Wormleighton is a village in Warwickshire, England. It sits on Wormleighton Hill overlooking the River Cherwell. The population taken at the 2011 census was 183. [1]
The original village was on the banks of the Cherwell and can still be seen as a series of humps and hollows on the east bank of the Oxford Canal.
The present village sits on the crest of the hill. At one end is St Peter's Church, which has a Norman tower and nave, with small added Gothic aisles, made of local ironstone. The Church has remaining box pews, a Norman font, and an interesting tomb to Robert Spencer which gives his death date in 1610 (he died in France) both in the new Gregorian calendar (used in France from 1582) and in the old Julian calendar which was still used in Britain until 1752. The church is surrounded by its graveyard, which is accessible to local sheep. A path from the church leads to the remains of the old 16th-century manor house, Wormleighton Manor, of which the first view is a fine old chimney, then the great hall can be seen, part made of stone, part of brick. The gatehouse is Jacobean, and has a date of 1613 upon it.
The manor house was slighted by the Parliamentarians as it was a Royalist stronghold. The village was abandoned after the English Civil War when the Spencer family home, Wormleighton Manor, was burned down in 1645. The village, however, was refounded in the 19th century, and there is a group of buildings in the Arts and Crafts style, as well as a number of thatched cottages.
The first mention of a post office in the village is in September 1853, when a type of postmark known as an undated circle was issued. [2] The post office closed in 1971.
The historic family of Wormleighton is based in the north-west of England. During the Second World War, Captain Ronald fought with distinction and was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944. The Spencer family fortune derived from Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton, Warwickshire, who bought Althorp in 1508 with the profits from his sheep-rearing business. In 1498 an inquest jury [3] recorded that 60 villagers had been evicted from the Wormleighton Estate "weeping, to wander in idleness ... perished of hunger". [4]
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.
The Spencer family is an aristocratic British family. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles, including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prominent members of the family during the 20th century were Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Broadwell is a village in Warwickshire, England in the civil parish of Leamington Hastings roughly midway between Dunchurch and Southam on the A426 road.
Staverton is a village and civil parish in the south-west of Northamptonshire, England. It is 2.3 miles west of Daventry, 7.9 miles east of Southam and 15.3 miles east of Leamington Spa. It straddles the A425 road from Daventry to Leamington. The Jurassic Way long-distance footpath between Banbury and Stamford passes through the village.
Great Brington is a village in Northamptonshire, England, in the civil parish of Brington, which at the 2011 Census had a population of about 200. St Mary the Virgin's church is the parish church.
Kites Hardwick is a hamlet in east Warwickshire, England, in the Leam Valley ward of Rugby Borough and in the civil parish of Leamington Hastings The village straddles the A426 Rugby to Southam road two miles (3 km) south of Dunchurch. It lies in the valley of the River Leam which passes under the A426 at Thurlaston Bridge, just north of Kites Hardwick. This spot was the location of frequent flooding of the road until in 2001 the Environment Agency constructed a gauging station immediately west of the bridge with associated works to ease the flow of the river.
Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry / West Midlands county. With a population of 801, Baginton village is 4 miles (6.4 km) south of central Coventry, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast of Kenilworth and 7 miles (11 km) north of Leamington Spa. The population had reduced slightly to 755 at the 2011 Census. The Lucy Price playing field is situated centrally in the village.
Leamington Hastings is a small village and larger civil parish in Warwickshire, England. The civil parish covers Leamington Hastings itself, plus the nearby hamlets of Broadwell, Hill and Kites Hardwick. Its population in the 2011 census was 440, increasing slightly to 466 at the 2021 census.
Hampton Poyle is a village in the civil parish of Hampton Gay and Poyle, in the Cherwell district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is the Cherwell in valley, about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Kidlington and about 5 miles (8 km) north of the centre of Oxford.
Shipton-on-Cherwell is a village in the civil parish of Shipton-on-Cherwell and Thrupp, in the Cherwell district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the River Cherwell about 2 miles (3 km) north of Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England.
Lighthorne is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Leamington Spa. The population taken at the 2011 census was 361. Lighthorne is a small village in a valley and is near Moreton Morrell, Kineton and Wellesbourne. The first mention of a post office in the village is in October 1849, when a type of postmark known as an undated circle was issued. The parish church of St. Lawrence stands in a valley west of the village. It is built of stone in the late-13th century style but the west tower was rebuilt in 1771 and the remainder of the church in 1875–6. In October 2008, Lighthorne Parish council bought the telephone box in the village from the BT Group.
Whitchurch is a parish and a small hamlet lying on the left bank of the River Stour in Warwickshire, England, some four miles south-south-east of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Althorp is a lost village within the grounds of the Althorp estate in the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book. In the 15th century, the manor was held by the Catesby family who were probably responsible for clearing the settlement, for by 1505, the records show that there were no tenants. In 1508, the parish, including the cleared settlement of Althorp, was sold to John Spencer of Wormleighton in Warwickshire. By 1577, the land in the parish had been divided into four large sheep pastures. Althorp remains a civil parish.
Great Wolford is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. With the neighbouring parish of Little Wolford it is part of 'The Wolfords'.
Hampton Gay is a village in the civil parish of Hampton Gay and Poyle, in the Cherwell district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is in the Cherwell Valley about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Kidlington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 28. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished to form "Hampton Gay and Poyle".
Wormleighton Manor is a manor house in the civil parish of Wormleighton in the historic county of Warwickshire, England. It belonged to the wealthy Spencer family during the 16th and 17th century. Much of the house was burned down by Royalists during the English Civil War in 1645 and abandoned by the Spencers in favour of Althorp in Northamptonshire, which contains some materials salvaged from Wormleighton to this day. Today, all that is left of the manor, which was once four times the size of Althorp, is the Wormleighton Manor Gatehouse and Tower Cottage which is a Grade II listed building, and the northern range of the manor.
Shotteswell is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 221. The parish is bounded on three sides by Oxfordshire and is about 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Banbury.
Sir John Spencer was an English nobleman, politician, knight, sheriff, landowner, and Member of Parliament. He was an early member of the Spencer family.
Sir John Spencer was an English nobleman who was widely admired, in his time, for his administration of the family estates. He inherited large estates in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, and increased his lands and fortunes extensively. Spencer was also a politician, who served as member of parliament for several years, and was known for his support of Whig issues. He was also the 13th Great Grandfather of British soldier and prime minister, Winston Churchill.
Stoneton is a hamlet, civil parish and manor in Warwickshire, England. It lies just to the northeast of Wormleighton. It was documented in the Domesday Book. From the late 15th century onwards the wealthy Spencer family owned land here, and owned the manor in conjunction with nearby Wormleighton Manor. Little remains of the original village, which lies in a field next to the manor. The moat has been restored to Stoneton Manor, using water supplied from a nearby spring. A windfarm with 8-13 turbines has been proposed in the vicinity since June 2012, with a capacity of up to 16 MW of low carbon energy.
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