Ullenhall
Encyclopedia
Ullenhall is a village
and civil parish
in the Stratford district
of Warwickshire
, England
, situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) West of Henley in Arden and 11.2 miles (18 km) West of the county town
of Warwick
. The name means Ulla's nook, the Old English word hahl, meaning a nook or corner of land, suggesting the hollow in which the village is situated, being compounded with a personal name of Scandinavian origin.
where it is listed as Holehale, one of the lands of Robert de Stafford
. "In Ferncombe Hundred in Holehale (Ullenhall) 1 hide
. Land for 15 ploughs. 17 villagers and 11 smallholders with 6 ploughs. Woodland ½ league long and 1 furlong wide. The value was and is £3 Waga held it." Waga, whose name is preserved in the nearby village of Wootton Wawen
, was one of the witness's to Earl Leofric's
, husband of Lady Godiva
, foundation of the monastery at Coventry during the first year of the reign of Edward the Confessor
(1042/3). His lands extended beyond those at Ullenhall, but, following the Conquest
, Ullenhall was bestowed by the conqueror on Robert de Stafford, descended from the de Tonei family and who had fought stoutly with Duke William against King Harold
. He made Stafford
his principal seat, where he had a strong castle and assumed his surname from thence.
Ullenhall stands on lands that were originally part of the Barrells Hall
estate. The earliest mention of Barrells was a reference to a Richard Barel in 1405. In 1554 the estate was purchased by Robert Knight of Beoley
, 4 miles west of Ullenhall, and remained in the Knight family until 1856. An inventory taken in 1652 shows that it was then an ordinary farmhouse, and a member of the Knight family appeared in the 1682 Heralds' Visitation of Warwick. The future 1st Earl, Robert Knight
, Lord Luxborough, purchased Barrells from a cousin in 1730. When Henrietta St John was banished to Barrells in 1736 it was still a relatively simple house, in very poor condition. When his son married in 1750 he commissioned the Italian architect Joseph Bonomi the Elder
to build an imposing extension, which thereafter became the main house. On Henrietta’s death in 1756 her husband rebuilt large parts of it.
His wife Henrietta, Lady Luxborough, made the house the hub of a literary circle after her husband banished her to Barrells following a romantic indiscretion. Lady Luxborough, was one of the first to establish a ferme ornée
and is credited with the invention of the word “shrubbery
”. She was a prominent member of "The Warwickshire Coterie", a group of poet friends including the poet William Shenstone
, who had developed his own ferme ornée at The Leasowes
in Halesowen
, Shropshire.
The family crest was a winged spur which gives its name to the village pub to this day. The Newtons owned the house after the Knights and extended it dramatically. However, the house was very seriously damaged by fire in 1933 and lay derelict until 2005 when it was restored as a family home.
Despite its ancient roots, Ullenhall was not established as a separate Ecclesiastical Parish until June 1861 when the old manors of Apsley, Forde Hall and Mockley were also included in the parish.
, whose current Member of Parliament is Nadhim Zahawi
of the Conservative Party
. It is included in the West Midlands
electoral region of the European Parliament and the six members are; Mike Nattrass
(UK Independence), Liz Lynne
,(Liberal Democrat), Malcolm Harbour
(Conservative), Michael Cashman
(Labour), Philip Bradbourn
OBE (Conservative) and Nicole Sinclaire
(UK Independence).
The modern church of St Mary is down in the village and was constructed in 1875 at a cost of £5,000 to an odd idosyncratic design by Seddon
in the Early English style by the three Newton brothers of Barrells Hall and Glencripesdale Estate
in memory of their parents William & Mary Newton.
A significant local landmark is The Crowley Oak which can be located just outside the village heading towards the A435. It has ancient oak status according to the Woodland Trust and with a girth of over seven metres, it certainly makes an impressive sight at the roadside.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
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...
, situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) West of Henley in Arden and 11.2 miles (18 km) West of the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
. The name means Ulla's nook, the Old English word hahl, meaning a nook or corner of land, suggesting the hollow in which the village is situated, being compounded with a personal name of Scandinavian origin.
History
The manor is recorded in the Domesday BookDomesday 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...
where it is listed as Holehale, one of the lands of Robert de Stafford
Robert de Stafford
Robert de Stafford was a Norman nobleman, the builder of Stafford Castle in England. He may or may not be the same as Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir or of the Robert de Tosny who was son of Raoul II of Tosny ; primary evidence is lacking to determine his parentage, according to Cawley...
. "In Ferncombe Hundred in Holehale (Ullenhall) 1 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
. Land for 15 ploughs. 17 villagers and 11 smallholders with 6 ploughs. Woodland ½ league long and 1 furlong wide. The value was and is £3 Waga held it." Waga, whose name is preserved in the nearby village of Wootton Wawen
Wootton Wawen
Wootton Wawen is a small village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The village is located on the A3400, from Birmingham, miles south of Henley-in-Arden and miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The soil is a strong clay and some arable crops are grown,...
, was one of the witness's to Earl Leofric's
Leofric, Earl of Mercia
Leofric was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.-Life and political influence:...
, husband of Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva
Godiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
, foundation of the monastery at Coventry during the first year of the reign of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
(1042/3). His lands extended beyond those at Ullenhall, but, following the Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, Ullenhall was bestowed by the conqueror on Robert de Stafford, descended from the de Tonei family and who had fought stoutly with Duke William against King Harold
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
. He made Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
his principal seat, where he had a strong castle and assumed his surname from thence.
Ullenhall stands on lands that were originally part of the Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall is a small stately home in the Warwickshire countyside near Henley-in-Arden. The nearest village is Ullenhall, which for many years was the estate village, large parts of it having been built by the owners of Barrells Hall, the Newtons of Glencripesdale Estate...
estate. The earliest mention of Barrells was a reference to a Richard Barel in 1405. In 1554 the estate was purchased by Robert Knight of Beoley
Beoley
Beoley is a village and civil parish just north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, and adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 945, most of whom live at Holt End...
, 4 miles west of Ullenhall, and remained in the Knight family until 1856. An inventory taken in 1652 shows that it was then an ordinary farmhouse, and a member of the Knight family appeared in the 1682 Heralds' Visitation of Warwick. The future 1st Earl, Robert Knight
Robert Knight, 1st Earl of Catherlough
Robert Knight, 1st Earl of Catherlough, KB, , was a Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby , Castle Rising, Norfolk and Milborne Port, Somerset . He...
, Lord Luxborough, purchased Barrells from a cousin in 1730. When Henrietta St John was banished to Barrells in 1736 it was still a relatively simple house, in very poor condition. When his son married in 1750 he commissioned the Italian architect Joseph Bonomi the Elder
Joseph Bonomi the Elder
Joseph Bonomi the Elder was an Italian architect and draughtsman notable for his activity in England.Born in Rome, he made his early reputation there, then moved to London in 1767....
to build an imposing extension, which thereafter became the main house. On Henrietta’s death in 1756 her husband rebuilt large parts of it.
His wife Henrietta, Lady Luxborough, made the house the hub of a literary circle after her husband banished her to Barrells following a romantic indiscretion. Lady Luxborough, was one of the first to establish a ferme ornée
Ferme ornée
The term ferme ornée as used in English garden history derives from Stephen Switzer's term for 'ornamented farm'. It describes a country estate laid out partly according to aesthetic principles and partly for farming. During the eighteenth century the original ferme ornée was Woburn Farm, made by...
and is credited with the invention of the word “shrubbery
Shrubbery
A shrubbery is a wide border to a garden where shrubs are thickly planted; or a similar larger area with a path winding through it. A shrubbery was a feature of 19th-century gardens in the English manner, with its origins in the gardenesque style of the early part of the century...
”. She was a prominent member of "The Warwickshire Coterie", a group of poet friends including the poet William Shenstone
William Shenstone
William Shenstone was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes.-Life:...
, who had developed his own ferme ornée at The Leasowes
The Leasowes
The Leasowes is a 57 hectare estate in Halesowen, historically in the county of Shropshire, England, comprising house and gardens....
in Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
, Shropshire.
The family crest was a winged spur which gives its name to the village pub to this day. The Newtons owned the house after the Knights and extended it dramatically. However, the house was very seriously damaged by fire in 1933 and lay derelict until 2005 when it was restored as a family home.
Despite its ancient roots, Ullenhall was not established as a separate Ecclesiastical Parish until June 1861 when the old manors of Apsley, Forde Hall and Mockley were also included in the parish.
Governance
Ullenhall is part of the Tanworth ward of Stratford on Avon District Council and represented by Councillors Peter Oakley and George Atkinson, Conservative. http://democracy.stratford.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1 Nationally it is part of Stratford-on-Avon (UK Parliament constituency)Stratford-on-Avon (UK Parliament constituency)
-By-elections:-Notes and references:...
, whose current Member of Parliament is Nadhim Zahawi
Nadhim Zahawi
Nadhim Zahawi is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, after the retirement of previous MP John Maples....
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. It is included in the West Midlands
West Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
West Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elected 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency will also elect a "virtual MEP" who will be able to sit in the Parliament if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect...
electoral region of the European Parliament and the six members are; Mike Nattrass
Mike Nattrass
Mike Nattrass is an English politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing the West Midlands constituency for the UK Independence Party , elected for the first time in June 2004 and re-elected in June 2009....
(UK Independence), Liz Lynne
Liz Lynne
Elizabeth Lynne, known as Liz Lynne, is a British politician, and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands for the Liberal Democrats since her election at the 1999 European election...
,(Liberal Democrat), Malcolm Harbour
Malcolm Harbour
Malcolm Harbour is a British politician. He is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands. He is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and the Chairman of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.-Motor industry:Malcolm Harbour was...
(Conservative), Michael Cashman
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...
(Labour), Philip Bradbourn
Philip Bradbourn
Philip Bradbourn OBE MEP is a British politician, and Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands, for the Conservative Party...
OBE (Conservative) and Nicole Sinclaire
Nikki Sinclaire
Nicole Sinclaire is a European politician from the United Kingdom and is a current MEP.Educated at the University of Canterbury graduating with a Bachelor of Laws qualification. Sinclaire has worked for Lloyds as a 'problem troubleshooter' was employed as a Gateway store manager and worked in...
(UK Independence).
Geography
The soil is clay, gravel, and marl and the subsoil keuper marl. The area of the ecclesiastical parish is 2,933 acres.Notable buildings
The village has two churches. Situated on a hill to the north of the village is the old parish church of St Marys which is locally referred to as the Chapel. The oldest part of the building has been dated back to the 13th century but only the chancel of the original building now remains, to which a western porch has been added. There remain some ancient stained glass in the windows and some encaustic tiles in the floor. The font, of the 15th century, has an octagonal bowl with a moulded lower edge, and a plain stem. In the bowl one of the two staples remains. The memorials are to the Knights of Barrells Hall and a coloured memorial to Sir Francis Throkmorton who died in 1554 The roof and bell tower were still under restoration at the turn of the 2000 millennium but at a service attended by 80 parishioners on the morning of 1 January 2000 the old bell was made to "ring in" the 21st Century by throwing Golf balls into the bell tower. The balls were recovered some years later when the restoration was completed.The modern church of St Mary is down in the village and was constructed in 1875 at a cost of £5,000 to an odd idosyncratic design by Seddon
John Pollard Seddon
John Pollard Seddon was an English architect.He was a pupil of Thomas Leverton Donaldson and C.F.A. Voysey trained under him....
in the Early English style by the three Newton brothers of Barrells Hall and Glencripesdale Estate
Glencripesdale Estate
Glencripesdale Estate is situated along the south side of Loch Sunart, a sea loch in the west highlands of Scotland.Today, the Isle of Càrna is the last remaining part of the once huge 35,000 acre deer forest and grousemoor based Glencripesdale Estate, which was bought in 1870 by the three Newton...
in memory of their parents William & Mary Newton.
A significant local landmark is The Crowley Oak which can be located just outside the village heading towards the A435. It has ancient oak status according to the Woodland Trust and with a girth of over seven metres, it certainly makes an impressive sight at the roadside.