BRAILES - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"BRAILES, a parish in the Brailes division of the hundred of Kington, in the county of Warwick, 3 miles to the E. of Shipston-on-Stour. It lies on the border of Oxfordshire and contains the hamlets of Chelmscott and Winderton. Brailes was anciently a market town, and the manor was held by the Earls of Warwick under a grant from William the Conqueror. There is some fine scenery in the neighbourhood. In the village is a manufactory of shag and plush, and a factory belonging to J. Gillett, the patentee of the rick ventilator.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Worcester, of the value of £344, in the patronage of J. Thornton, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. George, is a handsome stone structure with a square tower, and is partly in the early English style. The Society of Friends have a chapel, and there is a library and reading-room. Here is an endowed free school founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, which has a revenue of £64 per annum; also a National school, and a Roman Catholic chapel with a school attached. The parish has the enjoyment of several other charitable endowments, producing about £70 a year.

Brailes House is the seat of the Sheldon family, who have long held the manor and are the chief land holders. Brailes Cover is a mile from the village."

"CHELMSCOTT, a hamlet in the parish of Brailes, in the county of Warwick, 4 miles E. of Shipston-on-Stour."

"WINDERTON, a hamlet in the parish of Brailes, county Warwick, 4 miles E. of Shipston-on-Stour."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]