Billesley is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Stratford district

Stratford-on-Avon (district)

Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district of southern Warwickshire in England.The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" to distinguish it from its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based, although this name often causes confusion .The district is mostly rural and...

 of Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, just off the A46 road

A46 road

The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...

, between Stratford

Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...

 and Alcester

Alcester

Alcester is an old market town of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 8 miles south of Redditch, close to the Worcestershire border...

. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 46.

The population of Billesley is divided into three categories: The Kirby family, The Mumfords, and the staff of the well-known Billesley Manor Hotel.
Billesley is mentioned in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

, and is so called because 'The Lea' belonged to Billesley. It had a population of about 150 at that time, but most of them were wiped out by the plague

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

. It has its own Church of All Saints

All Saints Church, Billesley

All Saints Church, Billesley, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Billesley, Warwickshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.-History:...

. Due to the small population of Billesley, it does not have services every week. Services are held on the first Sunday of each month when possible. The church is not registered for marriages and comes under the Parish of Wilmcote

Wilmcote

Wilmcote is a village and since 2004 a separate civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire, about north of Stratford-upon-Avon. Prior to 2004, it was part of the same parish as Aston Cantlow and the 2001 population for the whole being 1,674....

. Of particular interest to architectural historians

Architectural History

Architectural History is the main journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain .The journal is published each autumn. The architecture of the British Isles is a major theme of the journal, although it includes more general papers on the history of architecture. Member of...

 are the traditional closed family pews, as well as the miniature lofts; the church itself is a pocket gem of 18th century design. Billesley Manor has a key to the church, but they do not own the church. Billesley Manor itself was originally a private home and the manor's tenants owned more of the land than the house is set on now. The original owners are buried in the churchyard. Like many of the local churches, it is rumoured that William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

was a regular visitor, at least to the tiny churchyard that predates the later church.