What a great old church! I bet it has a ton of stories to tell if it could. There are a couple of bars near where I live that are called either the White Horse or the Red Horse. I think it is funny that those names seem to carry across the miles and ages. Very cool pictures and a very interesting write up of the architecture around your town. It's nice to see that at least for now it has maintained some of its character despite the proximity to London and the likelihood of commuters moving in.
It's not the prettiest village, but there's some interesting history. There are other villages around here that are very picturesque with lots of thatched cottages, but properties there can be very expensive. We have good transport links here, so it's easy to get to London or elsewhere
It's not always the prettiest things that have the best stories. :) I can imagine the aesthetics of the other places would probably drive the price up. I have a half hour commute to work each day, but it is because of where I live, not because of traffic. I'd go mad if I had a commute like some people do. Easy in and easy out is always preferable!