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ATHERSTONE - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"ATHERSTONE, a market town and formerly a chapelry in the parish of Mancetter, but now a district parish in the Atherstone division of the hundred of Hemlingford, in the county of Warwick, 23 miles to the N. of Warwick, and 102 miles from London by the Trent Valley branch of the London and North Western railway, on which it is a station. It is situated in a pleasant and highly cultivated country, near the western bank of the river Anker, close to the borders of Leicestershire. The Roman road, Watling Street, passes through this place, and a little to the west is the Coventry and Fazeley canal.

It is a place of considerable antiquity, and had a Saxon origin, its original name being Ardeston, the "town in Arden", or in the great wood. Its name in Domesday Book is written Aderestone. At the Conquest the manor was the property of the Countess Godiva, and was granted to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester. It afterwards passed through the hands of the Earls of Stafford and Warwick, till, in 1464, it became the property of the Carthusian monks of Mountgrace, in Yorkshire, and subsequently was given to the free chapel of St. George, at Windsor. In the latter part of the reign of Edward III., a friary of the Augustine order was founded here by Ralph Basset, the value of which at the Dissolution was only £2 per annum.

The chief historical interest which attaches to the place is from its association with the decisive battle which closed the long and destructive Wars of the Roses. Bosworth Field lies about 8 miles to the E. of Atherstone. The Earl of Richmond reached the town with his forces on the 20th of August, 1485, and encamped for the night in a meadow to the north of the church, since called "royal meadow". The earl is said to have slept at the inn known by the sign of the "Three Tuns;" and during the night he had a conference with Sir William Stanley, and formed the plans which resulted in the entire overthrow of the king in the great battle which followed on the 22nd.

This conference took place in a little close adjoining the town. The old carved oak chair occupied by Richmond on this occasion is said to be still in existence, and is in the possession of Stafford S. Baxter, Esq., of Atherstone. The town consists of one principal street, with several smaller ones branching off from it, forming a portion of the old Watling Street; and when the road was taken up in 1850 for the construction of a new sewer, the Roman pavement was discovered, and several Roman coins, about 3 feet below the present street.

Ancient and modern buildings are curiously intermixed, but the town is well paved, and lighted with gas. There is a marketplace on the north side of the town, with a townhall - a plain modern structure supported on pillars, and containing spacious assembly-rooms; also a corn-exchange, recently built. A literary institution, with library and news-room, a dispensary, and a savings-bank have been established. The Trent Valley railway passes through the western extremity of the town, for which there is a first-class station. The gas-works are on the south side of the town.

The hat manufacture is carried on extensively; ribbons and shalloons are also made. At Baddesley Moor, there are collieries in which many hands are employed. The scenery surrounding the town is rich and beautiful, extending northwards over wide landscapes to the hills of Derbyshire, and southwards, to a range of wooded hills affording pleasant shelter. Atherstone is the seat of a Poor-law Union, and a County Court district. It is a polling-place for the county elections, and petty sessions are held once a week. There are extensive wharves on the canal in the north-west part of the town.

The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Worcester, of the value of £150, in the patronage of the Vicar of Mancetter. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. It was erected in 1849, on the site of the ancient chapel of the friary, the old tower and the chancel being retained. It is in the decorated style of architecture, the tower rising from the intersection of the nave and chancel. The Roman Catholics, Independents, Secession Independents, Unitarians, and Wesleyan Methodists have places of worship here. There are also two monastic institutions - St. Scholastica's priory, and the Benedictine nuns of the order of the Blessed Sacrament.

Atherstone is rich in charitable endowments. A free grammar school was founded in 1573, and endowed by Sir William Devereux, and other benefactors. The system of education has been extended, and its present revenue is £320. There is another free school in South Street, founded by William Simmonds in 1685, called the English school, intended to prepare pupils for the grammar school. Its revenue is £42. The bequests and endowments for the benefit of the poor are very numerous. Near the town is Atherstone Hall, the seat of the Bracebridges. From the rising ground on which the mansion stands, there is a fine view over the river Anker, and Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire.

At Merevale, within 1 mile of the town, are the ruins of the abbey. W. S. Dugdale, Esq., is lord of the manor, and Viscount Curzon master of the Atherstone hounds, which are kept by subscription at Witherley. The market day is Tuesday. Fairs are held on the 7th of April and the 18th of July for the sale of cattle; on the 19th and 21st of September for cattle and cheese; and on the 4th of December for cattle and general wares. There is also a statute fair for the hiring of servants. Atherstone is noted for its cheese fair, one of the greatest in England."

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