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Fenny Drayton

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Description in 1871:
"DRAYTON (Fenny), a parish in the district of Atherstone, and county of Leicester; adjacent to Watling-street, the river Anker, and the boundary with Warwick, 2½ miles W of Atherstone r. station, and 5½ NW by W of Hinckley. Post town, Atherstone. Acres, 1,280. Real property, £2,215. Pop., 134. Houses, 27. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £278. Patron, the Rev. J. E. Colyer. The church was reported in 1859 as bad. The ancestors of Drayton the poet were residents."
[John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]

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Census

  • The parish was in the Atherstone sub-district of the Atherstone Registration District.
     
  • The 1851 census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 600
1861R.G. 9 / 2192
1871R.G. 10 / 3166
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church in Fenny Drayton is dedicated to Saint Michael and All Angels.
     
  • The church was built around the 14th century and has a tower and 4 bells.
     
  • The church church was thoroughly restored in 1860 and the roof raised in pitch.
     
  • The church seats 120.
     
  • John SALMON has a photograph of St Michael's Church on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2003.
     
  • Richard CATTEL also has a photograph of St Michael's Church on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2007.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1709. Earlier portions are reported lost.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Sparkenhoe (second portion).
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Atherstone sub-district of the Atherstone Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

Fenny Drayton is a small village and a parish sitting about a mile north of the Watling Street (now the A5 arterial road). Watling Street seperates the parish from the county of Warwick. Prior to 1935, parts of the parish extended into what is now Warwickshire. This place is about 2 miles east of Atherstone (Warwick), 6 miles southwest of Market Bosworth, 6 miles northwest of Hincklay and 102 miles north of London. The parish covered 1,133 acres.

The village sits in the hills in southwest Leicestershire. If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, from the A5, just east of Atherstone, turn north at the first opportunity onto the old Roman Road for Fenny Drayton.
     
  • N. CHADWICK has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2015. You could use your artistic talents to create a more memorable sign, perhaps one that would slow the speeders a bit more.
     
You can see pictures of Fenny Drayton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

  • A monument was erercted here in 1872 to George FOX, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), who was born here in July, 1624.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the FOX Monument on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2008.
     
  • In the 1700s and 1800s about half of the parish land was in pasturage.
     
  • The parish was considered one of the best cheese-making areas in Leicestershire.
     
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Manors

  • The webpage author found no mention of a Fenny Drayton House or Hall in his sources.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP350968 (Lat/Lon: 52.567907, -1.485057), Fenny Drayton which are provided by:

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Military History

Inside St. Michael's Church is a brass plaque on a wooden base as a memorial to two men from the parish lost in World War One. Both men had the surname OSBORN.

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish of Leicestershire and became a Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient Sparkenhoe Hundred (Wapentake) in the southern (or western) division of the county.
     
  • The parish was part of the Atherstone Borough.
     

In April, 1935, this parish was abolished and split up between neighboring parishs as follows:

  • 5 acres went to Caldecote Civil Parish in Warwickshire.
  • 11 acres went to Mancetter Civil Parish in Warwickshire.
  • 20 acres went to Hartshill Civil Parish in Warwickshire.
  • 1,138 acres (the bulk of the parish) went to Witherley Civil Parish.

The first three transfers were part of the civil government plan to give everything south of the Watling Road to Warwickshire.

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Atherstone Poorlaw Union in Warwickshire.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Market Bosworth petty session hearings each week.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1841127
1871134
1881139
1891116
1901112
1911113
1921121
1931125
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Schools

  • A Public Elementary School was built here in 1871 to hold 65 students.