Thatchers and Painters

As we drove down a narrow lane towards the village of Iwerne Courtney we spotted some thatchers at work so of course we did a u-turn and went back to have a better look and had a bit of a chat as well. One of them asked us where we were headed. "Iwerne (pronounced eye-werne) Courtney", I said. "You mean Iwerne (pronounced ewe-werne) Courtney", he said with a smile.

Iwere Courtney is also known as Shroton and we went there because Phil's ancestors, the Painters (or Paynters as they are known in Australia) lived there. They were agricultural labourers.

Every church we've looked has been spectacular and this was no exception. The huge stone fonts are a feature of each church and of course we imagine the children in our families being baptised. And I was very pleased to see a natural vegetation conservation policy in place in the churchyard.

John Painter and Sarah White were married in the next village, Child Okeford, and had four children before Sarah died. So we went to have a look at Child Okeford as well. John married again and the family moved to the Kyneton area of Victoria in 1855.