We could, when we eventually found it, be forgiven for having missed the tiny hamlet of Horsenden. Accessed via a sharp turn-off and a narrow lane that leads only into the village, you would miss it even if you blinked. The lane leads between fields and woodland, passing a mere handful of picturesque cottages, until you arrive at a place where the stream that runs beside the road widens into a small pond. You can park here, beneath the trees and opposite the gates to both the church and the manor stables.

A glimpse of the manor house from the churchyard

Although we were here to track down the church, it turned out that there was an awful lot to learn about this rural hamlet before we even left the car. For a start, it stands close to the Icknield Way, one of the four medieval highways of Britain, but…