A Visitor’s Guide To Aldbury by Jean Davis (book review).
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received the booklet, ‘A Visitor’s Guide To Aldbury’, by Jean Davis. Evidently, the parish council intended to cater to tourists as far back as 1980, even though a quick Google search suggests nothing has been published since then.
When you take into account that the village center has been featured in ITV’s ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Champions’, along with 14 films, it’s surprising that they haven’t exploited this for publicity, or at least produced a booklet about it.
However, Aldbury is portrayed as a quaint, quiet village, implying a lack of enthusiasm for an influx of tourists. According to this book, the name “Aldbury” originates from ‘Aldeberie’, meaning ‘old fortified place’, although the illustrations don’t reflect this. Intriguingly, just four miles away in 1066, William the Conqueror defeated Harold to become the king of England.
The booklet offers a detailed account of the village and notable houses up until 1980. Considering it’s almost 43 years later, I would assume that ownership has significantly changed since then.
I regard this book as a curio, and I’m mostly mentioning it here in case you are considering buying a copy that appears on an internet auction site and are unsure whether it’s worth pursuing. While it makes for an interesting companion to Jean Davis’ other book, ‘Aldbury: The Open Village’, it’s not necessarily a must-read.
GF Willmetts
July 2023
(pub: Aldbury Parish Council, 1980. 18 page illustrated booklet. Price: varies. ISBN: 0-9501909-1-6)
