Two days south of Heathgate, sits the hamlet of Lonwell. The gateway to the downlands, Lonwell is the last hamlet north of Bedthorpe Downs whose livelihood does not depend on mining, processing, or sale of the chalk. As such it is a hamlet both typical and atypical. The whole of the manor’s land here is dedicated to agriculture, nary a cow nor sheep grazes near this small manor. The grain and produce here does not head to local market towns, however. Instead it is picked up by carters on their way south to the downlands, where it is sold or exchanged for chalk to be sent north throughout the country. As a result Lonwell is an enigmatic hamlet where folks know the business of the kingdom, welcome travelers and carters, yet never themselves see a need to travel outside the bounds of their parish.
The hamlet gets its name from a well of extraordinary length but negligible width – appearing more like a flooded ditch or culvert than a natural spring. Local tales hold that the ‘Long well’ is actually supplied by multiple springs – gifts from Lathiel god of freshwater – to support his faithful, and there may be some truth to it. In the dead of winter when most other wells in the area freeze over, Lonwell does not – yet in the summer it stays noticeably cool (although one local cynic says it’s most likely due to careful attention from the acolyte of Lathiel stationed at the church). As a result there is a curious church here dedicated to both the Earth Mother and Lathiel – the later having an extensive chapel in the transept which seems to have built in the mid-Gessian period. This is the only holy building with a dedicated space to Lathiel in the shire, and as such attracts some small amount of attention from pilgrims in the region, mostly on feast days.
The accommodations in Lonwell are little more than a hostel that caters to carters, merchants, and pilgrims. The White Centaur is dominated by a large common room with a bar and simple meals; there are three rooms in the back with straw mats for sleeping on. Owing to the carting traffic, Lonwell has an extensive paddock area and stables next to the White Centaur, for beasts of burden heading to or from the downlands.