Little Lawford is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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 ...

around to the north of the much larger village of

Long Lawford Long Lawford is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England, located just west of Rugby, around west of Rugby town centre. In the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 4,545, a significant increase from 3,1 ...

and west of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In the 2021 census the parish had a population of 45. It is located just to the north of the River Avon, which is crossed by a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

on the lane linking it with Long Lawford. It is also linked to Long Lawford by a

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

which crosses the Avon on a bridge.

Lawford Hall

In the

is Little Lawford Hall. The original Lawford Hall was built during the reign of Henry VII, possibly on the site of an earlier monastic grange which belonged to the

monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Pipewell Abbey Pipewell Abbey was an English Cistercian abbey, in the Northamptonshire hamlet of Pipewell in the old Rockingham Forest. It was established in 1143 by William Butevilain as a daughter house of Newminster Abbey in Northumberland. The Abbey also he ...

, which was dissolved during the dissolution of the monasteries. It became the ancestral home of the Rouse-Boughton family. According to folklore, one of the Boughtons lost his arm during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and his ghost which is known as 'One-handed Boughton' continues to haunt the area. In 1780 the hall was the scene of a notorious murder case, when the heir to the family fortune Theodosius Boughton, died under mysterious circumstances while still a minor. It was soon determined that the cause of his death was poisoning, and suspicion soon fell on his brother-in-law, Captain John Donellan, husband of his sister, who would stand to gain the family inheritance if Theodosius died before the age of 21. Despite protesting his innocence, Donellan was tried and convicted of Boughton's murder, and hanged at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

the following year. Following these tragic events the family decided to demolish the hall in around 1790, sell the estate, and move elsewhere. Nothing now remains of it except foundations. The current house known as Little Lawford Hall was originally the

stables A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

to the previous hall which were converted for human habitation in around 1800. The date inset above the front porch is 1604, which may have been when it was first built.

Little Lawford Mill

Also at Little Lawford is the former

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

on the river Avon. A mill was recorded here in the

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 ...

, and milling was a continuous activity here until as late as the 1920s. The former mill now without a waterwheel is now a private house.

References

External links

{{authority control Hamlets in Warwickshire