Stratford District - Others

A Wellington Bomber Crashes near Compton Verney

I have shared a picture of my Great Uncle Michael Joseph Stewart Kerby / Stewart Michael Kerby, along with the report of his death. During World War Two he was ...
Claverdon Smithy

The smithy at Claverdon is a grade II listed building dating from the late 17th century. It was still in use as a smithy during the 20th century. The building ...
Harvington Hall and the Throckmortons of Coughton

Harvington Hall in Worcestershire is a fine Elizabethan moated manor house that for many years belonged to the Throckmorton family who are based at Coughton Court in Warwickshire. Sir Robert ...
Lucky Find of 2,000 Year old Artefact in Alcester

When you’re digging over your garden you don’t expect to find much, aside from some worms and the occasional bit of rock. If you’re a bit unlucky you may even ...
Mourning Ring from Wolverton

Mourning rings date back from the Middle Ages and continued to be used until the early 20th century. It was in the 17th century that they became more defined from ...
Photos of Shipston and Area
Researching Ann Tennant

Soon after I had started writing up the story of Ann Tennant, I received a telephone call from a freelance newspaper reporter who had been commissioned to write a series ...
The Gossip of Penelope Mordaunt

Although there are piles of weighty solemn looking documents kept in the strongrooms of the Warwickshire County Record Office, there are a good deal of gems down there that could be ...
The Henley-in-Arden Ice Cream Parlour

When I was a student at Birmingham University studying chemistry, we used to cycle from Edgbaston to the Henley-in-Arden ice cream parlour. This was on a Sunday morning before our ...
The Jordans of Little Compton, and the Four Shire Stone

Mr Alfred Jordan was a lengthman at the beginning of World War 2, and so was exempt from having to serve in the war because of this...
The Mickleton Hooter

A number of accounts of Warwickshire folklore include tales of a strange booming sound heard in the vicinity of the village of Mickleton. The source of this noise was reputed ...
The Murder of Ann Tennant of Long Compton (Part Two)

(continued from part one) The trial of James Hayward for the murder of Ann Tennant was held three months after the inquest, at Warwick Crown Court on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday ...
The Murder of My Great-Great Grandmother. Ann Tennant of Long Compton (Part One)

On Christmas Eve 1998, I took delivery of a large brown envelope postmarked Southport. Inside was a copy of the death certificate of my great-great grandmother Ann Tennant. I knew ...
The Throckmorton Coat

The bet In 1811, Sir John Throckmorton entered into an extraordinary wager at a dinner party. He bet a huge 1,000 guineas that he could have a coat made in the ...