The rough piece of land opposite the Old Post Office is part of the Village Green and nowadays planted with wild flowers. Footpath 28 cuts across it towards Arford House, and this path was named The Brae by Brett Harte, a frequent visitor there. He was the American mining poet from California and also a writer of short stories about the gold diggings. Harte retired in 1885 and settled in England.
Hidden in the grass is the concrete slab on which stood the German Gun. There is now a bench there and you can still (almost) see the tablet that bears the words: “Captured from the Germans by the British Expeditionary Force in Italy in the Great War 1914–1918 and presented to the Parish of Headley through Lt.Col. G. Bonham RE”.
He was living at Kenton House. Ironically the gun was removed during the darkest days of the last War when we were at our lowest ebb for metal, and salvaged for munitions