Simple pleasures in life often come unexpectedly. Easter weekend here in southeast England has been glorious, warm and sunny, with clear blue skies and a fresh, gentle breeze. It’s the sort of weekend when it would be sacrilege to stay at home.
What better, then, than a pub lunch somewhere out in the verdant counties west of London. But where? Attractive country pubs aren’t exactly thin on the ground; the problem is finding one that offers good food and a traditional atmosphere. It’s a perennial concern because, frankly, we are spoiled for choice.
Goring
I ran my brain through the database of “places I know” in nearby Surrey, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire. Would it be that little village near the Silent Pool (where it was once feared Agatha Christie had drowned) in the Surrey Hills? Or a pub in the much nearer Chalfont St Peter in Bucks? But then there was that lovely hostelry in Goring, Berks…
Ah, Goring… While the grey cells were still computing, I was reminded of Macfilos author John Shingleton, now approaching an Australian winter in furthest New South Wales. A few years ago, John had sent me a map outlining his favourite road circuit in southern England. It’s a 42-mile trek from the aforementioned Goring to Henley-on-Thames, passing such delightful spots as Brightwell-cum-Sotwell and Britwell Salome.
For a time, this became the test track of choice for the new electric cars, the Jaguar I-Pace and the later Tesla Model 3. And John’s recommendation, even without breaking speed limits or taking to the wrong side of the road, is thoroughly commendable. So I fished out the map and noticed that the route pivoted on the village of Sutton Courteney, writ bold.
A pint, a pint, a kingdom for…
The map reminded me that during my trips I’d stopped at least twice for a pint or two at The George on the village green of Sutton. The perfect choice was made. Navigator set, we homed in on Sutton Courtenay and what we imagined would be a perfect lunch in the quaint bosom of The George.
Sutton was all that I remembered and all I expected. Ancient, quiet and inviting. A rather Midsomer Murdery sort of place, in fact. Sadly, though, lunch at The George was off. Bar snacks only, they said. So we moved on to the less ancient bar of the nearby Swan. But that’s not the story here; lunch was wholly incidental to what came next.
It was the postprandial stroll through the ancient main street of Sutton Courtenay that made the day for me. The village dates back to well before the Norman Conquest of 1066 and is stacked with medieval buildings of considerable note. Opposite The George (which is a pubby-come-lately sort of place, a mere 400 years old) stands Norman Hall, the oldest residence in Sutton.
Ancient halls
Norman Hall was erected in 1192 in the reign of Richard Lionheart. According to David Nash Ford’s Royal Berkshire History, it was the home of Robert Courtenay, a younger son of Henry II’s great companion Reginald Courtenay. Reginald had been granted the manor of Sutton in 1177 and, henceforth, Courtenay was added to the name of the village. So the Post Office must be used to it by now.
The Great Hall, which you see in the above picture, is of significant architectural and historic merit, with high rafters, a large open fireplace and wood panelling. It is said to be an exceptional space for entertaining, and I can believe it. Norman Hall (the main house lies behind the Great Hall) remains a private residence, set in nearly two acres and boasts a swimming pool, tennis court and a 50m frontage to the River Thames. Des res doesn’t become more des, even if the windows are a bit skew-whiff.
But it was across the road from Norman Hall that we had the big surprise of the day. Here, next to The George and the old Manor House, lies the 12th Century church of All Saints. It’s a handsome old pile featuring rather eclectic architecture, most noticeable in the unusual brick-built south porch, which dates to Tudor times. The annexe has stood the test of time for over 500 years, but who thought a brick outpost to a stone Gothic church would be appropriate in the first place?
Yet if you can drag yourself away from the Gothic splendour of the interior, taking a last glimpse of that 900-year-old font, it’s outside in the churchyard where the main interest lies.
Here lies buried…
For such a small community, Sutton Courtenay is the final resting place of several national figures, including a wartime prime minister and an author of international renown. The PM was the Liberal H.H.(Herbert) Asquith, who took Britain into the First World War and who was ousted in 1916 by his fellow Liberal, David Lloyd George. All these connections came as a surprise to me, so further investigation was warranted.
Asquith’s rather unpretentious grave at All Saints testifies to his abiding love of this village. As a Prime Minister of renown, he had earned a place in Westminster Abbey but chose to remain close to the place he had made home.
Not so with the world-famous author, though. He left a request to be buried in a country churchyard near to wherever he happened to die. Yet, he died in London, where there are no suitable country churchyards. So the author’s publisher, one David Astor, found him a plot in the south-eastern corner of the Sutton Courtenay churchyard.

David Astor, who died 50 years later, now lies some ten feet to the west of the well-known author who, by pure chance, has found peace in a quintessential English village. Far from the gritty subject matter of most of his books.
The road to Sutton Courtenay
And who is this world-famous author? According to the gravestone, he is Eric Arthur Blair. But if you put two and two together you might get 1984. Does the moth-eaten and rather damp paperback copy of Animal Farm, nestling at the base of the stone, offer a clue?
Who hasn’t heard of George Orwell? Oddly, considering his desire for burial in an English country churchyard, he was an atheist. Yet, he had a strong regard for the social and civic life of the Church of England (as do many atheists I know; those hymns are stirring) and was even a regular partaker of Communion. Somehow, with his affinity for the established church, he couldn’t have chosen better than Sutton Courtenay for a tranquil future.
Driving home along the M4 motorway, pestered by average-speed cameras and admonishments not to do this, that or the other (or else), I couldn’t help but feel that 1984 is here and now. Big Brother is definitely watching our every move; it’s just that he came 40 years too late to meet Orwell’s pessimistic deadline.
PS… A touch of colour
If you absolutely hate black-and-white conversions, or even native Monochrom photographs, here’s a selection of out-of-camera JPGs from this article to assuage your fevered brow…
Photographs used in the article from the Leica M11 and the Leica Summaron-M f/5.6, mostly at a fixed focus of 2m and an all-encompassing f/11
A cup of coffee works wonders in supporting Macfilos
Did you know that Macfilos is run by a dedicated team of volunteers? We rely on donations to help pay our running costs. And even the cost of a cup of coffee will do wonders for our energy levels.
Hey Mike, Nice article and photos! I am no WordPress expert but a quick search of their support pages and I found this… https://wordpress.org/support/topic/stop-wordpress-compressing-images-quality-is-terrible/
It looks like the default settings for most WordPress theme’s cause original images to be recreated at a smaller size and lower resolution. There appears to be a work around in the PHP program if you have access to the back end of the site and the theme. There also seems to be some plugins that override the WP settings.
It is interesting that your B+W images (1624×1080) are set at a different resolution than your color images (1024×681)-anyway, take a look at the link. Hope it helps.
Many thanks for this, Mark. I am even less of a WordPress expert than you, but I will read the article and see if I can work something out. The reason for the difference between the colour and B&W images, I feel sure, is that the conversions were done in Silver Efex Pro. It’s a matter of export settings and, again, something I need to look at carefully. Over the years I’ve tended to just upload pictures and they have generally turned out well.
However, Jörg-Peter Rau, whose articles appear both in Macfilos and the German Messsucherwelt, mentioned some months ago that the same images were rendered much better on Messsucherwelt than on Macfilos. So we can conclude, as you suggest, that some settings are incorrect. What I need is a Macfilos reader, a keen Leica user, who is also an expert in WordPress and would be prepared to devote a few hours of spare time to put us on the right path. We have no money, of course, and Macfilos is a labour of love (in fact, it costs me a couple of thousand a year to keep it going). Hope lives on…
Hi Mke, I was working on an article that was monochrome but it seems that I am pretending to be competent….maybe I should seek a different audience.
By the way, if I do not “appreciate” someone’s images I do not criticize. Style is a personal thing and is anyone perfect for everyone? I do not understand or appreciate Picaso but I do not pee on his “art”. My personal view, if I do not like something I move on and do not spend a lot of energy and words on peeing on someone else. If one does this, you are trying to make yourself feel better to compensate for your personal perception.
Nice article Mike, bit depressing to see that Eric Arthur Blair was only 46 when he died-I may be under-achieving!
I used to live in Oxfordshire and I do miss that part of the world. If the landscape and history of that area appeal then I highly recommend Denis and Priscilla Waugh’s book ‘Searching the Thames’, beautiful large format photography (in colour, although I love b&w as well) by Denis and a text of historical interest about each place he photographed along the Thames by Priscilla. It’s one of my favourite photo books and well worth a look if you can find a copy. Cheers!
Good tip, thank you Patrick. I will add it to my list. It’s surprising how many high achievers died young. Perhaps the most worrying example is Mozart who did quite a bit before he died at 35. I too feel I’ve underachieved just a tad!
Aye, that’d be canny!
Mike, Sorry think I ‘clicked’ in the wrong place! The response was aimed at Farhiz. I’ve visited most – but not all – of the places mentioned, and would welcome sight of the sites!
Ah, I understand. Should we ask Farhiz to dust off his records and put a Scottish tour into words and pictures?
Can we see the pics?
Sorry, Roger, I’m a bit lost on this and probably being dense… can you explain?
Your English countryside is something else. My wife and I had made a road trip in a little Ford Ka in 2007 from Edinburgh through the Scottish Highlands, stopping over at Inverness, Nairn, Tain, Dornach, Loch Ness, Ullapool, Lochinver, Kinlochewe, Applecross, Plockton, Portree, Staffin, Skye, Dunvegan and some others. All photographed in colour. (Sorry, couldn’t help adding. :-))
English countryside! Stand by for blasting from north of the border…
Haha. I referred to the English countryside in your article!
I know… I was pulling your leg. English people will find it funny, Scots perhaps less so! But I know what you mean…
I’m totally with David B on this. Come on folks what’s going on with all this B&W nonsense.? Has the lack of sunshine and hence vitamin D warped your judgement during the long northern winter?
There is a place for B&W but it’s a small place-and I even go there but very infrequently. The photos of the glorious Chilterns just look so dreary and gloomy in B&W and it’s certainly not how I remember them and if was I would not have prompted Mike to drive one of my favourite English drive routes.
Gravestones in B&W -give me a break.
I say enough of this gloomy B&W chatter let’s get back to what modern photography is all about -great colour photos.
It’s about being invited to make a choice or not
Hi Mike,
A nice treat. I always wait to look at monochrome articles on my computer as a “smart” phone does not do them justice. Your b&w images have a timeless quality that I keep going back to enjoy. Colour has its place but often is a fleeting pleasure as in this set of images – for me.
Cheers
Brian
I am in the UK for a short visit and funnily enough had a delightful lunch at the Fox and Hounds in Christmas Common yesterday (very close to your route) but didn’t bump into any graves of famous people. Lovely part of the world.
Glad to hear you are enjoying your visit, Tom. Mike.
Hi Mike – thanks for an uplifting article, and some great photos! The color shots emphasize how architecturally jarring that brick entrance porch is. I suppose there was no local planning authority or historical preservation organization around at the time to protest or issue a cease and desist order. If it had been a stand-along building I suspect we would view the brick porch as a very attractive example of period architecture. Thanks again! Keith
I really didn’t want to see the color photos ! My inner eye had been completely converted to B&W and its wholly appropriate tones for what you were photographing! I even felt a bit let down to learn they had started life in colour. Thanks for sharing your treat.
The colour photos I call the David B gallery… just for him.
Agree. A bad habit of digital times. Seriously thinking shooting just jpeg for b&w
John, if your inner eye has completely converted to B&W I suggest you see a doctor as soon as as possible as driving may be dangerous.
John
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. …
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Only temporary, John, for Macfilos purposes. Remarkably, my eyes (both of them!) see colour when driving……….
An enjoyable read and set of images Michael. The simple single location provided you with thoughtful opportunities.
The diversity of including both b&w and colour provides for both teams, as well as me sitting on the fence. Thanks.
The camera is mandatory! Either Q2 or CL + 11-23 + Sigma 56mm.
Thanks Mike – your article made me homesick for the things I no longer take for granted. My wife and I are hoping to come over in September for a wedding then to drive anti-clockwise around England with a trip to the Isle of Man. Covid cases and protocols and ticket prices rising alarmingly means the trip currently feels less than certain.
At least I can keep turning back to your photographs for a cheer up!
Glad to hear it has brought back memories. We are a long way from getting back to normal in travel. However, Covid seems to be taking a back seat here, at least. Since the Ukraine business, the media has lost its obsession with Covid and it is tempting to believe that it is all over. I do hope your trip is possible and thoroughly enjoyable. Bring a camera!
Woncerful article and images. I must admit I prefer the colour version with the glorious greens of spring in the countryside.
Thanks Jean. As I said to Dave, in almost every case the choice has to be made, one or the other. I prefer the monochrome but that’s a personal preference and I wouldn’t try to impose my views. Mike
Reminds me of the time I was poking around the Forest of Fontainebleau near Paris and came across a cemetery in Chailly en brie that held the remains of half the Barbizon painters.
A nice article, and recommendation – I am now wondering if I should run the van around this route one weekend for something different to do. Be a little slower than the Tesla I suspect, but then life in a van is always a little slower and more serene.
I like the Black & White images and approve of them too, but in the interest of more image diversity glad to see you included some colour ones to keep the restless natives happy.🤣
Thanks, Dave. It is a nice part of the world to explore. The colour images were an afterthought but only appropriate in this instance. Roderick’s article was a wholly different kettle of fish. Good B&W images stand on their merits and trying to offer both would be a mistake.
Nice story and pictures, Mike. The British countryside is really lovely, and your black and White conversion really gives it an aura!
Thank you, Andrea. Your comment makes me look forward to another of your instalments from Italy. Anything doing?
Mike
Or crap happens, woke up snow on ground yesterday, that melted now tonight 6-8 inches Central NY North East getting clobbered. That was a nice trip see Macfilos better than school, did not know about Astor. Love the B/W.
That has a Talbot taste
Lovely story, Mike.
Every few years we have a boat ride ..rent a tripper boat and invite friends for an afternoon’s leisurely steam – yes, sometimes steam! – down, or up, the Thames, and last time – before Covid – it was a wonderful lazy afternoon’s potter downstream from quaint and ancient Goring to Henley-on-Thames.
The scenery’s wonderful – it’s nothing like the M4 motorway! – it’s peaceful, dreamy, we have a glass of this or that, have a bite to eat, and then a few slices of scrumptious cake as the scenery – and swans – goes gliding slowly by.
Heartily recommended. Boats may be hired from Salter’s Steamers at Oxford.
P.S: Phew – colour at last!
That sounds wonderful, David. It wouldn’t take much to beat the M4 for scenery, but I can well imagine the view from the Thames. Looking at John’s map, I noticed how the Thames wends its way north from Goring and then twists round to skirt Sutton Courtenay. Strangely, I have never seen the river on my several visits to Sutton, so I need to make another trip and walk a few yards further.
It’s gorgeous!
Three men in a boat came to my mind!
Ah! I hadn’t thought of that, but you have a point. I need to explore that river front in my next visit.
Hi David
That sounds like wonderfully good fun –
. . . and as an aside to something you posted elsewhere:
“And I think – you may disagree, and so may Rod – that if you shoot in black-&-white people are, to a great extent, predisposed to believe that your photos are terrific, because people confuse – to my mind – b&w with some kind of ‘authenticity’, and ‘tradition’, and ‘knowing what you’re doing’ ..so you’re ‘ahead of the curve’, so to speak, in the popularity stakes if you take what are perceived to be ‘serious’ black-&-white photos. You are a respectable – and to be respected – photographer if you shoot in black-&-white.
(But I think that’s a load of hooey, and you can be just as ‘serious’, just as ‘accomplished’, whatever medium you use, b&w or colour.)”
I do really agree with this – on all points. Personally I like to mix it up (mostly colour) – I also think that Mike has done a good thing here – shooting in black and white, but showing them in colour as well (I tend to do this the other way around with wedding photographs).
But your point that some with some people you get a ‘head start’ in terms of credibility if you shoot black and white seems undeniable (and unfortunate).
All the best
Jono
Thanks for the mention in despatches, Jonathan.
As it happens, I’ve hit a problem with this particular post. Wayne Gerlach pointed out that some of the photographs were not as sharp as they should be. Sure enough, when I checked, I found this to be the case; the resolution is all to pot. It is noticeable on using the Lightbox, either for the B&W or colour shots. There is one particular image of the church where the small warning plaque or sign is decidedly low resolution. If you wish I can send you a link to the images for comparison purposes.
At first I thought I was going to have to eat my words over the wonders of zone focus and the f/5.6 Summaron. But no, when I checked the Lightroom output (and the Silver Efex Pro conversions) the resolution is good and the sign is perfectly readable when enlarged. Clearly something has gone wrong during the upload process to WordPress and I’m at a loss to find out why. As far as I know, this is the first time this has happened, but I’m worried that it’s going to happen again.
If you or David have any ideas of what might be going on, I’d be glad of assistance. I’ve spoken with the hosting company and they confirm that they have made no changes to the permitted upload resolution, so that’s a complete red herring. Help!
The only unusual aspect of these particular images from Sutton Courtenay was that they were shot at maximum JPG size. By chance I’d deselected DNG my mistake, so had to work with the JPGs. I cannot think that this would have any bearing, however it’s worth mentioning.
Mike
Darn it ..I’d – reluctantly – written a long piece describing what seems to have happened to these photos, but in jumping back and forth between that and enlarged copies of the pictures themselves, all that text seems to have got lost.
In brief: too much re-editing and re-saving of jpegs knocks down their resolution, because re-saving jpegs involves more ‘compression’ ..that’s to say the throwing away of detail ..which, supposedly, won’t be noticed. It won’t be noticed the first time, but re-saving and re-sizing and re-saving can really knock down the resolution, as Wayne’s noticed.
(I wrote, too, a lot about the change here from colour to b&w, or rather, to this grey&grey, which appears to have included lightening shadows and so reducing contrast, but I won’t go into that again now.)
I say “reluctantly”, as I’d decided this morning that I’d retire from commenting in Macfilos, as I just don’t think it’s worth the thought, trouble or effort, although Jonathan’s comment, above, and your request, Mike, for help has ..just this one time.. lured me back.
But for the most part, it seems to me, that what I write is of little or no use or help to anyone, and that what people want is just ‘praise’, rather than considered thought or opinion. So I think I’ll just stop. Byeee.
Thanks, David. You point about jpegs is interesting, although there appears to be nothing wrong with the images I uploaded. There seems to be a problem with the way in which WordPress, the theme or a specific plug-in alters the files. More investigation on my part is needed.
Sorry to read that you have decided not to comment again. Obviously we will miss you and I am personally grateful for your help and support over the years. I hope you can reconsider.
Hi David, I hope you will reconsider. I for one have appreciated your unvarnished perspectives on camera gear, photographs and life in general. Mike will soon be posting a gear review article I put together, inspired by your recent comparison of cameras, lenses and sensor sizes. Mine uses local Californian scenes rather than British pub signs, but the objective is the same – how well do cameras and lenses from different manufacturers perform in the real world. I was really looking forward to you tearing into my analysis and conclusions, no holds barred! All the best, Keith
Hi There David
Please do reconsider – you’re posts generate debate, and that’s always a good thing – It would be terrible if we always agreed with each other!
All the best
Jonathan
I refuse to believe this. Perhaps an upcoming article might induce you to mention a few words or more. I’m working on it. The articles are almost at the finish line. Writing doesn’t come easily to me if not done in an official or scientific manner.