School Hill and Church Street at the Oving end. Shelter FB Path Drain GRANBOROUGH ROAD Pond El Sub Sta ELMERS MEADOW Church Hill Farm Hall HILL FARM 111. 9m BM 112.35m 9 TCB North Marston MichaelmasCottage C of E School Townsend Shelter G (PH) The Bell 114.0m HIGH STREET orth Marston St Mary’s Church 123.7m SCHOOL HILL 124.4m 125.9m Glebe BM 116.52m 24a House Manor Farm 118.0m Mulberry House Pp The Granar The Old Forge Yew Tre e Bar n Glebe Farm 7a Holdens Cottage 2a CHURCH STREET 115.2m Oak Midsummer Vicarage El SubSta Pond Church CLOSE Schorne Pump Well Leys Cottage Spring (Well) MORTON LANE Burnaby Farm SCHORNE Not to a recognised scale © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Aylesbury Vale District Council. 114.6m Licence No 100019797 2008 S he 1 North Marston Conservation Area The southern side of the High Street, although attractive in summer, lacks the quality in its individual buildings (or in their group effect) that would make it of the standard to be included in the conservation area. The village has great variety of density, building date and of materials. There are some framed cottages but very little thatch remains; there is some Georgian red brick but far more Victorian. There are terrace houses north of the green and on School Hill but elsewhere the houses are spaced out in gardens. Overall 2 storey red brick and plain tile predominate. In its original form, North Marston was a linear village with a nucleus of buildings grouped around the church at the south-eastern end but later developments which have taken place at either end of the main street have changed this basic form. St. Mary’s Church, a very fine mainly perpendicular building, tops a hillock approached either by the confinement of School Hill with white painted and brick cottages abutting the steep roadway, or by Church Street where many of the cottages and houses are elevated on a dais of sloping green falling to the road enhancing the setting. The descending curve of Church Street is visually contained by a pleasant 17th century house behind which is an attractive group of black boarded barns with interesting roofs. Opposite the church and closing the view uphill, is the angular symmetry of Glebe Farm, pleasantly framed by trees through which the Oving Hills are seen in the distance. The High Street is bordered to the north-east by the long, narrow village green. The area is well enclosed, the southern end being particularly well defined by the close pattern of buildings, but as one moves along the street towards Granborough, the siting of buildings tends to be more open. Although many of the buildings are not individually outstanding from an architectural point of view, in total they form a harmonious group giving the village identity and a pleasant centre. An unusual feature which has occurred over the years is the enclosure of parts of the green with small hedges. Many houses in this part are said to have been destroyed by fire in 1700 which could perhaps help to explain the mixture of building styles which are found and also the diverse pattern of buildings. The two sides of the High Street are quite different in character and this is emphasised by the central dividing green space. The north and sunny side is compact and has the more definite outline; here the 18th century “Bell Inn” with its tanned brick façade is built directly on to the street with no frontal camouflage. Domestic and forthright, other buildings descend gently towards the village Hall with small embracing front gardens, walled or fenced right on to the narrow access road. A visible backcloth of trees hint at the rising ground behind leading up to a small ridge. On the southern side buildings are laid out in a more open pattern set back from the main village street behind a thin curtain of small trees and shrubs and at certain points the Quainton Hills can be seen as a backcloth. The architecture is not outstanding, and though the properties are pleasant with rambling front gardens they fall short of conservation standard. The contrast between north and south could well be retained, however. 2 North Marston Conservation Area At the north-western and thatch still caps the former “Wheatsheaf Inn”, now a pink washed cottage nestling in a quiet enclosed space where the road branches off to Hogshaw. The rather pleasant village hall (1923) effectively closes the view and becomes an important terminal building at this end of the High Street. Visually blocking the other end, and at present standing empty is the old tailor’s shop with its original shop windows still intact. The building occupies a very prominent position both on entering and leaving the centre and, together with the adjoining properties, contributes considerably to the character of the area. However, it needs rapid reclamation as it is in danger of real dereliction. The south eastern extremity of the conservation area, at Schorne Lane, has been included in order to encompass the historic well mentioned in paragraph 26. Some of the buildings nearby, whilst not of sufficient architectural merit to include normally in a conservation area, have been here in view of the importance of their position in relation to the well. The parish church is included in the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and 3 others are on the Supplementary List (and also the old Wheatsheaf Inn in Quainton Road which is just outside the area). These are all indicated on Map V.39 Historically, mention must be made of John Schorne who was rector of North Marston from 1290 until his death in 1314, and during his time there, became renowned for his great piety and miraculous power. His blessing of a local spring or well is claimed to have endowed the water with miraculous healing powers, and the water was used for this purpose for centuries. Indeed, until fairly recently the well was one of the main sources of water for the village and is supposed to have had particularly beneficial effects in respect of many ailments. This well which is still intact is situated near the methodist` chapel and is thought to be the only holy well remaining in the county. The act for which John Schorne is probably most remembered is the peculiar one of having imprisoned the devil in a boot. December 2008 Paragraph 26 is the final paragraph and the map V39 can be seen in the complete printed document 3.