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Hampton in Arden is a village and
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 ...
located in the
Forest of Arden The Forest of Arden is a territory and cultural reference point in the English West Midlands, that in antiquity and into the Early Modern Period covered much of that district: 'This great forest once extended across a wide band of Middle Engl ...
in the
Metropolitan Borough of Solihull The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purpose ...
, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of
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 ...
until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within the Meriden Gap which is an area of countryside between
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
and
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
. In 1968 the central part of the village was designated a Conservation Area, which is an "area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance".Solihull Council Web site
/ref> Its population in the 2001 census was 1,787, increasing to 1,834 at the 2011 Census.


History

Hampton is mentioned in
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
(1086), when it was held by Geoffrey de Wirce. "In Coleshill
Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
Hantone. 10 hides. Land for 22 ploughs. In lordship 2; 2 male and 2 female slaves. 50 villagers with a priest and 16 smallholders have 13 ploughs. A mill at 40d; meadow, 10 acres; woodland 3 leagues long and 3 wide. The value was and is 100s." All of Geffrey's lands were held freely by Leofwin. Geffrey's wife was called Aelfeva and her English name suggests that Geffrey may have acquired his Warwickshire lands through her, by inheritance rather than by confiscation; she may have been Leofwin's heiress. A priest was recorded, implying that a church existed. Of the name, Hantone, Dugdale states that the name was occasioned from the situation, "hean" in the Saxon signifying high though by contraction written "han" and through corrupt pronunciation "ham".''The Antiquities of Warwickshire'',
William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...
, 1656
Dugdale could find no mention of Geffrey having any children and concluded that he must have died without issue, his lands reverted to the Crown and by a grant of Henry I all his lands were passed to Nigel de Albani. Nigel had a son, Roger, surnamed Mowbray, from whom, from the middle of the 12th century the de Ardernes, became the Lords of the Manor. Afterwards it passed by marriage to the de Montford family of Coleshill and then subsequently reverted to the Crown. It was granted to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, by Queen Elizabeth I in 1570 but reverted to the Crown after his death. In 1625, it was assigned to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I. In the early 19th century it was sold to Isaac William Lillingston who later sold the Manor of Hampton to
Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...
(former Prime Minister and founder of the modern police force). On Sir Robert's death in 1850, the manor was inherited by his son, Frederick, who did much to 'modernise' Hampton, demolishing many half-timbered and thatched cottages. He employed the architect W E Nesfield to build new dwellings, shops and lodges.


Notable landmarks


The parish church of St. Mary and St. Bartholomew

The parish church of St. Mary and St. Bartholomew has a
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
,
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with narrow aisles, west tower, south porch, and north vestry. The chancel is of about mid 12th-century date. It is comparatively long and narrow for the period, in a church of this size, and it has an unusual north doorway near the west end; it is possible that it represented the complete church, at least for a short time. The nave, if not coeval, was built soon afterwards and had a late-12th-century south aisle, of which the arcade remains. Possibly the nave was of the same width as the chancel, but was widened to the north about . about the middle of the 13th century and a narrow north aisle and arcade added. The chancel arch was widened at the same time to the utmost limits permitted by the width of the chancel. For some reason, probably weakness, the north aisle was rebuilt late in the 14th century on the old foundations of the narrow aisle. This was followed by a similar rebuilding of the south aisle early in the 15th century, again without widening it. About the same time the west tower was begun, but carried up only a short way, the completion being delayed until late in the century. The last medieval alteration was the building of the clerestory in the 16th century in place of the old steeply pitched roof indicated by the lines on the tower.A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 4(1947), pp. 81–8

Date accessed: 26 March 2010.
The tower bore a tall spire "till by the extraordinary violence of lightning and thunder happening on St.Andrew's Day, in the night, in the year 1643, it was cloven, and fell to the ground: at which time the whole fabrick, with the tower, were torn in divers places." The south porch and north vestry are modern, and various repairs and restorations have been executed to other parts. The chancel was rebuilt in 1879 with the old material overseen by the architect W. E. Nesfield. All the roofs are modern. The church bells and most of their fittings were transplanted here from
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in 1976, where they had previously hung in the church of St John in Miles Platting, then being demolished due to subsidence.


Other

There are some well preserved 17th century and timber-framed houses, some of which are listed. Outside the village, to the south-east, is the 15th-century
packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridg ...
over the River Blythe and on the former route to
Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...
. Only . wide between the low parapets, consisting of five bays with ancient stone piers having pointed cut-water faces on the west side against the flow of the stream—and square projections on the east. The three northern arches are segmental-pointed, the southern two have been rebuilt with brick arches. East of the bridge is a ford. The war memorial lists the names of 23 men of the parish who were killed in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and one in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It is dedicated; ''To the Glory of God and in Memory of the men of Hampton in Arden who gave their lives for their country in the cause of freedom'' 1914–1918 and below ''Sons of this place let this of you be said that you who live are worthy of your dead'' 1939–1945 ( there are 24 names from WW1 and 1 from WW2, one must have been added recently) .


Governance

Hampton in Arden is part of the Bickenhill ward of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and is represented by Councillors Alison Rolf, Robert Sleigh and Jim Ryan, all of the Conservative Party. Nationally, it is part of the
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of Meriden, whose Member of Parliament is a Conservative, Saqib Bhatti. Prior to
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
in 2020, it was included in the West Midlands electoral region of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.


Transport links

The
M42 motorway The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth on the way, ...
,
Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Bor ...
and the
National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...
(NEC) are nearby. Hampton was at the southern end of the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, later part of the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
. Opened as a double-track main line on 12 August 1839, the section from Whitacre to Hampton, known as the Stonebridge Railway, was downgraded to a branch line in 1842 after the opening of the line from Whitacre into
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
; it was singled in 1843 and lost its final passenger service in 1917 as a wartime economy measure. After lingering on as a goods line, it was closed entirely in 1935 following a bridge failure at Packwood. The line had originally enabled passengers from the Derby, Tamworth,
Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...
, Whitacre, Shustoke and Coleshill areas to make connections at Hampton for other parts of the country, because at one time the Midland Railway and the
London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
(LNWR) had stations side by side at Hampton, at the point where the two lines met (called Derby Junction). The Midland station building can still be seen, but the LNWR station disappeared long ago, being replaced by the present Hampton-in-Arden railway station some 500m nearer London in 1884. The track bed of the old Midland route remains and a footpath for hikers and railway buffs runs alongside the site of the original track. Hampton is now served by hourly bus services 82 and 89 between
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
and
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
operated by Stagecoach in Warwickshire Although through fares are currently unavailable, most buses on service 82 continue from Solihull to
Stratford upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west o ...
as service X20. The railway provides a link between
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and Coventry approximately every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday.The village is namechecked in the Crokodile Tears song Trains.


Sports and leisure

The village has one pub, the 17th-century The White Lion
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
north-east of the church on the High Street, which is plastered externally, but old beams are exposed inside. There is also one restaurant, the Soho Tavern, within an 18th-century Georgian building on Marsh Lane, with panel front door centred, topped with rectangular windows (in door or as a transom) and capped with an elaborate entablature supported by decorative pilasters. It began life as a private house but was later bought by the local George Fentham charity as a place of recreation for men. In 1913 a hall was built adjoining the house and the whole complex was used as a VAD Hospital during the First World War. After the war the hall became the equivalent of a village hall and the house reverted to being a working men's club. In the late 1980s the club was used less and less and an alternative use had to be found. In 1997 it was converted into the Beeches Bar & Grill which closed in 2022 and turned into Soho Tavern in 2023


References


External links


Pictures

The Station

Hampton Monthly – news from around the village

St. Mary & St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church, Hampton-in-Arden
* http://www.hamptoninarden.org.uk/ {{authority control Villages in the West Midlands (county) Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull Conservation areas in England