Joy Woodall
11 Apr 2017
Lapworth was an uncultivated heath in mediaeval times on a watershed: streams flowed northwards to the river Blythe and thence to the Trent, whilst those in the south went towards the Avon and the Severn. There was an Iron Age hill fort, known locally as Harborough Banks (see Hannet’s map of 1860). The Romans were in the area with tile kilns south of Kingswood in 125 AD. The first written record of Lapworth (meaning the enclosure on the edge) was in 816 when the King of Mercia granted it to the Bishop of Worcester. It stood at the very edge of his diocese adjacent to the boundary with Lichfield. In 1036 the Bishop gave Lapworth to Herlwin as a reward for accompanying him when he took King Canute’s daughter to Saxony for a marriage. By 1086 three families lived on the land now owned by Herlwin’s son, Baldwin, and valued at 20 shillings.
The Marchal family were Lords of the Manor at the end on the 12th century, and were succeeded by Henry Pippard who died in 1258. His daughter Cecily married Thomas de Bishopden, whose grandson, Sir John, had the Stone House built in 1313 to his precise specification by John Pesham of Rowington and William Hoese, mason. The house was 40ft long, 18ft wide with a room (11ft high) on each side of the central entrance; on the first floor was a ‘sovereign chamber’, 9ft high with two fireplaces and two garderobes, under a pitched roof. Sir John supplied the stone, timber (with carpenter) and the sand & lime. Completion was to be within a year. The cost was £4-3-4d. The nearby quarry was then made into a fishpond.
In 1369 the house, as well as its park and the estate, was physically divided between the daughters of Sir Hugh Brandeston who had recently died. Rose had married Sit Richard de Montfort and Agnes had married Philip de Aylesbury. Rose lived until 1427, and her daughter Margaret married Sir John Catesby. By 1480 their son, William, had regained the whole of the estate and Richard III granted him 600 more acres. But he was executed for treason in 1487 and all his lands forfeited. His son, George, managed to get all the land restored in 1495. Sir Thomas Holte purchased Lapworth in 1602, but he and his descendants preferred to live at Aston Hall. Lapworth park was divided into two farms, and like the rest of the estate was tenanted. Due to agricultural depressions many tenants could not pay their rents, and it was not until the 1770s under the Lister family that the estate began to balance its books.
The first mention of St Mary’s Church was in 1190 when it was a simple aisleless rectangle. The small Chantry Chapel on the upper floor at the west end had separate in and out staircases, but cannot be reached through the church. It was founded in 1373 by Sir Richard de Montfort. Merton College, Oxford, has held the advowson since 1275, but the Rectors were frequently absentees – like the Lords of the Manor. The Rectory, built in 1793 opposite the church but now demolished, was therefore occupied by a succession of curates (of whom the Rev Owen Bonnell stayed longest from 1750-96). There had been a school at Lapworth in 1662 and intermittently since. By 1704 it was at the end of a terrace of cottages, and operated there until 1824. Thomas Harborne of Solihull, carpenter and builder, erected a new building containing apartments for the master and parish clerk at opposite ends with the school in the middle. The cost was £1,526 which was paid off in 1833. A new school building was opened in 1990 in Kingswood Station Road.
In 1726 the Stratford Road was turnpiked, followed by the Old Warwick Road in 1766. The Stratford Canal reached Hockley Heath in 1796, but did not get to Kingswood – where the ancient pub changed its name to The Navigation - until 1802 when the link was made to the Grand Union. The canal reached Stratford in 1816. The Oxford-Birmingham Railway opened in 1852, and Kingswood Station functioned from 1854. There was confusion with Kingswood near Bristol, so its name was altered to Lapworth. It was much used by commuters from 1871 onwards, with some large houses being built eg Kingswood Grange for the Garrards, and The Terrets for Mr Shirley Palmer, a surgeon with his family. Several old farmhouses were improved. Newcomers required servants, but the highly skilled like butlers and cooks were hard to obtain. They also needed good local shops: Potterton’s the grocers on the corner of Mill Lane sold everything, with a bakery next door. There were also two excellent butchers.
The main occupation of the inhabitants was always agriculture and the trades associated with it. In 1851 there were 35 farms in the parish employing over 100 labourers. Between 1871 and 1881, a period of depression, 72% of the farms changed hands. Imports from New Zealand (lamb) and Canada (grain) had an impact, but milk production grew with greater demand from Birmingham - which also required hay for its increasing number of horses; Warwickshire cheese was highly prized. Some of the new farmers were keen on shooting and fishing. The Overton family tanyard gave its name to Tan House Farm where they lived in the 18th century, before passing the business to John Green in the 1840s. Opposite was the Boot Inn, the oldest pub in Lapworth. The blacksmith, John Green in the 1840s, was next to the Bell Inn.
A valuable source is Joy Woodall’s book A Portrait of Lapworth, published in 1986, and available from the author at £14.95p. It includes detailed maps and delightful drawings.