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| Alveston is a parish in Warwickshire, England, to the east of
Stratford-Upon-Avon. Its present boundaries seem to be approximately
those given in a Saxon charter of 985. The suffix of “ton” in the names
Alveston and Tiddington means a farmstead or settlement of Saxon
origin. Alveston is believed to be named after Aenulf, a Saxon chief.
The site of the Old Church also indicates that the original Saxon
settlement was along Mill Lane leading to a ford across the river.
Little is known of the early history of the village, except the
granting of a Charter in 955 AD, although it is clearly an earlier
settlement than the later and larger development of
Stratford-upon-Avon. The origins of the name Tiddington are less clear.
Possibly named after Tidda or Tilda. The earliest spelling was
“Tidinctune” in 969. The parish includes the two separate villages of
Alveston and Tiddington and part of the hamlet of Bridgetown. The Avon
is crossed by a ferry at Alveston village and a ford near the mill, the
'Doddanford' of 985. Lower down the stream opposite Cliffe Cottage is
the probable site of Welcombe Ford. There was an Iron Age settlement in
Tiddington as shown by crop marks near the river. Tiddington has
yielded abundant evidence both of Roman and Saxon occupation. A Roman
industrial settlement yielded remains including a tile kiln, furnaces
and coins indicating a prolonged occupation, which may even have
survived the withdrawal of the legions. A Saxon cemetery, dating to the
8th and 9th centuries, was discovered in 1935. The Manor House, just
east of Clopton Bridge, is mostly a timber-framed two story building,
parts of which date to c.1500 or earlier. The Old Rectory, south-east
of the church, with walls almost completely of close-set studding,
dates to the early 1500s. The brick facing is somewhat more recent.
Alveston Lodge, next to the rectory, is traditionally said to have been
the residence of William More, Prior of Worcester, 1518–1535. In the
Domesday Book Alveston parish was occupied by 43 families, about 200
people, larger than Stratford-upon-Avon at the time. The village lies
chiefly east of the churches, and few of the houses are old. One
noticeable house fairly near the ferry is of 17th-century
timber-framing in two stories above a high stone basement. The mill at
Alveston is mentioned as early as 966. Domesday records three mills
here, worth 40s. In 1240 there were two corn mills in Alveston and a
corn mill and fulling mill in Tiddington. Two watermills and a fishery
were included with the site of the manor in 1570. In 1650 there were
three water mills and a fulling mill near the manor-house. Alveston
throughout its history has been essentially a freeholders' village. In
1240 the free tenements comprised more than one-third of the manor. The
demesne in 1240 consisted of 4 carucates of land 'with the new
addition'. By 1699 the heath was being ploughed and fenced in for corn,
and a part of the Black Ground Field was hitched for feeding horses. A
part of the heath was ordered to be laid down with grass seeds in 1704,
and within the next 30 years these new crops, among which clover is
first specifically mentioned in 1719, were introduced into four of the
common fields, being generally sown together with oats or barley. The
cultivation of turnips for sheep feed began on the heath in 1729. A
petition for inclosure was approved by the House of Commons in 1771.
The inclosure established 6 large farms ranging from 142 to 407 acres,
and 5 others of between 50 and 100 acres. Smaller allotments were made
to 9 other proprietors. The largest holdings were those of Newsham
Peers, Lord Lifford (300 acres, now Alveston Pasture Farm), and Thomas
Hiron (now Alveston Hill Farm, 275 acres). The great majority of the
individual proprietors came of families which had been settled in the
parish since before 1600. Tiddington, although from earliest times a
separate township from Alveston, has never been a separate manor.
Although the first major battle of the English civil war was fought at
Edgehill, only 14 miles away, Alveston, largely escaped the full force
of war with only minor threats, thefts and skirmishes. In 1744 Alveston
was lauded as a health spa. On Alveston Hill there was a spring and a
pool where the sick bathed in hope of a cure. "Alveston, a village and a parish in Stratford on Avon district,
Warwick. The village stands near the Avon, under Welcombe hills, amid
charming environs, 2.5 miles ENE of Stratford-on-Avon; was pronounced
by Dr. Parry the Montpelier of England; and has a post office under
Stratford-on-Avon. The parish contains also the pleasant village of
Tiddington. Acres, 4,300. Real property, £8,531. Pop., 844. Houses,
191. The property is much subdivided. A chief residence is Alveston
House. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester. Value,
£220. Patron, the Rector of Hampton-Lucy. The church contains some fine
tombs of the Lucys, and is very good. Charities, £46."[1872 Imperial
Gazetteer of England and Wales] The
parish church is dedicated to St James. In 1837 it was resolved to
build a new Church and on the 1/8/1837 the foundation stone of the
present St James’ was laid by Mrs Fortescue-Knottesford of Alveston
Manor. The completed building was consecrated on 16/5/1839 by the
Bishop of Worcester. The present church of St James consists of a
chancel with north and south chapels, a broad nave, south porch, and
west tower. There are four bells, one modern, the others are dated
1658, 1616 inscribed 'god save noble king James and Thomas Townsend'
and 1729. The architect for the new church, William Walker, reputedly
designed the church based on Westminster Abbey. It has an imposing
structure with a high roof space and impressive hammer beams and is
considerably larger than its predecessor. The new building had seating
for 570 people, 316 of which were declared to be “free and
unappropriated for ever” (ie not assigned to a particular family). The
construction costs were small, even for the time, just £2,640, much of
the materials having been recycled from the old church. By 1871 the
population of the Parish of Alveston had risen to almost 1,000. St
James was considered too small and the east end of the church was
enlarged in 1875. The tower was restored in 1945. The walls of the Lady
Chapel are lined with seventeenth century panelling. The remains of the
old parish church stand about 1/4 mile north and consist of the almost
derelict chancel, built of 18th-century red brick with rusticated angle
dressings, and covered with rough-cast cement; the roof is tiled. The
east window is unglazed. In the south wall was a doorway, now blocked
to form an external recess. In this is reset the elaborately carved
tympanum of a 12th-century doorway, and two carved capitals. There are
eight funeral monuments inside, the oldest and most interesting of
which is that of Nicholas Lane, who died 1595. There is no mention of a
priest at Alveston in the Domesday Survey. In 1240 the church was a
chapelry of Hampton Lucy, remaining such until 1858. Although the old
church fell into disuse it was not totally demolished, the chancel was
left intact. The Old Church was restored in 1945 and again between
2000-2005. In 2006 it was rededicated by the Bishop and it remains in
use as a church today, with a weekly service in Summer.[Alveston Parish History, Parish of Alveston, British History Online]"Alveston, a village and a parish in Warwickshire. The village stands near the Avon, under Welcombe Hills, amid charming environs, 2 1/2 miles ENE of Stratford-on-Avon. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Stratford-on-Avon. The parish contains also the hamlets of Tiddington and Bridgetown. Acreage, 2886; population, 954. There are several gentlemen's residences in the village. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester; value, £190. Patron, the rector of Hampton Lucy. The church formerly belonged to the abbey of Tewkesbury, and is an ancient stone edifice with transepts and a pinnacled western tower. It was restored in 1876, at a cost of £4000."[1895 Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales] "The
old church, dedicated to St James, which adjoins the park of Alveston
House, and in which most of the members of the family of Peers lie
buried, is now but a ruin. The chancel, with a bellcote, is all that
remains of the original structure, the nave having been pulled down
when the present church was built, about a quarter of a mile distant,
in 1839. Beyond the monuments and two carvings in stone of the
thirteenth century there is nothing of interest in this church, which
is now used for funeral services for the members of such families as
have vaults in the churchyard.'[Miscellanea genealogica et heraldica, 1906] |
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| St Nicholas, Warwick, once called the 'Low ' church', (simply because it was further down the hill from St. Mary's, the 'High' church), was one of the two ancient parish churches of Warwick, in the later middle-ages. The old church dated back to Norman times, and may have been older still, with possibly an earlier Saxon nunnery on the same site. By the mid 18th. century, it was in a very poor state of repair, and the tower, which was causing great concern, was taken down, and replaced in 1748. In 1779 local architect Thomas Johnson, rebuilt the church, to his own design. A vestry was added in 1826, and the chancel was rebuilt in 1869-70 to the designs of John Gibson. St Nicholas is an example of Gothic revival architecture, pre-dating the Victorian period, and displaying a delicate & simple style. Internally the unusually fine columns support a squared capitol, from which rises a very shallow vaulted plaster ceiling. With only four free standing pillars, the essence of the building is a light and airy square space with large decorated style windows. Originally built with a small rounded apse, the former chancel arch has been filled in.[St Nicholas, Warwickshire Churches] |
