Wootton Wawen
Encyclopedia
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
, 20 miles (32.2 km) from Birmingham
, 2 miles (3.2 km) miles south of Henley-in-Arden
and 6.65 miles (10.7 km) miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon
. The soil is a strong clay and some arable crops are grown, but the land is mainly in pasture. The common fields were inclosed in 1776, but some inclosures had already been made about 1623.
The scenery is attractive, the land being well wooded and undulating, rising from about 200 feet (61 m), in the south to 488 feet (148.7 m), in the north-west at College Farm, above Forde Hall. Near here is Mockley Wood, which, with May's Wood in the centre of the parish and Austy Wood near Edstone, is one of the larger blocks of woodland. The older part of the village straddling the A3400 is designated as a 'Conservation Area' because of its open, rural character and many fine, old buildings.
Wootton is first mentioned when Æthelbald, King of the Mercians, gave to the Earl Aethilric 20 hides
of land for a minster between the years 723 and 737. The first wooden church was built at Wootton as a direct result of this charter of land, (around 2,000 acres) on which to build a monastery or minster of St. Mary. The first church may have been burnt and pillaged by Viking invaders, but between about 970 and 1040, Wagen, an Anglo-Danish landowner, established the present church. This land was in the district of the Stoppingas
near to a river called 'Aeluuinnae', now known as Alne
.
The Domesday Book
records, "in Pathlow Hundred in Wotton (Wawen) 7 hides. Land for 9 ploughs. 23 villagers with a priest and 22 smallholders who have 6 ploughs. 2 mills at 11s and 8 sticks of eels; woodland 2 leagues long and one league wide. Value £4. Waga held it freely."
Waga 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 Wootton Wawen, but, following the Conquest
, Wootton 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.
Not long after the Norman conquest
he gave the church of Wootton with a hide of land nearby and another hide at 'Doversele' to the Benedictine
Abbey of St. Peter de Castellion of Conches
in Normandy which had been established in 1035 by his father, Roger de Tonei http://www.rebeccastafford.net/rogerdetoni.htm. They established a small alien priory here a prior and one monk constituted its community and the church was re-dedicated to St Peter in Chains. In 1398 Richard II gave the priory to the Carthusians at Coventry, but the grant was reversed soon after by Henry IV and the monks re-established. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
it was bestowed with all its possessions on 12 December 1443 upon the Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge, and on 30 November 1447 the Abbey of Conches released all title to the Priory to the college, in whose hands the manor still remains. No trace of the priory buildings remains but they stood between the churchyard and the ancient fishpool which lies near the Henley Road.
Despite being a small cell, life was not all peaceful. At the start of the reign of Edward I
, Peter de Altaribus was prior, His life was anything but creditable, and he became involved in a brawl which brought about the interference of the bishop. The circumstances are related with considerable detail in the episcopal registers of Bishop Gifford of Worcester. An inquisition was held at Warwick on Tuesday after Palm Sunday, 1281, to hear the dispute between Peter de Altaribus, and brother Roger his monk. William the vicar of Wootton, had been summoned to the priory to stop the brawl, and on arrival he met the prior coming out of the hall door whilst inside he found brother Roger sitting in a chair with his nose bleeding. The prior accused Roger of wounding himself in his nose with his own finger; whereas Roger claimed the prior had hit him on the nose, which was corroborated by others who added that Roger did not return the blow. The argument was over Peter's withdrawal of distributions to the poor, lack of hospitality, wasting the priory's goods, and drunkenness. Both were found guilty and excommunicated which after appeal they were absolved and recalled to the monastery of Conches, to receive punishment from their abbot. It is exceptional to find an alien priory subject to diocesan visitation, but this small priory was also visited by Bishop Giffard in 1269, 1284, and 1290.
Now the area is largely agricultural with many residents commuting to nearby cities for employment.
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).
work in the county and is the oldest church in Warwickshire, although much dates to later times. It comprises a chancel
with a South chapel, nave
, South aisle and on the North the tower embattled
and pinnacled. There are also North and South porches the east jamb of the south porch has several votive
crosses scored into it. The base of the tower and the first two stages are Saxon with four doorways, the top of the tower is 15th century as are the clerestory
, the nave battlements, the north doorway and porch, the middle arch of the arcade, the west window with busts of a king and queen and the east window with a leaf frieze The tower is the earliest part of the church, preserved in the middle despite restricting views of the chancel from the nave here, is the current site of the altar. The font is a plain octagonal bowl resting on eight sculptured heads similar to others in the county at Snitterfield
and Lapworth
whilst the old oak pulpit and choir screen is 15th century.
The church has a small chained library of 17th century theological works and some notable monumental brass
particularly the altar tomb of John Harewell and his wife Anna (1505). There is a ring
of six bells: the treble by Henry Bagley of Chacombe in 1742 (cracked and bolted with iron); the second of 1591 with an alphabet inscription (by Watts of Leicester
); the third by J. Rudhall of Gloucester
1803; the fourth of 1784 (probably also by a Rudhall); the fifth of 1761 by Thomas Rudhall (bound by an iron band around the inscription); and the tenor of 1719 by Richard Sanders of Bromsgrove
. All canons have been removed and replaced with bolted iron joists for ringing. The 16th-century oak frame with pits for three bells still exists: the posts have moulded corbelling at the tops and are strengthened by curved struts. It has been altered to take four bells, the treble and second being hung to the north of it. On, 31 December 2009 these bells rang in the New Year.
The vicar at the time of the Puritan Survei of the Ministrie in Warwickshire of 1586 was described thus mascall (John Mascall 1580-1642) vicar a precher thogh he be growen Idle negligent & slouthfull. a man defamed & of tainted life he hath two charges beside Wooton videlicet, Henley & Ownall (Ullenhall) he supplieth by his hirelinges : whereof one vpon a rumor of change of religion in mounsiers daies did shave his beard.(Indicative of a reversion to Catholicism
) Value xl yearlie.http://www.archive.org/stream/publicationsdugd10dugduoft/publicationsdugd10dugduoft_djvu.txt
During the Black Death
, bodies from Coventry were transported to the churchyard for burial in an area which has become known as the "Coventry Piece". This ground still cannot be disturbed.
Between the mill and the church is Wootton Hall, a large stone building in the Palladian style, mainly built in 1687 but incorporating parts of an earlier, probably Elizabethan, house. It was originally the home of the Carington family. Outbuildings behind the house are possibly the remains of the earlier manor-house. At the end of the Second World War the Hall was in a dilapidated condition and threatened with demolition but was bought in 1958 by Mr Bill Allen, of Allens caravans,http://www.allenscaravans.com/residential-parks/findapark/wootton-hall who developed the grounds into a mobile home park. This development rescued and restored the Hall and revitalized the community.
Other notable buildings include the Bulls Head Inn, situated at the south end of the street, being an L-shaped low building of timber-framing, probably of the 16th century. Inside are wide fireplaces, one with a lintel inscribed M 1697 TH, and open-timbered ceilings, however there is a stone giving the date of the building as 1317. Three of the buildings north of it on the same side, and 'The Cottage', facing the south end of the village street, have remains of 17th-century framing. In a short lane south of the church is the old Workhouse, now a dwelling-house; it is a small timber framed building covered with rough-cast cement and has a gabled north end with a jettied upper story.
The Manor Farm, at the north end of the village, is built of early-18th-century brick, but the chimneystack of diagonal shafts looks earlier. The west front, slightly recessed between gabled cross-wings, has a doorway with a semi-domical hood carved with palm leaves and a basket of fruit and flowers.
The A3400 provides transport links to the neighbouring settlements, notable Birmingham
and Stratford-upon-Avon
and also connects to the M40
northwards at Hockley Heath
affording direct motorway access to London. Regular bus services on this road provide transport to Birmingham and Stratford-upon Avon.
The Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
crosses the parish, leaving it near Silesbourne Farm, close to which there was a hermitage, mentioned in 1428 and 1470. It is carried over the main road Stratford to Birmingham road by an on a cast-iron aqueduct
bearing the date 1813. There are moorings and a canal boat marina in Wootton Wawen Basin. The canal was built by William James of Henley-in-Arden
, who was a pioneer of the railway system. A cast-iron plaque on the aqueduct records details of the building of the canal.
The Monarch's Way
, a long distance footpath which approximates the escape
route taken by King Charles II
in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester
, passes through Wootton Wawen. Here, the king, disguised as the man-servant of the daughter of one of his supporters, Jane Lane
, met with a party of Roundhead
troopers, before we came to Stradford upon Avon we espied upon the way a Troop of Horse whose riders were alighted, and the Horses eateing some grass by the wayside, staying there(as I thought) while their Muster-Maister was provideing their Quarters; Mrs Lanes Sisters Husband (who went along as far as Stradford) seeing this Troop of Horse just in our way, sayd that for his part he would not goe by them, for he had once or twice been beaten by some of the Parliament Soldiers, and he would not run the venture again. I heareing him say soe begged Mrs Lane softly in her Eare that we might not turne back but goe on, for that Enemy would certainly send after us to enquire who we were if they should see us turne. But all she could say in the world would not doe, but her Brother in law turned quite round and went to Stradford another way the troop of Horse being there just getting on Horse-back about twice 12 score off, and I told her we did meete the Troop just but in the Towne of Stradford.
Wootton Wawen railway station
opened in 1908 on a branch line of the Great Western Railway
, it is now the Birmingham to Stratford Line
.
episode The Right to Know
. In that episode, Humphrey Appleby
revealed that Hayward's Spinney, supposedly the site of a threatened badger colony, was actually just a rubbish dump used by the people of Wootton Wawen,
which differs from the published version where Sir Humprey says it's used by the people of Birmingham.
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 in the Stratford-on-Avon 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...
. The village is located on the A3400
A3400 road
The A3400 is a road in the Midlands of England, running from Hockley Heath to a junction with the A44 near Chipping Norton. At its northern end it joins up with the A34, of which it was originally one section. At its southern end it joins the A44, passing through Woodstock and joining the A34 at...
, 20 miles (32.2 km) from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 2 miles (3.2 km) miles south of Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden is a small town in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 2,011....
and 6.65 miles (10.7 km) miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon
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...
. The soil is a strong clay and some arable crops are grown, but the land is mainly in pasture. The common fields were inclosed in 1776, but some inclosures had already been made about 1623.
The scenery is attractive, the land being well wooded and undulating, rising from about 200 feet (61 m), in the south to 488 feet (148.7 m), in the north-west at College Farm, above Forde Hall. Near here is Mockley Wood, which, with May's Wood in the centre of the parish and Austy Wood near Edstone, is one of the larger blocks of woodland. The older part of the village straddling the A3400 is designated as a 'Conservation Area' because of its open, rural character and many fine, old buildings.
History
Its name means "farm near a wood, belonging to Wagen". Wagen or Waga is a Scandinavian name.Wootton is first mentioned when Æthelbald, King of the Mercians, gave to the Earl Aethilric 20 hides
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...
of land for a minster between the years 723 and 737. The first wooden church was built at Wootton as a direct result of this charter of land, (around 2,000 acres) on which to build a monastery or minster of St. Mary. The first church may have been burnt and pillaged by Viking invaders, but between about 970 and 1040, Wagen, an Anglo-Danish landowner, established the present church. This land was in the district of the Stoppingas
Stoppingas
The Stoppingas was a tribe or clan of Anglo-Saxon England, based around Wootton Wawen and the valley of the River Alne in modern-day Warwickshire...
near to a river called 'Aeluuinnae', now known as Alne
River Alne
The River Alne is a tributary of the Warwickshire Avon and has its headwaters to the north of Wootton Wawen. The River Alne flows generally southwards before joining with the River Arrow at Alcester, which itself joins the River Avon near Salford Priors....
.
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...
records, "in Pathlow Hundred in Wotton (Wawen) 7 hides. Land for 9 ploughs. 23 villagers with a priest and 22 smallholders who have 6 ploughs. 2 mills at 11s and 8 sticks of eels; woodland 2 leagues long and one league wide. Value £4. Waga held it freely."
Waga 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 Wootton Wawen, 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...
, Wootton was bestowed by the conqueror on 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...
, descended from the de Tonei
House of Tosny
The House of Tosny was an important noble family in 10th and 11th century Normandy, though it did not include any comtes or vicomtes. Its founder was Raoul I of Tosny .-Notable members:...
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.
Not long after the Norman 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...
he gave the church of Wootton with a hide of land nearby and another hide at 'Doversele' to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey of St. Peter de Castellion of Conches
Conches-en-Ouche
Conches-en-Ouches is a commune in the Eure department in northern France.-Geography:It is located by the Rouloir river, southwest of Évreux in the Haute-Normandie region. The town is located on a plateau known as the Pays d'Ouche.-Population:-References:...
in Normandy which had been established in 1035 by his father, Roger de Tonei http://www.rebeccastafford.net/rogerdetoni.htm. They established a small alien priory here a prior and one monk constituted its community and the church was re-dedicated to St Peter in Chains. In 1398 Richard II gave the priory to the Carthusians at Coventry, but the grant was reversed soon after by Henry IV and the monks re-established. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
it was bestowed with all its possessions on 12 December 1443 upon the Provost and Scholars of King's College, Cambridge, and on 30 November 1447 the Abbey of Conches released all title to the Priory to the college, in whose hands the manor still remains. No trace of the priory buildings remains but they stood between the churchyard and the ancient fishpool which lies near the Henley Road.
Despite being a small cell, life was not all peaceful. At the start of the reign of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, Peter de Altaribus was prior, His life was anything but creditable, and he became involved in a brawl which brought about the interference of the bishop. The circumstances are related with considerable detail in the episcopal registers of Bishop Gifford of Worcester. An inquisition was held at Warwick on Tuesday after Palm Sunday, 1281, to hear the dispute between Peter de Altaribus, and brother Roger his monk. William the vicar of Wootton, had been summoned to the priory to stop the brawl, and on arrival he met the prior coming out of the hall door whilst inside he found brother Roger sitting in a chair with his nose bleeding. The prior accused Roger of wounding himself in his nose with his own finger; whereas Roger claimed the prior had hit him on the nose, which was corroborated by others who added that Roger did not return the blow. The argument was over Peter's withdrawal of distributions to the poor, lack of hospitality, wasting the priory's goods, and drunkenness. Both were found guilty and excommunicated which after appeal they were absolved and recalled to the monastery of Conches, to receive punishment from their abbot. It is exceptional to find an alien priory subject to diocesan visitation, but this small priory was also visited by Bishop Giffard in 1269, 1284, and 1290.
Economy
Wootton Wawen has always primarily been a farming settlement, but over the centuries industrial activity has included milling, two are mentioned in the Domesday Book. Early in the 19th century there was a mill used for papermaking, as it probably was a century earlier, William Martin, 'paperman' of Wootton, occurring in 1717. but there has also been a fulling-mill for the production of hemp and flax on Wootton Green, and a dyehouse at nearby Blue Hole. There was also a hurdle-making industry in the village for a time.Now the area is largely agricultural with many residents commuting to nearby cities for employment.
Governance
Wootton Wawen is part of the Henley ward of Stratford on Avon District Council and represented by Councillors Jem Jones and Stephen Thirlwell, Conservative http://democracy.stratford.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1. Nationally it is part of Stratford-on-Avon constituency, whose current Member of Parliament following the 2010 election is Nadhim ZahawiNadhim 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).
Notable buildings
St Peter's church is of interest as it has the most pronounced SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
work in the county and is the oldest church in Warwickshire, although much dates to later times. It comprises a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with a South chapel, nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, South aisle and on the North the tower embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
and pinnacled. There are also North and South porches the east jamb of the south porch has several votive
Votive offering
A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...
crosses scored into it. The base of the tower and the first two stages are Saxon with four doorways, the top of the tower is 15th century as are the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, the nave battlements, the north doorway and porch, the middle arch of the arcade, the west window with busts of a king and queen and the east window with a leaf frieze The tower is the earliest part of the church, preserved in the middle despite restricting views of the chancel from the nave here, is the current site of the altar. The font is a plain octagonal bowl resting on eight sculptured heads similar to others in the county at Snitterfield
Snitterfield
Snitterfield is a village and civil parish in the Stratford on Avon district of Warwickshire, England, less than a mile to the north of the A46 road, 4 ½ miles from Stratford upon Avon, 6 ½ miles from Warwick and from Coventry.-History:...
and Lapworth
Lapworth
Lapworth is a village and civil parish situated in the east of the county of Warwickshire, England. It lies close to the border with the West Midlands and in the 2001 census had a population of 2,100....
whilst the old oak pulpit and choir screen is 15th century.
The church has a small chained library of 17th century theological works and some notable monumental brass
Brass rubbing
Brass rubbing was originally a largely British enthusiasm for reproducing onto paper monumental brasses – commemorative brass plaques found in churches, usually originally on the floor, from between the 13th and 16th centuries. The concept of recording textures of things is more generally called...
particularly the altar tomb of John Harewell and his wife Anna (1505). There is a ring
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of six bells: the treble by Henry Bagley of Chacombe in 1742 (cracked and bolted with iron); the second of 1591 with an alphabet inscription (by Watts of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
); the third by J. Rudhall of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
1803; the fourth of 1784 (probably also by a Rudhall); the fifth of 1761 by Thomas Rudhall (bound by an iron band around the inscription); and the tenor of 1719 by Richard Sanders of Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
. All canons have been removed and replaced with bolted iron joists for ringing. The 16th-century oak frame with pits for three bells still exists: the posts have moulded corbelling at the tops and are strengthened by curved struts. It has been altered to take four bells, the treble and second being hung to the north of it. On, 31 December 2009 these bells rang in the New Year.
The vicar at the time of the Puritan Survei of the Ministrie in Warwickshire of 1586 was described thus mascall (John Mascall 1580-1642) vicar a precher thogh he be growen Idle negligent & slouthfull. a man defamed & of tainted life he hath two charges beside Wooton videlicet, Henley & Ownall (Ullenhall) he supplieth by his hirelinges : whereof one vpon a rumor of change of religion in mounsiers daies did shave his beard.(Indicative of a reversion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
) Value xl yearlie.http://www.archive.org/stream/publicationsdugd10dugduoft/publicationsdugd10dugduoft_djvu.txt
During the Black Death
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...
, bodies from Coventry were transported to the churchyard for burial in an area which has become known as the "Coventry Piece". This ground still cannot be disturbed.
Between the mill and the church is Wootton Hall, a large stone building in the Palladian style, mainly built in 1687 but incorporating parts of an earlier, probably Elizabethan, house. It was originally the home of the Carington family. Outbuildings behind the house are possibly the remains of the earlier manor-house. At the end of the Second World War the Hall was in a dilapidated condition and threatened with demolition but was bought in 1958 by Mr Bill Allen, of Allens caravans,http://www.allenscaravans.com/residential-parks/findapark/wootton-hall who developed the grounds into a mobile home park. This development rescued and restored the Hall and revitalized the community.
Other notable buildings include the Bulls Head Inn, situated at the south end of the street, being an L-shaped low building of timber-framing, probably of the 16th century. Inside are wide fireplaces, one with a lintel inscribed M 1697 TH, and open-timbered ceilings, however there is a stone giving the date of the building as 1317. Three of the buildings north of it on the same side, and 'The Cottage', facing the south end of the village street, have remains of 17th-century framing. In a short lane south of the church is the old Workhouse, now a dwelling-house; it is a small timber framed building covered with rough-cast cement and has a gabled north end with a jettied upper story.
The Manor Farm, at the north end of the village, is built of early-18th-century brick, but the chimneystack of diagonal shafts looks earlier. The west front, slightly recessed between gabled cross-wings, has a doorway with a semi-domical hood carved with palm leaves and a basket of fruit and flowers.
Transport links
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Stratford-upon-Avon
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 also connects to the M40
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
northwards at Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath
Hockley Heath is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. The parish is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, from Birmingham from Solihull and from Stratford on Avon...
affording direct motorway access to London. Regular bus services on this road provide transport to Birmingham and Stratford-upon Avon.
The Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal...
crosses the parish, leaving it near Silesbourne Farm, close to which there was a hermitage, mentioned in 1428 and 1470. It is carried over the main road Stratford to Birmingham road by an on a cast-iron aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
bearing the date 1813. There are moorings and a canal boat marina in Wootton Wawen Basin. The canal was built by William James of Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden
Henley-in-Arden is a small town in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 2,011....
, who was a pioneer of the railway system. A cast-iron plaque on the aqueduct records details of the building of the canal.
The Monarch's Way
Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.Most of the footpath is waymarked...
, a long distance footpath which approximates the escape
Escape of Charles II
The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
route taken by King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
, passes through Wootton Wawen. Here, the king, disguised as the man-servant of the daughter of one of his supporters, Jane Lane
Jane Lane, Lady Fisher
Jane Lane played a heroic role in the Escape of Charles II in 1651. The main significance of the story is the key part that the escape played in forming the character and the opinions of Charles.-Origins:...
, met with a party of Roundhead
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
troopers, before we came to Stradford upon Avon we espied upon the way a Troop of Horse whose riders were alighted, and the Horses eateing some grass by the wayside, staying there(as I thought) while their Muster-Maister was provideing their Quarters; Mrs Lanes Sisters Husband (who went along as far as Stradford) seeing this Troop of Horse just in our way, sayd that for his part he would not goe by them, for he had once or twice been beaten by some of the Parliament Soldiers, and he would not run the venture again. I heareing him say soe begged Mrs Lane softly in her Eare that we might not turne back but goe on, for that Enemy would certainly send after us to enquire who we were if they should see us turne. But all she could say in the world would not doe, but her Brother in law turned quite round and went to Stradford another way the troop of Horse being there just getting on Horse-back about twice 12 score off, and I told her we did meete the Troop just but in the Towne of Stradford.
Wootton Wawen railway station
Wootton Wawen railway station
Wootton Wawen railway station serves the village of Wootton Wawen in Warwickshire, England. Served by trains between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon.The station was renamed from Wootton Wawen Platform to Wootton Wawen on 6 May 1974....
opened in 1908 on a branch line of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, it is now the Birmingham to Stratford Line
Birmingham to Stratford Line
The Birmingham to Stratford Line, also known as the North Warwickshire Line is a commuter railway line predominantly in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom...
.
Filmography
The village was referenced in the Yes MinisterYes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
episode The Right to Know
The Right to Know
"The Right to Know" is the sixth episode of the BBC comedy series Yes Minister and was first broadcast 31 March 1980. This was one of a few episodes during the first series which did not end with the trademark phrase "Yes Minister".- Plot :...
. In that episode, Humphrey Appleby
Humphrey Appleby
Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA , is a fictional character from the British television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. He was played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne. In Yes Minister, he is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs...
revealed that Hayward's Spinney, supposedly the site of a threatened badger colony, was actually just a rubbish dump used by the people of Wootton Wawen,
which differs from the published version where Sir Humprey says it's used by the people of Birmingham.