| Aston Cantlow | |
|---|---|
 Lych gate and Old Post Office | |
  Aston Cantlow Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Population | 437 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SP139595 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HENLEY-IN-ARDEN |
| Postcode district | B95 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
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Aston Cantlow is a village inWarwickshire, England, on theRiver Alne 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west ofStratford-upon-Avon and 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west ofWilmcote, close to Little Alne,Shelfield, and Newnham.[1] It was the home ofMary Arden,William Shakespeare's mother. At the2001 census, it had a population of 1,674, being measured again as 437 at the2011 Census.[2]
Prior to theNorman conquest in 1066, themanor of Aston was held byEarl Ælfgar, son ofEarl Leofric who had died in 1057, and the husband ofLady Godiva.Osbern fitzRichard, son ofRichard Scrob, builder ofRichard's Castle, was the holder in 1086 as theDomesday Book records:[4]
In FerncombeHundred, Osbern son of Richard holds (Estone) Aston from the King. 5hides. Land for 10 ploughs. 9 Flemings and 16 villagers with a priest and 10 small holders who have 12 ploughs. A mill at 8s and 5 sticks of eels; meadow, 40 acres; woodland 1 league in length and width. The value was 100s now £6.Earl Ælfgar held it.
Osbern fitzRichard died in 1137 and by 1169 themanor had passed to William theChamberlain of Tankervill, who, by an undated grant gave all the land, between theriver Alne and his manor of Estone toWinchcombe Abbey. This was on condition that it should remain uncultivated and that his men should enjoy the same common rights there as they had on the rest of his land. He was still holding the manor in 1177 and may have been succeeded by Ralph de Tankervill, who is referred to fifty years later as having formerly possessed it.[1] It ultimatelyescheated tothe Crown[5] and in 1204King John (1199–1216) granted it toWilliam I de Cantilupe (died 1239), from whose family[1] the village takes its name.
William's family name was added to the name of themanor of Aston, probably to differentiate it from another of the same name, in one of its many anciently-spelled varieties,Cantlow.[5]William I de Cantilupe servedKing John asJusticiar andSteward of the Household, served several times asHigh Sheriff ofWarwickshire, and from 1215 to 1223 was Governor ofKenilworth Castle.[1] He attained the status of anEnglish feudal barony, his barony, of which Aston became a member, having its baronial seat orcaput atEaton Bray inBedfordshire.[5] The family had been conspicuous for several generations, "evilcouncillors" of King John and his sonHenry III, asMatthew Paris recorded,[6] and strong supporters ofthe Crown against the Barons.[7]
On his death in 1239 his sonWilliam II de Cantilupe (died 1251) succeeded him both in his estates and asSteward of the Royal Household. Either William II or his sonWilliam III de Cantilupe is referred to as holding themanor, valued at £40, by unknownFeudal land tenure, of the gift ofKing John.[1]William Dugdale notes that the family remainedlords of the manor in 1250.[8] William III's younger brotherThomas de Cantilupe (died 1282), who never held the manor, becameBishop of Hereford in 1275 and in 1320 wascanonised as St Thomas ofHereford. William III de Cantilupe died in 1254, leaving a three-year-old sonGeorge de Cantilupe (died 1273), laterBaron Bergavenny, as his heir. During George's minority his wardship, and therefore the custody of the manor, was granted to theQueen of the Romans.[9]
On his death in 1273, and having no children, the senior male line of the family died out,[1] his heir being his nephewJohn Hastings andBaron Bergavenny (died 1313). John Hastings was eventually succeeded by his grandson Laurence de Hastings, who was createdEarl of Pembroke in 1339, and themanor descended through his family until it passed for lack of heirs to a cousin, Sir William Beauchamp, who was summoned toParliament as Baron Bergavenny in 1392. He died having settled it on his widow Joan for her life with reversion to their son and heir Richard and his daughter Elizabeth who marriedEdward Nevill, fourth son ofRalph Neville.
Richard, who was createdEarl of Worcester, died in 1422 and Joan in 1435.[1] Themanor thus descended toEdward Nevill, created Baron Bergavenny in 1450, and remained in the family of Nevill,Barons,Earls, andMarquesses ofAbergavenny, for over four centuries. In 1874 William Nevill,Marquess of Abergavenny, sold it toThomas McKinnon Wood and in 1918 it was offered for sale by the Wood trustees. The estate was then broken up among the tenants: the Gild-house, to which the manorial rights attached, was bought by SirCharles Tertius Mander ofWolverhampton, whose trustees became thelords of the manor.[1]
Paper making andsewing needle scouring were two major trades in the village in times past. The earliest reference to paper-making at Aston Cantlow occurs in theinclosure award of 1743, from which it appears that there must have been awater mill near the junction of theriver Alne and Silesbourne Brook. Thomas Fruin of Aston Cantlow, paper-maker, is recorded in 1768 in the Abstracts of Title forStratford-upon-Avon, About 1799 the mill near the church was converted into a paper-mill by Henry Wrighton, trade directories show that this family carried on the business until about 1845–50. Afterwards the mill was used by Messrs. Pardow ofStudley for needle scouring, an industry which lasted here for about forty years. After a short period during the 1890s, during which the mill was used again for its original purpose, it became for a few years a factory for makingball bearings forbicycles before being finally abandoned in the 1920s.[1] The village is now mainly agricultural; many residents commute to nearby cities for employment.
Aston Cantlow is part ofStratford-on-Avon District Council. Nationally it is part ofStratford on Avonparliamentary constituency, whoseMP following the 2010 election isNadhim Zahawi of theConservative Party. Prior toBrexit in 2020 it was part of theWest Midlands electoral region of theEuropean Parliament.
The church ofSt John the Baptist is principally in theEarly English style consisting of achancel,nave, northaisle, south porch, and an embattled and pinnacled westerntower. Over the north doorway is a representation of theNativity. Thefont, of octagonalquatrefoil panel design supported on a mutilated stem, is of late Decorated period. Here, it is believed thatShakespeare's parents,John Shakespeare andMary Arden, were married in 1557.[10] The survey of the clergy by thepuritans in 1586 described the thenvicar, Thomas Clarke, "parson no precher nor learned, yet honest of life & zealous in religion he hath 3 or 4 charges & cures beside that of Kynerton, he supplieth by his deputies, his hirelinges that serue by his non-residency are all dumbe & idle & some of them gamsters : vah of all Ixxx a yeare".[11]
The most celebrated incumbent of Aston Cantlow wasThomas de Cantelupe, mentioned above, who held theliving before his elevation to theSee of Hereford.[1] It became well known nationally after Aston Cantlowparochial church council made a controversial decision to demand £250,000 inchancel repair liability from the owners of a farmhouse next door to pay for repairs to the church.[12] The village contains a number of black and white half-timbered buildings including the 16th-centuryGuild Hall and the 15th-century villagepub, The Kings Head. The Gildhouse is traditionally believed to have been the hall of theguild that was in existence here in the time ofHenry VI. It is first so called in a lease of 1713 (on surrender of one dated 1661) and as late as 1770 the upper chamber was reserved formanorcourts. The building preserves externally much of its original appearance.[1]
Neighbouring towns and moors. | |
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https://astoncantlowvillagehall.co.uk/
