With St Joseph being the patron saint of carpenters, this was an apprpriate name for a carpenter's cottage. And such a name on the Pilgrim's Way must have reminded travellers of their faith, and of the fact that their journey was first and foremost an expression of that faith. Christ himself was a village carpenter, a fact which people remembered when he began his ministry. "Is not this the carpenter?" they asked in amazement, implying that greatness was scarcely likely to emerge from such a humble background, earning the stinging -- and oft-quoted rebuke -- from Jesus: "A prophet is not without honour but in his own country and among his own kin." (The "I knew his father" syndrome is obviousy nothing new). Despite this condescending attitude, carpenters in our own society have always been appreciated as skilled and useful members of the community. Not so long ago, every English village had its own carpenter, and the Lord of the Manor would also have employed a carpenter solely for work on his estate.