Settlement - Village and Countryside

1. A village is a small settlement.

2. It is a collection of at least twenty buildings and usually has a church, as well as possibly a shop, post office, school and pub.

3. A hamlet is a rural settlement, even smaller than a village.

4. Hamlets usually consist of between three and twenty houses and have no church, pub, or shop.

5. The village green is the central point of many villages.

6. It is common land, which may be used for pastimes such as cricket, fetes and walking the dog.

7. In the past the land may have been used for grazing animals, whippings and the village stocks.

8. Every village needed water and many villages grew up around natural ponds because they provided a source of water.

9. Where there was neither a natural pond, nor a river, ponds were often dug and streams diverted to fill them.

10. Village ponds were used to provide drinking water for animals, and were often stocked with fish to provide food for the villagers.

11. The water from the ponds was also used for fire-fighting.

12. Willows grew on the sides of ponds and they could be used for basket making and thatching roofs.

13. Some villages have a village shop which may also be run as a post office, tea room or provide accommodation for visitors.

14. Many villages have lost their village shops, mainly due to car ownership and competition from large supermarkets.

15. Community shops are now becoming increasingly popular in villages, these are jointly owned and run by the villagers.

16. They provide essential groceries and a range of services.

17. They are staffed by volunteers from the village and are often open at more customer-friendly times.

18. Village churches used to be at the centre of the communities they served.

19. The church may still play an important role in village life by providing a venue for concerts, nativity plays and festivals.

20. Some church halls may be used for the village playgroup.

21. Village pubs also provide a focal point for village communities.

22. The pub that people visit the most is often called their ‘local’, usually because it is the closest one to their home.

23. Windmills and water mills can often be seen in rural areas.

24. In the past, most villages had a windmill to grind wheat, barley or oats.

25. Some windmills have been left in ruins.

26. Others have been renovated and restored to working condition, or to be used as homes.

27. Water mills used to be a very important part of country life, as many farmers brought their corn to them to be ground.

28. They were built by rivers and streams to take advantage of the energy provided by the river.