Polesworth is a large 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 ...

in the

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Coleshill, and the large villages of Hartshill, Kingsbury, Ma ...

district 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 ...

, England. It is situated close to the northern tip of the county, adjacent to the border with

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. It is east of Tamworth, northwest of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...

and northeast of

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 ...

. In the 2021 census, the civil parish of Polesworth had a population of 8,727; it included the contiguous sub-villages of

Birchmoor Birchmoor is a former coal mining village in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. It lies about one mile southwest of Polesworth (where the population details can be found), and 2 miles east of Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth ...

, St Helena and Hall End directly to the south, with Warton to the east. The built-up area of Polesworth, which includes the adjoining village of Dordon to the south, had a population of 9,913 in 2021. The border with

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

is to the east, while

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

is to the north. The

River Anker The River Anker flows through Nuneaton, England. It is a major tributary of the River Tame, which it joins in Tamworth. The name derives from the old British for ''winding river''. From source to river mouth at Tamworth is . Course The river ...

runs through the village.OS Explorer Map 232: Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000)

History

The name Polesworth is derived from "pol" meaning a "pool" and "worth" meaning "a dwelling" or enclosure in the

Old English language Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo- ...

. The village was once the site of Polesworth Abbey, which was founded in 827 by

King Egbert Ecgberht (died 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlemagne's court i ...

with his daughter Editha (later Saint Editha) as

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

. It prospered for 700 years, but was disbanded as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1544 the lands of the Abbey were granted by

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

to Francis Goodere, who used the stones of the Abbey to build a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

; Polesworth Hall. Henry Goodere, son of Francis, was a patron of the arts and Polesworth Hall was a centre of culture during

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

times. The poet

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton ( – ) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era, continuing to write through the reign of James I and into the reign of Charles I. Many of his works consisted of historical poetry. He was also the fir ...

was in the service of the Goodere family around 1580, and his works contain allusions to Polesworth and the

. Other notable figures including the dramatist

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

, architect

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

and poet

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

, made up the core of an elite group who became known as the Polesworth Circle. It is also rumoured that

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

spent time at Polesworth. Polesworth Hall no longer exists, as it was demolished in around 1870 and replaced by the vicarage. In around 1509, Thomas Cockayne constructed Pooley Hall, which today includes some of the oldest

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

work in the country. The hall still exists and overlooks Pooley View. That part of the hall known as Pooley Farm was once the home of the late American Soul and

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

singer

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

, famous for the song

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Polesworth and

Wilnecote Wilnecote is a suburban area about south-east of Tamworth, in the Tamworth district, in the county of Staffordshire, England, however, it also lies within the historic county of Warwickshire. It lies between the River Tame to the west and ...

are listed among the towns paying arrears to the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

at Tamworth. In an account drawn up by a Captain Thomas Layfield, for the period from 1 November 1645 to 1 May 1646, Polesworth (being rated at £8 a week) was assessed at and paid £196.16.0 while Wilnecote (at £2 a week) paid £50.7.0. When the

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...

was built through Polesworth in the 1770s, the village developed a

coal-mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

industry and the population underwent rapid growth. During the

Second World War 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 ...

opencast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ro ...

coal-mining devastated the surrounding countryside, and caused the River Anker to be diverted. Mining in the area has since disappeared. 62.5 hectares of the site of the former Pooley Hall colliery which closed in 1965 has been transformed into Pooley

Country Park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

Transport

The Trent Valley section of the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

runs just to the north of the village;

Polesworth railway station Polesworth railway station serves the village of Polesworth, in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on the Trent Valley line, Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line. Since 2005, only the northbound platform has been accessible to pas ...

is a stop on this line. However, the station has received only a ''

Parliamentary service A parliamentary train was a passenger service operated in the United Kingdom to comply with the Railway Regulation Act 1844 that required train companies to provide inexpensive and basic rail transport for less affluent passengers. The act requ ...

'' of just one train per day since 2005; this is because only the northbound platform is accessible, as the footbridge to the southbound platform was removed during upgrade works to the line and was not replaced. A to service calls at 06:48. The nearest fully operational stations are and , both within . Polesworth is served hourly by bus route 65 between Tamworth and

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, operated by

Arriva Midlands North Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bus ...

. 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, ...

runs just to the west of Polesworth and the

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

runs just to the south. The

runs through Polesworth.

Education

The main

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in Polesworth is the Nethersole Primary School; it has existed since the mid-17th century (albeit at a different location) having been founded by a local benefactor Sir

Francis Nethersole Sir Francis Nethersole (1587–1659) was an English diplomat, secretary to the Electress Elizabeth, Member of Parliament for Corfe Castle, and a Civil War political pamphleteer. Early life Francis Nethersole was second son of John Nethersole o ...

as a free school for the poor of Polesworth. The main

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

serving the area is The Polesworth School, in the adjacent village of Dordon.

Culture

The ''Polesworth Poets Trail'' is an attraction which highlights the famous

poets A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who were once associated with the village. The trail consists of strategically placed poems at various locations around the local area.

Notable residents

* Meghan Beesley (born 1989) - Athlete *

(1563– 1631) - Poet * Henry Goodere (1534–1595) - Nobleman *

(1587–1659) - Diplomat, politician *

Denis Alva Parsons Denis Alva Parsons, MBE, ARBS (14 November 1934 – 4 April 2012), was an English sculptor and carver in wood and stone, working in the tradition of "direct carving" technique and figurative bronzes. Career Parsons was a sculptor, one of th ...

(1934-2012) - Sculptor * Saint Edith of Polesworth (10th century) -

(1942-2003) - Soul and

singer

References

Citations

Sources

* Allen, Geoff ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', Sigma Leisure (2000) * Brink, Jean R. 1990. ''Michael Drayton revisited.'' Boston: Twayne. * ''The Warwickshire Village Book'' (1988)

External links

Polesworth Parish Council

Polesworth Parish
- Local website
Polesworth Abbey

Polesworth International Language College

Photos of Polesworth and surrounding area on geograph

British History Online on Polesworth

Polesworth Archives - Our Warwickshire
{{Warwickshire Villages in Warwickshire Civil parishes in Warwickshire Borough of North Warwickshire