Lower Shuckburgh is a small village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Upper and Lower Shuckburgh, (which in the 2001 census had a population of 82) in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in eastern

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. In 1961 the parish had a population of 74. On 1 April 1988 the parish was abolished to form "Upper and Lower Shuckburgh". The village lies on the A425 road between Southam and

Daventry Daventry ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, Daventry had a populati ...

. Just north of the village is the

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...

. On Beacon Hill, just south of the village, is the deserted village of Upper Shuckburgh after which the parish is partly named. The most notable buildings in the village are the Church of St John the Baptist, designed by John Croft, which dates from 1864 and is built in Gothic style, and Shuckburgh Hall, a privately owned country house

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

, which has been the home of the Shuckburgh family since the 12th century. The

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

is a Hornton stone

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

, unveiled in 1921 and decorated with a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...

.Nicholson, Jean et al: ''The Obelisks of Warwickshire'', page 61. Brewin Books, 2013 Shuckburgh was mentioned 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 ...

as ''Sochberge'', possibly referring to a long lost burial mound or barrow. The villages appear as ''Ouer Shugbury'' and ''Nether Shugbury'' on the

Christopher Saxton Christopher Saxton (c. 1540 – c. 1610) was an English cartographer who produced the first county maps of England and Wales. Life and family Saxton was probably born in Sowood, Ossett in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

map of 1637.

References

Sources

* Allen, Geoff. (2000). ''Warwickshire Towns and Villages''. Sigma Leisure.

External links

{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Former civil parishes in Warwickshire Stratford-on-Avon District