Hide

LEEK-WOOTTON - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

hide
Hide

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"LEEK-WOOTTON, a parish in the Kenilworth division of the hundred of Knightlow, county Warwick, 2 miles N. of Warwick, its post town, 4 N.W. of Leamington, and 1½ mile S. of the Kenilworth railway station. The village, which is small, is situated near the river Avon, and on the road leading from Warwick to Coventry. The hamlet of Hill Wootton is included in this parish The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture. The soils consist of loam, gravel, and clay.

The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Worcester, value £400. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a structure of stone, built in 1792, with a square embattled tower containing a clock and five bells. Anew chancel was added in 1843, in which are several marble tablets. The E. window is of great beauty. The register dates from 1583. The parochial charities consist in a share with Bidford, besides £18 per annum, the endowment of Winter's school for both sexes. Woodcote, about a quarter of a mile from the village, is the principal residence. Lord Clarendon is lord of the manor."

"GUY'S CLIFF, a hamlet in the parish of Leek-Wootton, hundred of Knightlow, county Warwick, 2 miles N. of Warwick. It is a charming spot on the banks of the river Avon, where Guy of Warwick is said to have retired after his conflict with Colebrand the Dane. On the site of the supposed hermitage, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, built a chantry in the reign of Henry VI., and caused a gigantic statue of his celebrated ancestor, Guy, to be carved out of the solid rock, which still exists, though in a mutilated condition. The chantry was at one time held by the antiquary, John Rous, and is now converted into the stables of Guy's Cliff House, which contains a fine collection of pictures and busts of the Kembles."

"WOOTTON HILL, a hamlet in the parish of Leek-Wootton, county Warwick, 3 miles N.E. of Warwick, near the river Avon."

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