OLD-WORLD-VILLAGES.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 406, 13 April 1937, Page 3

OLD-WORLD-VILLAGES.

Vanishing Charm of England. London, April 6. The charming little village of Arkesden, in Essex, and many who know it and ever its old-Wrld beuu’ty are anxious about the fate of its thatched cottager, which add so much to its attractiveness. ■Under the very proper regulations of the Minister? of Health these cottages have to be inspected by the local medical officer and surveyor. It they are found to be unfit for habitation they must be Condemned, and it is feared that they will be replaced by modern red brick ones. , This kind of demolition is not confined to Arkesden. It is going on all over the country, and it means'-that the charm of the English village will soon disappear. At the same tltae one does riot wish to be sentimental about the problem. No agricultural labourer should be forced to live in a cottage quite unsuitabe for bringing up a. family. But if \here is any so l ciety or other means of. saving such old-world dwellings and putting them in order, then the problem should be more Widely ventilated and some suitable solution discussed.