Piddle, Puddle or Trent? #1

A couple of years ago I used a roll of Kodak Ektachrome as I had a “photo day out” and traced the course of the River Winterborne, here in Dorset. The idea stuck and last year I traced the “Tarrants” (the small villages along the River Tarrant. Both of those you can catch up on, indexed here!

This year it’s the turn of the River Piddle. Alton Pancras in Dorset is small, last count about 175 residents. It has only one public building that I could see and that is St Pancras Church, and even then I wondered if it was private as it seemed to be part of a farm! You can see from the map (left) that apart from a few yards on private farmland, it marks the source of the river.

The land here is like a bowl, as can be seen from the first photo. It’s a catchment area that feeds the river. “Alton” is old English for “Settlement at the source of a river”! This river however can’t make up it’s mind what it’s called. Along it’s length it’s name changes from Piddle to Puddle and/or then to Trent! To start with it’s Piddle!

St Pancras Church originates in the 15th Century but the only bit that dates from then is the tower and a small part of an arch. Most of what stands today was rebuilt in the latter half of the 19th century when it was nearly derelict.

An unusual survivor inside is in the darkness under the pews. Some wooden rails attached to the underside, forming a slot for gentlemen to store their Bowler hats during the service!

Out in the graveyard, strange fragment of ornate stonework is imbedded into the wall, I’m not sure if this is the “fragment of the Saxon original arch” that is mentioned or if that’s hidden inside – it certainly looks like it maybe. Just over the other side of the wall runs the fledgling river – I could hear it, but it’s buried in lush foliage!

Photographically this trip was an outing for my most often used combo, the Canon EOS 30 and the 40mm STM lens. I also took my 50mm f1.4 and a 24mm but didn’t use either. Film this time was Kodak Ektar. I had two rolls in the fridge to use up, and didn’t feel like paying out for another roll of Ektachrome or the more expensive and slower E6 processing (as nice a film as it is)!

In part two… cake!!!!