Whatcote
Whatcote is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Shipston on Stour. The population at the 2011 census was 143.[2]
Manor
The Domesday Book records that in 1086 Hugh de Grandmesnil, one of William the Conqueror's military commanders, owned the manor of Whatcote.[3] In the latter half of the 14th century Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford acquired the manor.[3] It remained with the Stafford family until 1520 when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham conveyed the manor to Sir William Compton.[3] It remained with the Compton family, the Earls of Northampton until early in the 19th century, but by 1826 it had been acquired by Sir Adolphus Dalrymple, 2nd Baronet.[3] By 1865 Sir Adolphus had sold it to the Peach family, who in turn sold it to Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield.[3]
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of St. Peter was built in the first half of the 12th century.[3] The nave survives from this period, with a Norman doorway and two Norman windows in the north wall.[4] The tower and several windows in the south wall were added late in the 13th century and the chancel was rebuilt in about 1300.[4] One of the windows in the south wall of the chancel is a 14th-century addition.[3] The south porch, and the parapet and two of the bell-chamber windows of the tower, are 15th century additions.[3] In the 16th or 17th century a buttress was added to shore up part of the north wall.[3] A German bomb badly damaged the nave and porch in 1941 and the building was restored in 1947.[3]
The church tower has three bells. The tenor had been cast in 1652[5] but was recast by Henry Bond of Burford,[6] Oxfordshire in 1897.[7] John Clark of Evesham[6] cast the second bell in 1711.[7] The treble bell was cast in 1766[5] but was recast by William Blews & Sons of Birmingham[6] in 1878.[7]
In the churchyard are the base and shaft of a mediaeval cross, from which the top has been lost and replaced with a 17th or early 18th century sundial.[4] St. Peter's is now part of a single benefice with the neighbouring parishes of Oxhill and Tysoe.[8]
Amenities
Whatcote has a public house, the Royal Oak, controlled by the Hook Norton Brewery.[9]
References
- ^ "Area selected: Stratford-on-Avon (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Salzman, 1949, pages 202-205
- ^ a b c Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, page 470
- ^ a b Church Bells of Warwickshire: Whatcote St Peter
- ^ a b c "Bell Founders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ a b c "Whatcote S Peter". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ A Church Near You: Whatcote - St. Peter, Whatcote
- ^ The Royal Oak
Sources
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Alexandra, Wedgwood (1966). Warwickshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 470.
- Salzman, Louis F., ed. (1949). A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 5: Kington Hundred. Victoria County History. pp. 202–205.
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External links
Media related to Whatcote at Wikimedia Commons