Arlescote is a village in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England. Arlescote forms part of the district of Stratford-on-Avon and the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Warmington. This small hamlet sits approximately away from Warmington at the bottom of Edgehill, with roughly 10 houses and 30 villagers today. Without any shops or other local conveniences situated in the hamlet, the main feature is Arlescote House, a Grade II* James I house of architectural and historic interest.

Location

Arlescote is in the county of

, England, despite the hamlet's postcode (OX17 1DQ). Arlescote is part of the parish of Warmington and is on the north-facing side of Edgehill. Nearby towns include Banbury, and Leamington Spa. Arlescote is fairly remote, with the nearest village being 2 miles away. Arlescote is at one of the northernmost points of the

Cotswolds AONB The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

. A public footpath runs through the village.

History

As part of the parish of Warmington, Arlescote shares much of its history with the nearby villages of Warmington and Ratley. Originally Arlescote began as little more than the manor house and surrounding farmland. During the late 10th century, the land was held by the Norman Abbey of Préaux. Arelscote was given to the abbey by the

Count of Meulan In the Middle Ages, the county of Meulan was a county of Île-de-France. Geography The geographical extent of the county associated with the castle and town of Meulan becomes evident in the time of Robert I (1081–1118) and Waleran de Beaumo ...

's father, Roger de Beaumont, and confirmed by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

c. 1080. When the count's brother, Earl of Warwick, succeeded his sibling, he also gave the village of Warmington to the abbey. During the 14th century, the "priory" seems to have disbanded and the parish passed into the control of the prior of Toft monks. During the war with France, the parish was passed in and out of the possession of the king. In 1542, Arlescote was granted to Richard Andrews and

Leonard Chamberlain William Leonard Chamberlain (15 January 1889 – 21 March 1956) was an Australian first-class cricketer who played Sheffield Shield cricket for South Australia. He was also an Australian rules footballer for Norwood in the South Australian Foo ...

, who quickly passed the land on to the Lecke family. The house fell into the possession of John Croker of

Hook Norton Hook Norton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It lies northeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Chipping Norton, close to the Cotswold Hills. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded ...

who subsequently passed the land on to his son Gerard following his death. In 1572, Warmington and Arlescote's manor houses were sold to Richard and Thomas Cupper. Following Richard's death around 1605, his son Henry Cupper (or Cooper, as the name had now become) gave Warmington manor to his second son Thomas. Both Alrescote House and Warmington Manor were then passed down through the Cooper family. In 1642 the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

took place as the first battle of the first English Civil War. The battle itself took place very near to Arlescote, with battle reenactments still taking place today in nearby countryside. The next known owner of Warmington manor was William Bumpstead in 1743. By 1764 the house was owned by Robert Child, a wealthy banker. Child's daughter Sarah and her husband John then took ownership of the manor in 1787. Their daughter Sarah Sophia and her husband, Earl of Jersey, then became lord of the manor around 1806. Following the earl's death in 1859, Mr and Mrs Bennet became lord and lady of Warmington manor until 1924. Since this time the manorial rights appear to have fallen through.(History sourced fro
British History Online
Arlescote Manor has been redeveloped by its current owners who bought the house in the mid-2000s. The village community also rebuilt a dry-stone wall on the east side of the village in 2000 as a millennium community project.

References

External links

* *
Arlecote's History: Warmington Parishes
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Stratford-on-Avon District