CHURCHOVER
Acreage: 1,641. (fn. 1)
Population: 1911, 323; 1921, 274; 1931, 324.
The parish is bounded on the east by the straight
line of the Roman Watling Street, which here forms
the county boundary with Leicestershire. At the southeast angle of the parish, where Watling Street crosses
a small stream at Holywell and Caves Inn Farm,
are traces of earthworks, possibly marking the site of
the Roman station of Tripontium. (fn. 2) It was probably
here that in Dugdale's time 'a great Tumulus' caused
travellers to turn out of their way; (fn. 3) and it was certainly
round here that highway robbers lurked some three
centuries earlier. (fn. 4) At the northern tip of the parish
Watling Street passes over Bransford Bridge across
the River Swift, whose sinuous course marks the
western boundary of the parish. From Gibbet Hill,
in the middle of this stretch of Watling Street, a road
leads south-west and then west to the village of
Churchover, close to the river. About ¾ mile south of
the village is Coton House, a large building of early
19th-century date, standing in extensive grounds (fn. 5)
which contain traces of an earlier moated site. Nearly
½ mile farther south is a moated circular mound, which
seems to be the site of an early castle. (fn. 6)
South-east of the church on the opposite side of the
road is a house of L-shaped plan which shows in the
end gable timber-framing of late-16th-century date.
On the north side of the main street in the village is a
row of four cottages built in brick with stone dressings.
They have stone lintels of seven blocks with emphasized
keystone and a moulded stone eaves-cornice; they date
probably from the third quarter of the 18th century.
The mill, worth 2s., mentioned in the Domesday
Survey (fn. 7) was no doubt on the Swift. In 1223 Cecily,
formerly wife of William Shirewode, sued the Abbot
of Combe for one-third of a mill in Coton, as dower,
her husband having become a monk at Combe. (fn. 8) The
abbey's mill was valued at £1 in 1291. (fn. 9) A mill was
attached to the manor of Churchover in 1600 (fn. 10) but
does not appear to be mentioned later.
Manors
The chief holding in 'Wavre' recorded
in the Domesday Survey was 7 hides, which
had been held before the Conquest by
Waga (who gave his name to Wootton Wawen) and
in 1086 were in the hands of Robert de Stafford. (fn. 11)
The overlordship continued with the Staffords, twothirds of a knight's fee being held in 1166 by Robert de
Wavra as part of the 4 fees which Robert fitz Otes held
of Robert de Stafford; (fn. 12) and in 1242 the fees of Robert
de Stafford included half a fee in 'Roger's Waver', held
by Ralph de Mora, (fn. 13) who was grandson of Robert
fitz Otes. (fn. 14) The Roger whose name is used on this
one occasion to distinguish this Waver was apparently
Roger de Waver, who in the time of Henry II confirmed to Combe Abbey the gift of 96 acres here made
by his father, Robert, son of Seward de Waver. (fn. 15) The
vill had, however, by this time acquired its distinctive
name of CHURCH WAVER. (fn. 16)
The early history of the manor is obscure. It seems
to have been divided between two coheiresses before
1280, when Elizabeth, wife of John Beneyt, and Joan,
wife of Thomas de Dadelinton, shared the advowson
of the church. (fn. 17) Elizabeth, as a widow, conveyed her
share to John, son of Simon de Shirford. (fn. 18) In 1292
Richard de Stapelford and Joan his wife held a moiety
of the manor in her right. (fn. 19) John de Shirford and
Ralph de Morton were lords of Churchover in 1316. (fn. 20)
The advowson, and presumably the manor, in 1323
was held by Thomas Ireys and Alice Shirford. (fn. 21) One
moiety was soon after this held jointly by Thomas Ireys
and Agnes his wife and Philip Ireys and Alice his wife
for the lives of the said wives, with reversion to John
de Hampton, who in 1330 granted the reversion to
Thomas, son of Geoffrey Ireys of Ansty. (fn. 22) Thomas and
Philip Ireys and their wives Agnes and Alice in 1332
conveyed their moiety of the manor to Master Robert
de Stratford (fn. 23) (later Bishop of Chichester and
Chancellor). In 1337 John de Shirford conveyed one
moiety of the manor to his brother Simon de Shirford,
vicar of Nuneaton, and they jointly assigned it to
William Purefey and to Philip his son. (fn. 24) John had three
sisters, Eleanor, Margaret, and Katherine, (fn. 25) of whom
Katherine married Walter de Knyghtcote of Leicester
and in 1343 made over her rights in this moiety to
Philip Purefey of Minsterton and Margaret his wife (fn. 26)
(her sister). (fn. 27) Their descendant, Philip Purefey, died
in 1468 seised of the moiety of the manor, which he
left to his wife Isabel for life, with remainder to his son
John (then aged 10) in tail. (fn. 28) The Purefeys had held
land in the parish since at least as early as 1277, (fn. 29)
William Purefey being the largest tax-payer here in
1332, (fn. 30) and they continued to hold the manor until
1566, when John Purefey sold it to Sir Thomas Leigh. (fn. 31)
In 1602 Sir William Leigh sold to William Bond, (fn. 32) who
in turn sold it in 1605 to William Dixwell, (fn. 33) after which
it descended with the manor of Coton (see below).
It seems probable that when Master Robert de
Stratford acquired the Ireys moiety of the manor and
advowson it was with the object of conveying it to
Kenilworth Priory, as in 1333 licence was granted for
the alienation of it in mortmain by the rectors of
Landford and Lillington, no doubt Stratford's agents,
to the priory. (fn. 34) From this time onwards till the Dissolution Kenilworth and the Purefeys presented to the living
alternately. (fn. 35) After the Dissolution the Kenilworth lands
in Churchover (fn. 36) produced £4 12s. 8d. in rents from
customary tenants, (fn. 37) and it seems probable that they
constituted the so-called manor of Churchover, which
was sold by Humphrey Burnaby and Cecily his wife to
William Dixwell (his mother's nephew) (fn. 38) in 1619. (fn. 39)
As already mentioned, 96 acres in Churchover were
given by Robert, son of Seward de Wavre, to Combe
Abbey. Other gifts were made to the abbey, the most
important being one of 6 messuages and 16 virgates of
land from Alice, daughter of William Daus, in 1288. (fn. 40)
By 1291 their lands here and at Newton (in Clifton)
were producing £3 1s. in rents, with another 20s. for
the mill, and 6s. from pleas of courts, &c., and a large
farm was in operation, producing £5 from stock. (fn. 41) By
the time of Richard II the monks are said to have had
6 messuages and 155½ acres of land here. (fn. 42) After the
Dissolution, in 1539, the estates of Combe were
granted for life to Mary, Duchess of Richmond, (fn. 43) and
in 1545 she and Thomas Broke, merchant tailor of
London, to whom the reversion had been granted,
were licensed to alienate the manor of Churchover to
William Dixwell, who was already tenant of part of
the land. (fn. 44) He died in 1581, having settled the manor,
in 1557, on his son Humphrey at his marriage with
Helen Lowe, (fn. 45) and the manor descended in the family
for 200 years with Coton.
The manor of COTON alias COTES may perhaps
have had its origin in the 2½ hides in 'Wavre' which
had been held before the Conquest by Alric, had subsequently been granted to Earl Aubrey (de Couci), and
in 1086 were in the king's hands. (fn. 46) But if so this
estate must have been joined to the main Stafford
manor and been held with it by Robert fitz Otes, for
in 1242 a half-fee in Cotes was held by the Abbot of
Combe of William Trussell (one coheir of Robert),
who held of Ralph de Mora (the senior coheir), who
held of Robert de Stafford. (fn. 47) The abbey had acquired
lands here by grants from Hugh and Simon Bagot. (fn. 48)
Hugh Bagot had bought the half-fee from Ralph de
Duverne, and gave it to his brother Ingeram. (fn. 49) Their
brother Robert's son Roger died without issue, his
eventual heirs being his sisters' children, Amice de
Halesford and Peter de Cumbiton, who in 1246 sued
the Abbot of Combe for half a knight's fee in Cotes
and Newton. (fn. 50) The abbot evidently retained possession,
as in 1285 he proved his right to court leet, &c., here, (fn. 51)
and in 1290 had a grant of free warren. (fn. 52) Next year
the abbey's grange of Cotes was said to contain
6 ploughlands, worth 20s. each. (fn. 53) This half-fee in
'Cotton on the Wolds' continued to be held of the
earls of Stafford by the Abbot of Combe, (fn. 54) whose
estate in 'Cotton Laywold' in 1535 was producing
£15 6s. 8d. (fn. 55) After the Dissolution the manor was
granted to the Duchess of Richmond for life, (fn. 56) and in
reversion on 16 November 1551 to Edward Fynes,
Lord Clinton and Say, (fn. 57) who next day had licence to
alienate it to Thomas Marrowe, (fn. 58) who on 24 November
granted it to William and Elizabeth Dixwell. (fn. 59) It then
descended in this family, (fn. 60) coming in 1640 to William
Dixwell who for the past 5 years had been out of his
mind. (fn. 61) William, son of Brent, Dixwell was created a
baronet in 1716 but died without issue in 1757, when
the title became extinct. (fn. 62) The manor then passed to
his nephew, William Dixwell Grimes, who made a
settlement of the manor in 1774. (fn. 63) He was succeeded
about 1787 (fn. 64) by Abraham Grimes, who built Coton
House, and his son Henry Grimes was lord of the
manor and patron in 1850 (fn. 65) and 1859. (fn. 66) About 1870
the manorial rights and patronage came into the hands
of Francis Arkwright. After his death in 1915 the
advowson passed to his nephew Bertram Arkwright, (fn. 67)
but Mrs. Arthur James, J.P., is said to have been lady
of the manor in 1936. (fn. 68)
Dixwell. Argent a cheveron gules between three fleurs de lis sable.
Grimes. Or a border engrailed azure on a chief sable three scallops argent.
Church
The church of THE HOLY TRINITY
consists of a chancel with vestry and organchamber on the south side, nave, north and
south aisles, south porch, west tower, and spire.
The south arcade, south door, and west tower are
the only medieval portions of the present building; the
remainder dates from 1896 when the church was
rebuilt, mainly in 14th-century style, by an architect
named Bassett Smith. Before this restoration it consisted of chancel with apsidal termination, nave,
galleried south aisle, south porch, and west tower.
There was no chancel arch, the walls of the chancel
and nave being continuous; they were probably of the
late 13th century. The apse and south porch were
modern additions. (fn. 69)
The south arcade is of three bays, of an average width
of 7 ft. 7 in. between bases. The late-13th-century
octagonal pillars were originally built of a pale grey
stone, but show considerable modern repairs, as do the
moulded capitals and bases. The two-centred arches,
of two chamfered orders, do not fit the capitals, the
outer order projecting considerably to north and south
of the abacus. The east and west imposts therefore
take only the inner order, the outer being continuous
with the respond. On each side of the arcade is a
hood-mould, which above each capital is stopped on
heads, those above the responds being at a slightly
lower level than those above the pillars.
The doorway in the south aisle is 13th-century. It
has a moulded two-centred head and in the jambs two
narrow attached shafts with poorly moulded conjoined
capitals; there is a hood-mould with defaced headstops. The rear-arch is modern.
The 15th-century west tower (about 10 ft. 6 in.
square) is built of small coursed lias limestone rubble;
at the angles are narrow diagonal buttresses of four offsets, and at the south-east angle a projecting stair-vice.
Both tower and buttresses are built upon a heavy base
of ashlar which has a moulded plinth. Externally there
is no architectural indication of the internal divisions
of the tower. The segmental-pointed tower arch is of
three chamfered orders dying into the responds. The
west window is of three pointed lights with chamfered
jambs and mullions and pierced spandrels under a fourcentred head; the middle light is cinquefoiled; those
flanking it trefoiled. The original head and tracery
were of red sandstone and now show considerable
modern repairs in cement. The round-headed reararch has splayed jambs in which a few pieces of masonry
appear to show axe-dressing. In the second stage the
north, south, and west faces of the tower have each a
small square-headed window. In the third stage, the
bell-chamber, there is in each of the four faces of the
tower a square-headed window of two pointed trefoiled lights with blind-traceried heads. (fn. 70) The parapet
is recessed slightly, but has its angles emphasized by
their being flush with the wall surface; the base of the
parapet is indicated by a string-course, and the top
carries a simple moulding. The octagonal stone spire
is devoid of architectural ornament; it has two sets of
four plain rectangular lights. Both tower and steeple
were restored in 1911.
On the west wall of the north aisle, but formerly on
the south wall of the chancel, is a monument, (fn. 71) erected
in 1641 to Charles Dixwell of Coton and Abigail his
wife. Two flat panelled marble pilasters with Corinthian capitals support an architrave frieze with strapwork ornament, and a moulded cornice. Beneath this
entablature the kneeling figures of Charles and Abigail
Dixwell face each other with a prie-dieu between them.
Below are busts of four sons and one daughter. On the
west wall of the south aisle is a monument (fn. 72) to Humphrey and Ann Dixwell, their daughter Mary, and her
husband Robert Price. An entablature consisting of
architrave, decorated frieze, and cornice is carried on
three fluted Corinthian columns and linked by emphasized keystones to two shallow semicircular-headed
recesses in which are two pairs of kneeling figures,
each pair face to face with a prie-dieu between them.
Below this monument and near the respond of the
arcade is a much-worn slab, mutilated, but showing an
incised foliated cross. Above it is a small ancient capital
or corbel.
The 12th-century font (fn. 73) is a truncated inverted cone
with a roll-moulding on the bottom edge, and cable
ornament between two roll-mouldings on the upper
edge. The base is modern, and the bowl itself shows
slight modern repairs. The tall octagonal wooden
font-cover is dated 1673; each panel has a formalized
foliage design.
There are four bells, (fn. 74) two of 1622 by Watts, one of
1803, and one which is probably of the late 16th century.
There is a silver paten dated 1690 on the foot and
an 18th-century chalice with cover.
The registers begin in 1658, but those between 1670
and 1721 are missing.
Advowson
The advowson and rectory of
Churchover remained attached to the
manor, as already related. The church
was rated at £5 in 1291 (fn. 75) and at £15 in 1535. (fn. 76)
At Holywell the Abbey of Rocester (Staffs.) had
from an early date a chapel served by one of their
canons as a chantry for the souls of Robert de Cotes,
Richard Fyton, and other benefactors. (fn. 77) In 1320 the
sheriff seized the chapel into the king's hands because
the abbot had for two months failed to have service
performed there. It was, however, shown that this
was only because his canon, Godfrey Spigurnel, had
been robbed there; (fn. 78) and in 1325 the abbot was
licensed to transfer the chantry to his conventual
church, on the ground that it was situated in a solitary
dangerous spot on the highway of Watling Street,
frequented by robbers. (fn. 79) The endowment of the
chantry included 2½ virgates in Holywell, Churchover,
and Clifton, held of the heirs of Robert de Cotes; (fn. 80)
but the monks seem to have parted with the land before
the Dissolution.
Charities
Abigail Harcourt. By an indenture
dated 3 September 1627 certain arable
lands, meadows, and pasture containing
½ yard-land in the common fields of Churchover were
settled upon trust that the rent should yearly at
Michaelmas and Lady Day in the parish church of
Churchover be bestowed to the poorest people of the
parish as should seem to have most need.
The Poor's Estate. The endowment of this charity,
the origin of which is unknown, consists of a piece of
garden ground known as the Poor's Yard in Churchover,
together with the five cottages erected thereon.
The above-mentioned charities are now regulated
by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated
16 August 1935, which appoints a body of trustees and
directs that the yearly income shall be applied in providing coals and clothing or other necessaries to be sold
at reduced prices, or distributed gratuitously, to
industrious poor parishioners who are incapacitated by
age or other infirmity from supporting themselves by
their own labour. The annual income of the charities
amounts to £59.
The Rev. William Heygate Benn by will dated
10 August 1892 bequeathed to the rector and churchwardens of Churchover £500, the interest to be laid
out in the purchase of flannel blankets, coal, or bread,
to be distributed annually on or near to Christmas Day
among the deserving poor inhabitants of the parish.
The annual income of the charity amounts to £12 10s.