A GROUP OF SHAKESPEARE’S VILLAGES
Around Stratford lie grouped quite a number of villages which
Shakespeare undoubtedly knew and visited, and possibly described in
one or other of his plays and poems. Great as is the attraction of
Stratford itself to many, there will be also pleasurable interests
found in the old–world villages which lie within easy distance. In them
and about them, indeed, there still lingers much of the “atmosphere”
of Shakespearian times, and in travelling to them along winding roads
and leafy by–ways one breathes the wider air of the Feldon and Arden,
and from the summits of their little hills can catch glimpses of the
district which Speed, not altogether unwarrantably, referred to as
another Eden. In the fields still toil peasants little differing,
in the more retired spots, in mode of life from those who toiled in
Shakespeare’s days, gathering the harvest of peas in autumn, or sowing
them in spring. Some, of course, who garner the peas are merely birds
of passage, wayside toilers, here to–day and gone to–morrow; but many
others are natives of the place or neighbourhood in which they dwell,
speaking with much the same voices and phraseology as the peasants of
Shakespeare’s time.
[Illustration: RUGBY SCHOOL.]
Through sweet Warwickshire lanes and by–paths one may reach many a
retired village well worth seeing, and wander, as Shakespeare wandered,
into places which he undoubtedly knew. In spring and summer few
counties can show a richer wealth of wayside flowers, or a greater
glory of leaf and bud; and the autumn is not less lovely. If only
for the beauty of the lanes and the by–ways many will feel rewarded
in making a pilgrimage to some of the spots which we shall briefly
describe.
Some six miles north–west of Stratford, close to the banks of the
picturesque little River Alne, lies Aston Cantlow, anciently known as
Estone Cantilupe. The first portion of the old name having probably a
reference to its position as regards Alcester, from which it is distant
five miles; and the latter part being derived from William de Cantelu,
or Cantilupe, a man of considerable power and influence in the reign of
King John, from whom he obtained a charter for the holding of a market
and a yearly fair.
The family of Cantilupe appears to have possessed the manor for rather
more than half a century, from 1205 to 1272.
The village is a very pretty one, and has additional interest in its
fine church, dating principally from the end of the thirteenth century.
Originally the family of Cantilupe erected or possessed a castle here,
some traces of the earthworks of which are still to be seen close to
the River Alne, on the north side of the church. The ancient moat
is quite clearly traceable, and this at flood–tide is filled by the
overflow of the river.
There is a fine half–timbered house in the village (now, alas! split
up into small tenements), which was formerly the hall of the “Guild
of the Blessed Virgin.” The church itself consists of chancel, nave,
north aisle and chapel, and a south porch, and it has at the western
end an embattled tower with pinnacles. The roof, which is probably
the original one, is cradle pattern, with the rafters trussed with
curved braces. There is a somewhat elementary but very interesting
stone carving over the north door of the nave, depicting the Virgin
Mary in bed with the infant Christ, whilst St. Joseph stands at the
foot. The date of this work it is difficult to fix absolutely, but
it seems probable that it dates from the beginning of the fourteenth
century. The western end of the north aisle contains an uncommon newel
staircase, originally intended to serve as a means of communication
between the church and some upper parvise or chamber; but this
apartment can never have been completed, as the stairs lead nowhere.
In the chancel are an interesting triple sedilia, a piscina, and a
credence table, all connected together by means of a moulding, which
terminates in two carved heads. The church also contains a fifteenth
century octagonal font, placed on a short shaft, each face of which is
ornamented by a sunk panel embellished with a quatrefoil placed in a
circle, and having a rose in the centre. At the east end of the church
is the chantry chapel of the “Guild of the Blessed Virgin,” in which
are two old–fashioned open pews, noticeable for the carved poppy heads
which adorn the elbows.
In the chapel are also an ancient _prie–Dieu_, and two old wooden
candelabra, each having five receptacles, and pedestals of carved
foliated work. It is probable that these formerly did service as
“elevation” candlesticks, and were placed on the lower steps of the
altar, to be lighted at high festivals and during the elevation of the
Host.
Most of the woodwork of the church dates from the fifteenth century,
and is well worth examination. To the Shakespearian students the
building, of course, has an added interest from the fact that it
seems very probable that it was here John, Shakespeare’s father, was
married to Mary Arden in 1557. Of the eight villages referred to in the
rhyme traditionally ascribed (but apparently without foundation) to
Shakespeare, which runs as follows—
Piping Pebworth, Dancing Marston,
Haunted Hillborough, Hungry Grafton,
Dodging Exhall, Papist Wixford,
Beggarly Broom, and Drunken Bidford—
two, Pebworth and Dancing Marston, are over the borders in
Gloucestershire, and scarcely call for detailed mention here.
Temple Grafton, the “Hungry” Grafton of the rhyme, lies about five
miles south of Aston Cantlow. The village which is prettily situated
on elevated ground was, in the reign of Henry I., bestowed by Henry de
Grafton on the Knights Hospitallers, who afterwards gave a portion of
it to Simon de Arden. It bore the name of Grafton until the reign of
Henry VIII., and it is supposed that the word Grafton is derived from
the Anglo–Saxon _graef_, a moat or ditch, the word “Hungry” being an
epithet given it by reason of the poverty of the soil.
Billesley, a little village lying nearly midway between Stratford and
Alcester, is the third competitor for notoriety as the place where
the poet was married. The evidence in favour of Billesley is entirely
traditional, and may be dismissed, but there is one interesting fact in
connection with the place, _i.e._ that in 1639 Elizabeth, daughter of
Dr. and Mrs. Hall (Shakespeare’s son–in–law and daughter), was married
to Mr., afterwards Sir John, Barnard.
The manor–house at Billesley, comprising the south wing of the original
Elizabethan building, contains a room, the oak panelling of which is
said to have been brought from New Place. This chamber, which is known
as Shakespeare’s Room, is traditionally supposed to have been occupied
by the poet on the occasion of his visits to the house.
Hillborough lies close to the river, some four miles from Stratford,
down a by–road running almost due south from the main road. It is the
“Haunted” Hillborough of the rhyme, although the origin of the ghostly
prefix is lost in obscurity. It is a picturesque stone–gabled building,
beautifully trellised with ivy, which has lost one of its original
wings. Apparently the house dates from Tudor times, but bears traces
of several later additions and alterations. The interior contains an
interesting survival in the shape of ascham or locker for bows and
arrows in the corner of one of the oak–panelled rooms.
Hillborough seems chiefly noted nowadays for its profusion of fruit,
the trees in the garden bearing such heavy crops as to necessitate
their being propped in order to sustain them; whilst peaches and even
grapes ripen and come to maturity on the sunny south walls as they do
in few places in the county.
Travelling westward, about three–quarters of a mile outside Bidford one
comes to a small red–brick barn in a field on the right–hand side of
the roadway. About fifty yards farther, on the opposite side, near by
an iron gate, stands a young crab–apple tree, which, tradition asserts,
sprang from the ancient one known as “Shakespeare’s Crab Tree,” under
which the poet is reputed to have slumbered off the effects of a
drinking bout in which he had taken part at Bidford. The old tree,
however, stood farther in the field. It long ago disappeared, and it is
even doubtful, alas! whether the young tree is, after all, related in
any way to it.
From this point there is a magnificent view of the Worcestershire
hills, and also Ragley Hall, set deeply amid the surrounding woods.
Bidford, one of the most picturesque and charming old–world villages
in Warwickshire, is now speedily reached along the descending road.
There is little doubt that this village, noticeable for its picturesque
and old tiled houses—many of them creeper–grown and quaintly irregular
as regards their architecture—is a place of great antiquity, as it is
situated at the point where the ancient Icknield Street crosses the
River Avon.
Although but a small village nowadays formerly it was a market town,
the lordship of which was anciently given by King John to Llewellyn,
Prince of Wales, on the marriage of the latter to his daughter Joan.
The market was granted by Henry III. in 1220, and was still existent in
the reign of Elizabeth.
Bidford seems to have derived its somewhat unpleasant appellation
of “drunken” from the traditional tale which was published in the
_Gentleman’s Magazine_ in December 1794; wherein it was said that
formerly the village contained an Association or Club of Topers, who
took pride in the quantity of ale they could swallow without falling
under the table. These persons, tradition states, were in the habit
of challenging the residents in neighbouring places to a contest of
endurance, and those of Stratford–on–Avon were on one occasion so
invited to a trial of strength.
The story further states that Shakespeare was one of the party who
came over from Stratford, and with the rest of his companions was
speedily conquered and had to leave the scene of action. It was
whilst on the road home after the contest that Shakespeare and his
fellow–townsmen are stated to have laid themselves down in a drunken
state under the crab–apple tree.
However true or otherwise the story may be, certain it is that Bidford
in ancient times possessed a somewhat unenviable notoriety for
festivity and drunkenness.
In the reign of Edward I. the lordship of Bidford was purchased by
Robert Burnell, who, in addition to being Lord Treasurer and Lord
Chancellor of England, was also Bishop of Bath and Wells. It was
he who built the castle of Acton Burnell, Shropshire, at which the
first Parliament was held. In the reign of Henry VII. Bidford was the
property of Lord Lovell, which on his attainder escheated to the Crown,
Henry VIII. subsequently granting it to Gerard Danet.
Nowadays Bidford is chiefly distinguished as a resort of Shakespearian
pilgrims and excursionists. Its chief attractions are a fine and
picturesque old bridge spanning the Avon, built at the end of the
fifteenth century by the monks of Alcester to replace the existing ford.
The Church of St. Laurence, which is built on a slight knoll
overlooking the river almost at the Stratford end of the village,
possesses a tower of a most unusual type, the date of which it is very
difficult to fix. The church consists of a chancel, nave, and aisles;
the first named is Early English, but the nave and aisles were rebuilt
in 1835 in a very unfortunate and commonplace style. The windows of
the chancel are filled by rather good stained glass, some of it by
Capronnier of Brussels. Whatever failings the restored building may
have, the church plate is of undoubted interest. Probably of Spanish
workmanship, it is of silver gilt repoussé work, and was presented by
the Duchess of Dudley in 1665. The church chest, probably dating from
the sixteenth century, is of an unusual kind, possessing heavy bands
and hinges with three locks, and in the middle of each end a ring, such
as is frequently found in old sea–chests.
Quite close to the church is an interesting old Elizabethan house,
known as the Falcon Inn, built of stone, the gabled front containing
three stories, and the principal windows mullioned. Formerly there
was a picturesque projecting gallery, which was done away with
many years ago. It was at this same inn that tradition states two
fraternities known as the “Topers” and “Sippers” used to meet, and
here it is alleged Shakespeare was frequently found carousing with
his companions. Unfortunately the building is now divided up into
tenements. It was from here that the inn sign and chair—now located in
the birthplace—came.
Wixford Church is small and picturesque, and of mixed architecture.
One of the most pleasing portions of the building is the chantry
chapel of the fifteenth century, which possesses a very fine Tudor
arched window of five lights on the east, and three good windows of
the same kind on the south. In this beautiful chapel is a remarkably
large and handsome tomb of Thomas de Cruwe and his wife Juliana, who
died at the commencement of the fifteenth century. The figures are of
finely engraved brass under crocketed pedimental canopies, enclosed and
divided by slender buttresses. Thomas de Cruwe is attired in armour,
and his wife wears a coif with a veil depending to the shoulders, a
close–fitting gown bound in with a cord at the waist, and a long mantle
open in front. Above the canopies are fixed shields of arms, and the
badge of a human foot is seen both above and below the figures.
This Thomas de Cruwe was attorney to Margaret de Beauchamp, and steward
to Richard de Beauchamp.
The step to the chantry altar still remains, and on the south side of
it is an extremely interesting piscina, with a semi–octagon canopy
within a ogee double–pointed arch. There are also several early brasses
in the church of considerable interest.
In the churchyard itself is the base of a fine old fourteenth–century
cross, with three steps; the centrepiece was found buried at the foot
some years ago, and has a representation of the crucifixion on one
side, and the Virgin and Child on the other.
North–west some eight miles from Stratford is the small market town
of Henley–in–Arden, less retired and quiet, unhappily, nowadays than a
few years ago. Anciently one of the towns situated in the great Forest
of Arden, it still possesses a market cross, dating from the fifteenth
century. And although the church, unlike many churches of Warwickshire
villages, does not possess any features of special interest, within a
quarter of a mile from the town lies Beaudesert, well worth a visit.
The first thing which will strike the traveller on approaching the spot
are the earthworks, now known as the “Mound,” where, in the twelfth
century, Thurstan de Montfort erected a castle which was destroyed
during the Wars of the Roses. From the Mound is obtained one of the
finest views in Warwickshire, ranging from Edge Hill on the one hand to
the Cotswolds on the other, with the charming picture of Henley itself
in the near foreground. The earthworks are divided into three parts by
two cross ditches; the portion farthest away from the village with the
steepest sides was most probably the site of the keep.
The little Church of Beaudesert, probably built by De Montfort, and
originally the Castle Church, lies at the foot of the earthworks.
Although the church has been considerably restored it still contains
much Norman work; particularly is this noticeable in the eastern
window, which is ornamented with zigzag, star and indented mouldings.
The chancel arch is also a fine specimen of Norman work, recessed and
ornamented with wave and tooth mouldings. The tower dates only from the
fifteenth century, but the walls and nave of the chancel are Norman,
with some fourteenth–century windows inserted. There is an interesting
holy water stoup on the east side of the south door, of about the same
period as the doorway itself; and in the north wall are two small
splayed Norman windows, the wall itself being of the thickness of five
feet.
In the whole of Warwickshire there is scarcely more beautiful scenery
to be found than in the immediate neighbourhood of Henley–in–Arden.
Here are still some few scattered remnants left of the great forest
which once covered the district so thickly, but which was gradually cut
down to meet the necessities of the iron furnaces of Aston, Birmingham,
and other places. Indeed, the destruction of the Forest of Arden may be
considered as having been brought about almost entirely by the means we
have indicated. Here, too, may be found, often hidden away in by–lanes,
picturesque survivals of the thatched and half–timbered cottages,
which are, alas! now disappearing one by one to make room for modern
erections, the ugliness of whose architecture is too often a blot on
their surroundings.
Only about a mile and a half from Stratford itself is Clopton House,
once the manor–house of the Clopton family, whose name is so closely
identified with Stratford, and to whom the manor was granted in the
thirteenth century. Most of the present house was built in the latter
part of the fifteenth century, in the reign of Henry VII.; but it
has been much altered at various periods, chiefly when the south and
eastern portions were reconstructed by Sir Edward Walker about 1665,
in the reign of Charles II. The house has also been restored in recent
times. There is a good Jacobean oak staircase, and in the bay–window of
the dining–room are the shields of several of the Cloptons.
In the attic story is a room used by the Roman Catholics as a chapel
in the times succeeding the Reformation, when such worship was a penal
offence. On the walls are still decipherable Scriptural texts in black
letter. A licence was granted by Pope Sixtus IV. to John Clopton and
his heirs at the end of the fourteenth century, to enable them to
have Mass said in this private chapel, opposite which is the Priests’
Chamber.
The house has additional historical interest as the residence, in 1605,
of Ambrose Rokewood, one of the chief conspirators in the Gunpowder
Plot, and from the fact that it was here Catesby, Winter, the Wrights,
and others used to assemble. After the failure of the plot Clopton
was raided by the bailiff of Stratford, and amongst other things,
consisting of papers, etc., was seized a bag containing “copes,
vestments, crosses, crucifixes, chalices, and other massing reliques,”
belonging to the then tenant, a full inventory of which is deposited in
the Museum at Stratford.
In the grounds are several small ponds, and beyond them a spring,
now arched over, where Margaret Clopton is stated to have drowned
herself in 1588, as a result of a love affair. It is supposed that
this incident suggested to Shakespeare’s mind the death of Ophelia,
and there seems some considerable probability that the second scene of
the introduction of “The Taming of the Shrew” is represented as taking
place at Clopton House.
About four miles from Stratford, along the Kineton Road, lies
Charlecote, in a picturesque park prettily situated close to the
junction of the Wellesbourne brook with the Avon. It was here, of
course, that the somewhat apocryphal deer–stealing exploits of
Shakespeare are said to have taken place. Whether there is any
foundation in fact or not for the tradition, it seems certain that
there was some considerable amount of friction at one time existing
between the then owner, Sir Thomas Lucy, and the poet. But whether,
as has been suggested by some, this circumstance had its rise in a
difference of religion, or from some other cause, it has never been
possible to determine. It is supposed by some that at the actual time
the deer–stealing is stated to have taken place there were none at
Charlecote, although there were in the parks of Fulbroke, which also
belonged to the Lucys, and it may even be that it was at the latter
place and not the former that the poaching took place, if at all.
Whatever truth there may be in the story there seems little doubt that
the poet satirised Sir Thomas Lucy in “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
under the guise of “Mr. Justice Shallow.”
The village of Charlecote was granted to Walter de Charlecote by
Henry de Montfort in the reign of Richard I. In the year 1216 William
de Charlecote, son of the original owner, assumed the name of Lucy,
by which the family has ever since been known. The present house,
which was erected by Sir Thomas Lucy in 1558, probably occupies much
the same site as that of the older mansion. With the exception of the
dining–room and library, which were added in 1833, Charlecote remains
to–day practically as it was in the Elizabethan age. It is approached
from the road through an ancient gate–house, one of the most beautiful
and well–preserved specimens of Elizabethan architecture still extant,
the upper story of which is supposed to have anciently been used as a
banqueting–room.
The house itself is also of red brick with stone dressings, and in the
ground plan is very much of the shape of the letter E. The mansion,
which is in a beautiful state of preservation throughout, contains the
great Hall, a very handsome chamber with a fine bay window, in which
are the family arms blazoned in the upper part, and a large number of
family portraits by noted artists of different periods, including,
amongst others, some fine examples of the work of Cornelis Janssens,
Dahl Kneller, De Manara, and Lely. The dining–room, which has a fine
panelled plaster ceiling of Elizabethan design, also contains some
admirable pictures, and from its windows are charming views of the Avon
and the Wellesbourne Brook, and the famous and stately avenue of lime
trees.
Charlecote has witnessed several historic scenes, the chief of which
are the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Sir Thomas Lucy when on her way
from Warwick to Compton Wynyates, August 24, 1572, and the presence in
the park of the Scottish Army on its way northward from Hereford on
September 9, 1745. Just two hundred years before which date John Fox,
the noted martyrologist, came as a guest to Charlecote and remained
there for some considerable period. In this house one has an almost
unique example of the higher type of purely domestic architecture of
the Elizabethan age, preserved with a success which makes it possible
for those who visit it to realise in a measure the needs and ambitions
of those spacious days when Elizabeth honoured so many of her noble or
distinguished subjects with visits.
Index
Æthelflæd, 9, 11, 44, 104
Æthelred, 11, 44
Alfred the Great and Warwickshire, 11
Ancient manor–houses, 174–201
Aragon, Catherine of, 98
Arden, Mary (Shakespeare’s mother), 212
“Arden, The Black Dog of”, 71
Forest of, 6, 203, 251
Armada, Warwickshire and the, 25
Asbies, 212, 214–15
Aston Cantlow, 212, 242
Augustinians, the, in Warwickshire, 18, 127
Bacon, Francis, 213
Baddesley Clinton, 174–9
Hall, illust., p. _128_, 179
Barnet, battle of, 97
Barons’ War, 16–17
Baskerville, John, printer, 167
Beacons, 199–200
Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick, illust., p. _57_
Beauchamp, Guy de, 71
Richard, 60, 63, 68; tomb, 63
Thomas, the first Earl of Warwick, 60
Thomas, the second Earl of Warwick, effigies of, 59
Berington, Joseph, 167
Bermingham, De, 156
Bidford, 245–7
Bridge, illust., p. _224_
Billesley, 244
Birmingham, 38–40, 154–71
ancient buildings, 168
Birmingham benefactors, 171
Boulton, Matthew, 165
Burne–Jones, Sir E., 169
Churches—St. John’s, Deritend, 169;
St. Martin’s, 157–8, 168
cotton–spinning machinery introduced, 165
early fame for metal work, 159–60
Free Grammar School of King Edward VI., 158
Leather Market, 160
Leland’s description (1538), 158–9
“Lunar Club”, or “Soho Circle”, 166
in mediæval times, 158
modern, 171
name, origin of, 154
population at various periods, 163
Public Buildings, 171
Roman Catholicism, 170
sack and burning of, 36
situation, 157
Soho Works, famous, 165–7
streets, first paved, 161
trade in 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, 164–8
the Plague, 163
Watt, James, 165
Black Canons, 127
Bolingbroke, Henry, at Gosford Green, 95
Bonaparte, Napoleon, portrait of, 69
Boughton, Richard, 23
Boulton, Matthew, and the “Soho”, Works, 165
Brooke, Lord, 30
Browning, Mrs., and Warwickshire scenery, 2
Burne–Jones, Sir E., and Birmingham, 169
Burton Dassett, 31–2, 35, 199
at time of Civil War, 31
Beacon, 199
Church, 35, 199–201
Butler’s Marston, 32
Camden’s description of Warwickshire, 159
Cantilupe, family of, 242
Canute ravages Warwickshire, 12
Castle, Brandon, and the “Barons’ War”, 16
Catesby, Robert, and the “Gunpowder Plot”, 26
Charlecote, 21, illust., p. _233_
Charles I., 29
at Edge Hill, 32
Charles II., 103
Chineworth or Kenilworth, 129
Civil War, 102
War in 1642, 64
Clopton family, 235
Sir Hugh, 202, 208, 219
Compton family, the, 190
Compton Wynyates, 189–201
Coombe Abbey, 18, 97
Corn Laws, repeal of the, and Birmingham, 40
Cornavii in Warwickshire, 4
Cornelias Bungey, martyr, 25
Cotton–spinning, 165
Coughton Court, 27, illust., p. _16_
Coventry, 21, 36, 38, 89
architecture, mediæval, 104
Bablake Hospital, 119
Bablake School, 119
Charter of Henry III., 94
Churches—Benedictine Monastery, 105;
Grey Friars, 104;
Holy Trinity, 109;
St. Michael’s, 95, 105, 108
constitution of Municipal Corporation, 94
county of, 96
Fair, 94
Feast of St. George, 97
festivals, 99
foundation, 89
Godiva, legend of Lady, 90
Guilds, Religious and Trade, 99
Coventry, “Hock Tuesday”, 99
in Domesday Book, 93
letters from Royal personages, 118
Mary Queen of Scots at, 101, 118
monasteries, 94, 98
“Mysteries”, 143
origin of name, 89
pageants, 98
Peeping Tom, 92
population in Domesday Book, 94;
in 1510, 98
portraits of Royal personages, 117, 119
Priory, 96
Queen Elizabeth’s visit, 99
statues of Royal personages, 114, 115
the Civil War, 102
the stocks, 113
visit of Henry VI., 115
walls and gates, 94
Cromwell, Oliver, and Civil War, 33, 35
Cropredy and Civil War, 31–2
Cucking stool, 60
Cumnor Place and Amy Robsart, 135
Danish invaders, 10, 44
nomenclature, 11
settlement, 11
Darwin, Dr., and Birmingham, 167
Dickens at Leamington, 153
“Dombey and Son”, and Leamington, 153
Domesday Book, 15, 93, 146, 157, 203
Drayton, Michael, 2
Dubritius, St., 44, 68, 70
Dudley, Ambrose, 63
John, 24
Robert, 64, 130, 138
Dugdale the historian and Warwickshire, 30, 155
Dunchurch, illust., p. _25_, 27
Earthquake (1085), 18
Edge Hill, 30, 34
Edward III. and Coventry, 94
Edward the Confessor, 15
“Eliot, George”, 8, 187
Elizabeth, Queen, 54, 99, 118, 216
Elizabeth’s, Queen, visit to Kenilworth, 131–4
Essex, Lord, 30
Evans, Mary Ann, 187
“Everyman”, the “mystery”, play, 99
Exhall, 96, 244
Fawkes, Guido, family history of, 27
Ferrers, family of, 175
Fisher family, the, 180
Sir Robert, 31
Fosse–way, 5
George IV. at Leamington, 150
Glover, Robert, martyr, 25
Godiva, Lady, 92, 107, 119
Gosford Green, execution of Earl Rivers on, 97
Great Frost, 213
Greatheed, Bertie, and Guy’s Cliffe, 68
Greville, Sir Fulke, and Warwick Castle, 60, 73–4
Robert, 30
Grey Friars, 94
Grey, Lady Jane, 24
Gunpowder Plot, Warwickshire and the, 26
Guy’s Cliffe, 67, illust., p. _64_
Hampden, John, at battle of Edge Hill, 34
Harold and Warwickshire, 13
Hathaway, Anne, 217;
cottage of, 240;
house of, 239
Hathaway’s House, 224
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, at Leamington, 145
Henley–in–Arden, 249, 251, illust., p. _4_
Henry IV. and Coventry, 95
“Henry VI”, 19, 95–6, 115
Henry VII., 98, 117
Henry VIII., 98
and the Duke of Buckingham, 191, 193
Hillborough, 244–5
“Hock Tuesday”, 99, 133
“Hungry”, Grafton, illust., p. _208_
Hwicci, 4
Icknield Street, 246
Way, 5, 6
James I., 74
and Coventry, 102
at Compton Wynyates, 196
James II. at Coventry, 103
Kemble, Sarah, at Guy’s Cliffe, 69
Kenilworth, 31, 118, 125–43
Castle—best approach, 136;
in Dudley’s time, 131;
Queen Elizabeth visits, 131
Church, 126
in Domesday Book, 129
name, origin of, 128
Priory, 127
situation, 125
Kineton and the Civil War, 32
“King Maker”, the, 21–2
Kingsbury and the Mercian Kings, 9
Knights Templars, 22, 55
Lancaster, Henry of, and Coventry, 21
Landor, Walter Savage, and Warwick, 58
Leamington, 144–53
and Abbotts, Dr., 149
in Domesday Book, 146
George IV., visit of, 150
hunting at, 151
name, origin of, 146
Nathaniel Hawthorne on, 145
Parade, illust., p. _112_
population of, 145
Public Gardens, 152
Ruskin, John, on, 151
Satchwell, Benj., poet, 149
situation of, 144
Spa, 148
Victoria, Princess at, 151
Leicester, Earl of, 16–17, 64
Leicester’s Hospital, Warwick, illust., p. _48_
Lewis, Mrs. Joyce, martyr, 25
Lindsey, Earl of, strange prayer of, 33
Little Wolford, 201
Manor–House, illust., p. _160_
Long Itchington, 30
Long Marston, 37
Lord Compton, illust., p. _169_
Lucy, Sir Henry, death of, at battle of
Northampton, 21
Macready on Leamington, 150
Margaret, Queen, at Coventry, 115
Mary Queen of Scots at Coventry, 101, 118–19
Maxstoke, Castle of, 181–7
Priory of, 18, 181
Mediæval architecture, 104, 181
Merevale Abbey, 18
Monasteries, 19
Monastic institutions, 98
Montfort, Henry de, and Barons’ War, 17
Simon de, and Barons’ War, 16
Mowbray, Thomas de, 95
Murdock, William, inventor of gas lighting, 167
“Mysteries”, or sacred plays, 99
Mytton’s Jack, exploits at Leamington, 153
Nash family and Shakespeare, 224
Neville, Richard, 21
Newburg, Henry de, and Warwick Castle, 45
Newburgh, John de, 45
Oken, Thomas, 59
Packington Hall, 179–80
Old Hall, 31, 37
Parliamentarians, 32, 64
“Parliamentum Diabolicum”, 96
Parr, William, 60
“Peeping Tom”, illust., p. _73_, 92
Picts and Scots, 8, 44
Plague, the, 101, 163, 213
Plessetis, John de, 46
Prayer, Earl of Lindsey’s, 33
Priestley, Dr., 167
Quaint customs of Warwick, 66
Reform Bill, 39
Religious orders, 18–19, 94
Richard II., Play of, 95, 98
Rivers, Earl, execution of, 97
Robsart, Amy, 73, 126
Roman Catholic religion and Shakespeare family, 215
Roman occupation, 4
remains, 7
Roses, the Wars of the, 21
Rous, John, historian, 68, 90
Royalists, 31
Rugby School, illust., p. _240_
Rupert, Prince, 30, 33, 34, 36
Ruskin, John, and Leamington, 151
Salford Priors, illust., p. _9_
Satchwell, Benjamin, Leamington’s poet, 149
Saxon nomenclature, 13
Saxon occupation, 14
remains, 14
Scott, Gilbert G., R.A., 111
Scott, Sir Walter, 126, 128, 135
Seckington, 9
Secret hiding places, 176, 197
Shakespeare, John, 211, 212, 214
Shakespeare, William, 26, 120
arms and motto of, 216
birth of, 26, 212
birthday of, 211
birthplace of, 211, 219–26, illust., p. _185_
bust of, 222, 233
character pictures, 238–9
death of, 219
early life of, 216
family of, 211–14, 217–18
memorial buildings, 237
portraits of, 222, 224, 238
relics of, 223
wedding, 217
“Shovel Board”, game of, 193
Siddons, Mrs., 69
Snitterfield, 211, 212, 214
Soho Works, Birmingham, 165
Southam, 31, illust., p. _32_
St. John, Knights of, 55
Stocks at Coventry, 113
Stoke, 96
Stoneleigh Abbey, 18, illust., p. _105_
Stratford–on–Avon, 202–40, illust., p. _201_
almshouses, 231
ancient architecture at., 210, 226, 229, 231
benefactors of, 206
bridges, 208
Celtic remains at, 203
Clopton, Sir Hugh, and, 208
fires at, 210
first record of existence, 203
Grammar School, 231
Guild Hall, 229
Guild of the Holy Cross, 207, 227
Hathaway’s house, 224
Holy Trinity, Church of the, 204, 231
incorporation of, 209
in Elizabethan times, 209
Market Cross, 223
markets and fairs, 205–6
Shakespeare’s birthplace at, 219–26
Shakespeare’s Museum, 223
Shakespeare’s property, 218, 221, 223
Tamworth, 9
Tangye family and Birmingham, 181
Tewkesbury, battle of, 97
Thornton, John, glass maker, 115
Tudor Rose, crest of, at Compton Wynyates, 191, 196
Turchill, Earl of Warwick, 45
Tysoe villages, 32
War of the Barons, 16–17
Warbeck, Perkin, 23
Warwick, 37, 38, 43
ancient buildings and relics, 48
Churches, etc.—Beauchamp Chapel, 57, 62;
John the Baptist, 56; St.
Helen, 56;
St. James, 48;
St. John’s Hospital, 55;
St. Lawrence, 56;
St. Mary, 56, 59, 66;
St. Michael, 56;
St. Nicholas, 56, 66;
St. Peter, 56;
St. Sepulchre Priory, 53, 56
cucking stool, 62
Danish invasion of, 44
early names of, 43, 44
fair established 13th century, 46
fire (1694), 57
Guild of St. George, 49
history and romance of, 43–69
municipal history of, 47
origin of, 43
Picts and Scots and, 44
Priory, 18
ramparts, 67
size at Norman conquest, 44
Warwick Castle, 67, 70–88, illust., p. _41_
art treasures of, 79
besieged by Royalists, 74
Cæsar’s Tower, 72
“Guy’s Porridge Pot”, 78
James I. entertained at, 74
origin, 70
pictures in, 79, 82–3
property of Crown, 73
Queen Elizabeth entertained at, 73
Royalty entertained at, 74
Shakespeare relics at, 85
“Vase”, 86
Warwick, “the King Maker”, 21–2
Warwickshire monasteries, 19
and the Civil War, 36
and the Danish occupation, 11
and the Saxon occupation, 14
compared with Derbyshire, 1
historical associations of, 4
in the Domesday Book, 15, 93, 146, 157, 203
in Roman times, 5
in Saxon times, 8
origin of name, 4
scenery, 2, 251
Shakespeare’s allusions to, 3
villages, 241–54
Watling Street, 5, 6
Watt, James, and Birmingham, 165
Wedmore, Treaty of, 11
Whipping Post at Coventry, 113
White Friars, 94
Withering, Dr., and Birmingham, 167
Wixford, 243, 248
Wormleighton, 32
House, 31
THE END
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.