Rickmansworth church and more local animals

There was a sandwich board outside the door to the church of St Mary the Virgin, Rickmansworth inviting you to enter.  Seizing the opportunity I spent 30 minutes wandering around the interior.

There was a plaque on one wall that mentioned the church had electric lighting installed in 1922 paid from the bequest of a local parishioner.  There has been a church here since 1270AD.  But not this church!  I almost felt cheated upon reading this church was constructed on the site in 1888.  It’s only 125 years old! Moreover the tower and vestry were extensively refurbished in 1999.  Some of the surrounding buildings look older.

I think the above building might be the old vicarage and if so; parts of it date back to 1470AD.  The old town centre and High Street remain but once beyond the immediate vicinity the remainder of the town looks bland and modern.

Looking back down Church Street towards the canal

One thing I remember from the three years I spent in England as a small boy was the difference in shop awnings compared to NZ.  In NZ shops have a permanent flat veranda over the footpath which provides shelter from both sun and rain.  In England all the shops had a retractable canvas awning which was frequently not deployed leaving passing shoppers to get wet.  I happened to notice the WH Smith outlet in Rickmansworth appeared to have one of these retractable awnings.  You can see the folding iron support arms in the photo below.

A large amount of gravel was extracted from the areas surrounding the town and these disused pits have been converted to parklands or anglers reserves. 

It was in one of these parks that I discovered another two local animals.

What a good idea to encourage children to keep the park tidy.