Hawling is described in Pevsner’s Architectural Guide as a rather bleak north Cotswold Hamlet, once much larger, given a civilised air by Georgian additions to the church, and especially the manor house, the latter faced in beautiful ashlar stone.

My edition is dated as revised 24 years ago, but even allowing for that the word bleak is not one I would use to describe this little place in the summer of 2024.

It may be that trees and shrubs have grown up to shelter the place, but the impression I get is one of cosiness and warmth. Almost the opposite of bleak. It seems the Manor house mentioned was built in about 1600 for the Stratford family, whose name reminded me of a memorable little chapel of ease in another hamlet, just a few miles away, Farmcote.

Here at Hawling there is a tablet in the church to one of them who seems to have succeeded at an early age to the family honours for he is described as Toparcha, in other words Lord of the Manor, and after four happy years profitably spent at Oxford was cut off by a fever in 1692 at the early age of twenty two.

The manor house is now clearly much loved and beautifully kept, as is clear from a glimpse through the gates from the road.

Facing the church are some very unusual elliptical windows, these inspired by an original window of similar shape in the gable of the north wing, and installed during a renovation in 1997 by Peter Yiangou Asociates, one of the nation’s leading country house architects, conveniently based in Cirencester.