Old Milverton 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 ...

east of

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 ...

and north west of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

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, and situated in a bend of the River Avon. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 319.

Hamlet

It lies at an altitude of 60–65 metres above sea level. The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of St James was built in 1879–80, on the site of an older church, from designs by John Gibson. It was funded by Lord Charles Percy and Lady Ann Bertie Percy (son and daughter-in-law of Algernon Percy). The church includes a

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window honouring Henry Jephson, who promoted the therapeutic benefits of

water and was instrumental in that town's success.Cave, L (1988) – ''Royal Leamington Spa'', Philmore & Co, Chichester, p62 In the

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

is buried the political scientist Sir

George Catlin George Catlin ( ; July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the American frontier. Traveling to the Wes ...

(1896–1979). Catlin, whose father served as an Anglican priest in Leamington from 1904 to 1912, was the husband of

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

(1893–1970), pacifist, feminist and author of '' Testament of Youth''. Brittain's ashes were divided between the grave of her husband and the grave of her brother Edward Brittain who died on active service in Italy.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, third edition, McFarland 2016, Scott Wilson; p88 Access to the

can be difficult in extreme weather as there are only two roads leading to it. There are very few amenities in Old Milverton. However, in the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

a pre-school playgroup takes place on a regular basis and there is a bus which runs to the nearby towns of

and

and back once a day. The annual flower show and village

fête In the United Kingdom and some of its former colonies, a fête or fete is a public festival organised to raise money for a charity, typically held outdoors. It generally includes entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Fetes are ty ...

took place for the 116th time in September 2013 featuring attractions such as vegetable growing, flower arranging and a

barn dance A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with Folk dance, traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building. The term “barn dance” is usually ...

Nearby

Situated close by are the historic ruins of Guy's Cliffe house and the Saxon Mill – a

water mill 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 milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

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 ...

which is now a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

. Just outside the

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

Park Disc Golf Club which is one of only 17 courses in the United Kingdom, and was the venue for the 2008 and 2009 UK Championships. The electoral

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Milverton in

lies to the south.

References

External links

{{authority control Hamlets in Warwickshire