Little History of Cherington and Stourton: the villages

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A Little History of Cherington and Stourton, Warwickshire

About the villages

Present-day pronunciation: Cherington rhymes with "herring-tun"; the (River) Stour rhymes with "hour"; Stourton is "store-tun"; Warwickshire, "Warrickshear". Cherington, formerly also spelt "Cherrington", should not be confused with the larger Cherington in the county of Gloucestershire, which has many more web pages than its namesake.

The small English villages of Cherington and Stourton (population 245 and 131) lie side by side about 23 miles (37 km) north-west of the university city of Oxford, on the upper reaches of the River Stour, in the southern part of the county of Warwickshire. The Stour is a tributary of Shakespeare's Avon, which it joins just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, the town of the poet's birth, some 13 miles (21 km) by road from our two villages, again to the north-west. Most of Cherington and Stourton is built a little away from the river, which though no more than a stream at this point, is somewhat liable to flooding and occasionally leaves parts of the lower road through the villages under water.

Reference is sometimes made to "Little Cherington", which is the part of the village bounded by Featherbed Lane to the east, to the west by the road leading north from Cherington Mill, and to the north and south by the roads which complete the rectangle.

When the village had local telephone numbers, these were prefixed by the name Little Cherington, e.g. Little Cherington 123, as the telephone exchange was housed in a hut situated in a field in this part of the village.

This fertile valley here rises from a height of some 80 metres (260 feet) at its centre, to about 180m (nearly 600 ft) on Cherington and Green Hills, bounding the villages to the north, and Margetts Hill, just over a mile (2 km) to the south. The rich water-meadows left generations of haymakers yearning for a cool drink of the potent cider formerly made hereabouts; railways and main roads having passed the villages by, mixed farming is still an important village activity. Nevertheless, in terms of numbers, most of the active population now do non-agricultural work, many in towns in the area, such as Banbury, in Oxfordshire, or indeed in Stratford.

The final short chapter of "A Little History" refers to the once grand estate of Weston near Cherington, itself the subject of an interesting book, mentioned in the Bibliography. The estate, for many years an important source of local employment, once covered some 6500 acres (2630 hectares) and still retains over 4000, (1620 ha.), a considerable size for lowland England.

The county of Warwickshire is divided by the Avon into two parts; NW of the river once lay the Forest of Arden which covered most of that half of the county, while in contrast to the Arden, to the SE is the Feldon, or more open country. Cherington and Stourton are on the southern edge of the Feldon and at the northern tip of the Cotswold Hills. The villages boast many "listed buildings", designated as of historical merit and therefore enjoying legal protection.

Many houses are in the attractive local stone. A few date from the 16th and 17th centuries, a larger number from the early 1700s. This probably stems from the fact that Cherington was devastated by fire on 27 April 1716. A few of the original thatched roofs remain, and just one thatched barn (Stockleys, on Margett's Hill). An interesting feature of some houses, mentioned in the Little History, enables us to ascertain not only the building date but also the identity of the then inhabitants or owners: this is the date or name stone.

When such fine houses are sold, they command high prices, often beyond the reach of local families, who may then tend to move away. Be that as it may, of the families recorded in the census of 1901, at least sixteen were still represented in a 1999 village survey. The names involved are Bailey, Bartlett, Bradley, Bryan, Castle, Compton, Crossley, Dyer, Gillett, Hands, Jarrett, Long, Randall, Simkins, Smith and Taylor.

This survey is part of the research carried out for the Millennium History.

	Present-day pronunciation: Cherington rhymes with "herring-tun"; the (River) Stour rhymes with "hour"; Stourton is "store-tun"; Warwickshire, "Warrickshear". Cherington, formerly also spelt "Cherrington", should not be confused with the larger Cherington in the county of Gloucestershire, which has many more web pages than its namesake. The small English villages of Cherington and Stourton (population 245 and 131) lie side by side about 23 miles (37 km) north-west of the university city of Oxford, on the upper reaches of the River Stour, in the southern part of the county of Warwickshire. The Stour is a tributary of Shakespeare's Avon, which it joins just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, the town of the poet's birth, some 13 miles (21 km) by road from our two villages, again to the north-west. Most of Cherington and Stourton is built a little away from the river, which though no more than a stream at this point, is somewhat liable to flooding and occasionally leaves parts of the lower road through the villages under water.



	Reference is sometimes made to "Little Cherington", which is the part of the village bounded by Featherbed Lane to the east, to the west by the road leading north from Cherington Mill, and to the north and south by the roads which complete the rectangle.
	When the village had local telephone numbers, these were prefixed by the name Little Cherington, e.g. Little Cherington 123, as the telephone exchange was housed in a hut situated in a field in this part of the village. This fertile valley here rises from a height of some 80 metres (260 feet) at its centre, to about 180m (nearly 600 ft) on Cherington and Green Hills, bounding the villages to the north, and Margetts Hill, just over a mile (2 km) to the south. The rich water-meadows left generations of haymakers yearning for a cool drink of the potent cider formerly made hereabouts; railways and main roads having passed the villages by, mixed farming is still an important village activity. Nevertheless, in terms of numbers, most of the active population now do non-agricultural work, many in towns in the area, such as Banbury, in Oxfordshire, or indeed in Stratford. The final short chapter of "A Little History" refers to the once grand estate of Weston near Cherington, itself the subject of an interesting book, mentioned in the Bibliography. The estate, for many years an important source of local employment, once covered some 6500 acres (2630 hectares) and still retains over 4000, (1620 ha.), a considerable size for lowland England. The county of Warwickshire is divided by the Avon into two parts; NW of the river once lay the Forest of Arden which covered most of that half of the county, while in contrast to the Arden, to the SE is the Feldon, or more open country. Cherington and Stourton are on the southern edge of the Feldon and at the northern tip of the Cotswold Hills. The villages boast many "listed buildings", designated as of historical merit and therefore enjoying legal protection. Many houses are in the attractive local stone. A few date from the 16th and 17th centuries, a larger number from the early 1700s. This probably stems from the fact that Cherington was devastated by fire on 27 April 1716. A few of the original thatched roofs remain, and just one thatched barn (Stockleys, on Margett's Hill). An interesting feature of some houses, mentioned in the Little History, enables us to ascertain not only the building date but also the identity of the then inhabitants or owners: this is the date or name stone. When such fine houses are sold, they command high prices, often beyond the reach of local families, who may then tend to move away. Be that as it may, of the families recorded in the census of 1901, at least sixteen were still represented in a 1999 village survey. The names involved are Bailey, Bartlett, Bradley, Bryan, Castle, Compton, Crossley, Dyer, Gillett, Hands, Jarrett, Long, Randall, Simkins, Smith and Taylor. This survey is part of the research carried out for the Millennium History.