Village History

Littleton Drew is a small linear isolated village north of the M4 and west of the Fossway. It dates from before the Norman Conquest, being known at that time simply as "Litle Tun" (little farm). From the 13th Century it became known as Littleton Dru, Walter Driwe Dreu having held the manor from about 1220.

The axis of the village runs roughly North-South and is less than half a mile long. The building materials being predominately local rubble stone. The village could perhaps be described as having two parts, pivoting around the church and the vicarage.

The southern part consists of Townsend Farm, with some other barns and cottages. There has also been some modern `infill' development between this part and the church, severing the links this area had with the rest of the village. The core of the village is to the north, with many smaller cottages gathering around Manor Farm and its outbuildings. A small bungalow development has been built on the west of the lane between Manor Farm and the church, but is partially screened by trees. It is the northern part of the village that still retains a `sense of place'; the long high rubble stone wall lining the western side of the village street draws the traveller northward towards the constricted narrow gap between Rose Cottage and Ivy Cottage. Manor Farm and some cottages create an open triangular form to the west of the road, with open fields to the north and east. The Conservation Area, designated on 19th March 1991, is focussed on the northern part of the village, extending south to include the church, which, as in many English villages, is both a `spiritual' and `visual' focal point.