A Walk Around the Village of Stoneleigh

 

D's been on holiday from work this week and we planned a few outings.  Yesterday we re-visited the very pretty and picturesque village of Stoneleigh near Kenilworth.

Centuries ago Stoneleigh (or Stanlei as it was then known) was deep in the Forest of Arden.  Large oaks in the nearby parkland of Stoneleigh Abbey are all that now remain of this once vast forest.

Before the Norman Conquest and until the reign of Henry I Stanlei was a royal manor.  It was locally important for its Hundred Court of Medieval times which was held on nearby Motslow Hill.

The Domesday Survey recorded the manor had two mills and four miles of woodland where the King owned the feeding of 200 hogs.  

Today the village has many timber framed houses with around 26 dating from c1450 to the late 17th century.

The Old School House to the far left in the photo below dates from the early 19th century and was recorded as being used as an infant school in 1872.

This is a 3 bay cruck cottage dating from c1500.  There are six "cruck" cottages in Stoneleigh.  A cruck is a curved piece of timber which is split in two and the two halves are put together in an upside down "v" shape to support the roof and walls.

I quite often check on houses for sale in the village and the house on the right in the photo below is currently on the market but from memory I think it only contains one bedroom. I think the thatched building on the left is a separate house.

Even the more recent houses are attractively built.

Orchard Cottage is a 19th century cottage built by Stoneleigh Estate workers using old materials so the house would blend in.

The Old Smithy built in 1851. It was restored in 2007 and is now used as a sales room for stoves and fireplaces.

The cottages below were built around 1600.

The Almshouses of which there are ten. They were built in 1594 and encased in stone in 1597.  They were founded by Dame Alice Leigh, wife of the first Sir Thomas Leigh, to house 5 poor men and 5  poor women.

A Community Orchard

Old Red Sandstone on the bridge over the River Sowe.

There are stories of a ghostly cyclist seen in Stoneleigh. An anxious looking man on an ancient bicycle has been spotted careering madly down the hill into the village where he disappears into a stone wall. Apparently a cyclist was killed here in a cycling accident in the 1880's.

The Old Post Office

The building used for a Village Club was once a Reading Room.

Church Meadow Cottage is a 17th century two bay wood framed building.

The Manor Farm house.

The farm was one the largest in the village comprising 73 acres in 1597 and 183 acres in 1766.  Despite the name it was never a manor house. The earliest part is the left range which is late 16th century and the right wing was added about 1610. Apparently it is the most photographed house in the village.

There are still a few parts of the village to explore on a future visit. I left D collecting blackberries and went to have a look round the church.  Sadly, it was unexpectedly closed! But I did have a better look round the exterior and churchyard compared to our earlier visit so I will share (Less!!) photos in the next post.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.

I will publish some of D's photos in the next post,

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Reference:

Church Guide to The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin Stoneleigh-in-Arden

Pevsner Buildings of England Warwickshire (latest edition)

Tales of Warwickshire by Betty Smith

Booklet - A Walk Round Stoneleigh looking at the Historic Buildings by Roger Gilbert (2008)