Writer Wednesday: Why This Place?

A major element of any story is the setting, and in Taking the Gardener, the village of Pittlesburne is as important to the story as the characters themselves. The village itself is imaginary but its location is very real and very well known to me. The River Chess runs through a valley in Buckinghamshire, not nearly as far from London as the story suggests. My village lies on a ridge above the valley and as the river was once known as the Pittlesburne I gave this ancient name to the village itself.‘Pittlesburne’ has a long history. Although the houses and cottages along the high street are mostly 17th and 18th century, the oldest building is the church of All Saints dating from the late 14th century. The high street has the usual collection of private and commercial properties, but there are four notable buildings mentioned during the story.The most important of these is Glebe House, which is the guest house owned by Megan’s parents but managed by her. Eric lodges here during his stay, and Tom is living there too. This 17th century property has 6 bedrooms in the main house and on the ground floor there is a large sitting room with a dining area and a large kitchen with a farmhouse style dining table. There is a converted barn attached which is let out as a self-catering 3 bedroom cottage. All of this is set very traditionally behind tall, dense yew hedges surrounding a cottage style front garden with a gravel drive and parking area.To the rear of the house is a large lawned garden with herbaceous borders leading to a fruit orchard. Of course this garden is where Eric first catches sight of Tom tending the borders.The village also contains the usual pair of public houses. The Bricklayers Arms is owned and run by Megan’s parent’s and is known locally as ‘the brickies’. The other pub is The Green Dragon, or just ‘the Dragon’, and lies at the far end of the village.Finally, Tom’s parents live in the old 19th century Rectory set back behind the small village green, which is also where the town's water pump is located.The story contains mention of another nearby village called Felden, which is also a real place.The other prominent setting for the story is Eric’s home in London. I set the house itself in Richmond, West London. Although the house is fictional, Richmond - a town by the Thames with a famous deer park and high-value homes - is real enough.The central London locations in Soho, Bond Street and Piccadilly are all quite real too!