CHARLECOTE - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

"CHARLECOTE, a parish in the Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, in the county of Warwick, 5 miles S. of Warwick, and 4 N.E. of Stratford-on-Avon. It is situated on the E. bank of the river Avon, near the Great Western railway, which has a station at Stratford-on-Avon. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester, value £183, in the patronage of George Lucy, Esq.

The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, was rebuilt by the widow of the late George Lucy, in the Gothic style of architecture. It possesses several stained-glass; windows, and some beautiful monuments of the Lucy family, one of which is the work of the Italian sculptor, Bernini.

Charlecote Hall, built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy (Shakespeare's Justice Shallow), is in shape of the letter E, in honour of Queen Elizabeth, having a beautiful entrance porch, by John of Padua. It is a fine specimen of the Elizabethan architecture, and is beautifully situated in a park, stocked with deer, through which the river Avon flows. The park is approached by venerable trees, near which tradition says Shakspeare killed the deer.

"HUNSCOTE, a hamlet in the parish of Charlecote, county Warwick, 3 miles E. of Stratford-on-Avon."

"THELSFORD, a hamlet in the parish of Charlecote, county Warwick, 4 miles S. of Warwick, on a branch of the river Avon."

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