The tiny Hertfordshire village of Ayot St Lawrence is hidden away in the depths of the countryside, though only an hour or so away from the middle of London.

Shaw wrote that it was a 'twelfth-century village where the last thing of real importance that had happened was, perhaps, the Flood'. There are several suggested meanings for 'ayot': the most logical is that it means a 'gap' or an 'island' and even these days, when it rains heavily over the winter and the single-track approach roads flood, it still maintains that feeling.

The village has one ancient pub, the Brocket Arms, two churches and about 50 houses. It reached its population peak in the mid-nineteenth century, with about 150 people.

It has seen various famous inhabitants, including Douglas Fairbanks and the golfer Nick Faldo, but when Shaw arrived here in 1906, he was most definitely seen as an outsider. The Shaws had been living in the area, 'in the agonies of house-hunting', and, in the churchyard of the New Church, they came across a tombstone dedicated to 'Mary Ann South. Born 1825. Died 1895. Her time was short'. The Shaws felt that if 70 years was considered short here, then it would be a good place to settle.

At the same time, the New Rectory, built in 1902, was put up for lease by the Church of England, which had decided that its 10-bedroom accommodation was too large for a parish of only around 100 people.