| The beauty of the Aston Keynes lakes is owed to the construction
industry. At the beginning of the 20th Century, gravel extraction
began around the village for use in the new industry. In 1939,
there were just 14 acres of water in the surrounding countryside;
today, thanks to the extraction of 15 million tons of gravel,
there are 150 acres of lakes.
Though modern man has destroyed a lot of the countryside
to make room for the modern network of motorways that cover
the country, some benefit will be gained by people enjoying
the facilities of the Cotswold Water Park, and the lakes will
also provide a new habitat for the waterfowl.
The Thames can still be seen, flowing between the lakes and
it provides one of the villages best features as it runs past
the front of many houses. In fact many of the residents can
only reach the road by means of attractive bridges.
The river changes to a wide stream so that it provides a
lovely setting for Brook House, Ashton Mill and other fine
houses that intermingle with the smaller dwellings in Church
Lane. At the watersmeet of the Thames and a smaller brook
near the end of Church Walk can be found a small pool that
is bounded by attractive two-arched bridges, large trout can
be found here but outside of the pool the fish are much smaller
and to compensate for this one can find a sizeable flock of
ducks.
King Alfred donated the manor of Ashton Keynes to his daughter
Aelfgifu who was Abbess of Shaftesbury. And later a religious
community was founded on the site of the present farmhouse,
to the east of the present church. Church Farm is still surrounded
by a moat from this settlement while the church is encompassed
by a bank and ditch, also from the same period. Four ancient
stone crosses can be found in the village, and one of these
can be found in the churchyard. These are one of the villages
notable landmarks. The tops of the four crosses were broken
during the Civil War but the one in the churchyard has been
restored and was dedicated as a war memorial in 1917. The
other three crosses can be found at the end of Church Walk
and by The White Hart public house and by Smith's shop. The
church porch also houses a parish map of 1924 with all the
names of the now ravaged fields marked. |
