Henley-in-Arden
| Henley-in-Arden | |
| Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Henley-in-Arden | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP1566 |
| Location: | 52°17’28"N, 1°46’41"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,011 (2001) |
| Post town: | Henley-in-Arden |
| Postcode: | B95 |
| Dialling code: | 01564 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Stratford on Avon |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Warwick and Leamington |
Henley-in-Arden (known locally as simply Henley) is a small town in Warwickshire. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden.
Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date back to mediæval times and wide variety of preserved architectural styles. The mile-long High Street of Henley is a conservation area.
Location and geography
Henley-in-Arden is about 5 miles west of Warwick, 15 miles from Birmingham, and 8 miles from Stratford upon Avon. It lies in the valley of the River Alne, which river separates Henley from the adjacent village of Beaudesert. Henley and Beaudesert effectively form a single entity, and share a joint parish council.
The town lies at a crossroads between the A3400 and the A4189 roads and is the starting point for the circular Arden Way path. It also lies on the Heart of England Way.
Sights about the town
The castle no longer remains, but several other historical buildings and structures still stand in the town, such as the parish churches of St John the Baptist and St Nicholas, the 15th century Guildhall (which has been restored), the mediæval market cross (much of the decoration of whose shaft has been mutilated but which has three ranges of kneeling places and sculptures representing the Holy Trinity, the crucifixion of Jesus, and, it is believed, St Peter), the 16th century White Swan, and several half timbered residences along High Street, the main street of the town.[1][2]
In Beaudesert are the remains of Beaudesert Castle.
Churches
- Church of England:
- St John the Baptist
- St Nicholas, Beaudesert
- Baptist: Henley-in-Arden Baptist Church
- Methodist: Henley-in-Arden Methodist Church
History
Henley-in-Arden is not listed in the Domesday Book and may not have existed until the 12th century; the first record of the town is in a legal instrument drawn during the reign of King Henry II. Henley was originally a hamlet of Wootton Wawen, on Feldon Street, the original route out of the Forest of Arden.[3][1][2]
In the 11th century, Thurstan de Montfort constructed Beaudesert Castle, a motte and bailey castle, on the hill above Beaudesert. In 1140, the Empress Matilda granted the right to hold a market at the castle and Henley soon became a prosperous market town, conveniently located on the busy road between Birmingham and Stratford. In 1220 in the reign of Henry III, the lord of the manor, Peter de Montfort, procured the grant of a weekly market and an annual fair to last two days, for the town.[1][2][4]
The initial prosperity came to an end however during the Second Barons' War when, in 1265, Peter de Montfort died fighting at the Battle of Evesham. The King's forces won, and the town and castle were burnt in reprisal. In time the town and castle recovered however and Henley became a borough in 1296. In 1315 all of the recorded townsfolk were freemen. The King stayed at the castle for 7 days in January 1324.[5] By 1336 the market was so prosperous that the inhabitants were able to obtain a licence from Edward III to impose a local sales tax on all goods brought to the market, for a period of three years, in order to pay for the cost of paving the streets.[1][2][6][7] The Lord of the Manor, Peter de Montfort 3rd Baron Montfort, as Commissioner of Array for Warwickshire sent 160 archers to the Battle of Crecy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.[8] By the 15th century, the lords of the manor were the Boteler family. Ralph Boteler, 1st Baron Sudeley obtained a charter from Henry VI in 1449, confirming the grant of the new weekly market, and a grant for two annual fairs.[2][9]
The town suffered another misfortune of war in 1643 during the English Civil War, when it was plundered by Prince Rupert.
As a non-chartered market town, Henley's administration was based upon a manorial court. Under the lord of the manor were a high bailiff, a low bailiff, a third-borough, a constable, and pairs of ale-tasters, Chamberlains, leathersealers, brook lookers, fieldreeves, and affearors. These local borough officials were chosen annually by a meeting of former bailiffs and constables, and were members of the jury of the biannual court leet. The bailiff, accompanied by his predecessors, would formally open the annual town fair. The town hall was inherited from a mediæval Guild.[10] The records of the court leet and the court baron in Henley date from 1592 onwards. The court rolls are largely concerned with (in Dyer's words) modest problems, such as preventing the poor from migrating into the town (which burgers considered would become a burden on the rates and result in the destruction of hedges for fuel), the ringing of loose pigs, and the prevention of horses being parked in the streets. The poor were a significant problem for Henley's court leet. In the early 17th century there was a marked increase in the landless poor, squatting on commons and on wasteland in the Forest of Arden, and such people were generally regarded as violent and criminal by townsfolk. Between 1590 and 1620 there were a disproportionate number of people, relative to the size of the population, presented by the court leet for engaging in violent affray, something which Underdown states to be "surely no coincidence".[10][11][12]
In the 1570s the townsfolk of Henley were prosecuted in the court leet for being in breach of an Act of Parliament that required the wearing of woollen caps on Sundays and other holy days (a short-lived statute enacted with the aim of ensuring economic support for the wool industry). It has been observed that William Shakespeare of nearby Stratford upon Avon was then writing Love's Labours Lost, in which Rosaline observes "Better wits have worn plain Statute Caps".[11]
By 1814, Henley had a weekly market every Monday, three annual fairs (on Lady Day; on Tuesday in Whitsunday-week, for cattle; and on October 29 for horses, cattle, sheep, and hops), and a population in 1811 (according to returns made to Parliament) of 1,055 (with 242 inhabited houses and 12 uninhabited houses).[2][13]
In the nineteenth century the Grand Union Canal was dug, passing Henley and providing a route for trade to and from Birmingham and London.
Lunatic asylums
Historically, Henley has had several private lunatic asylums. The first was licensed in 1744, which housed pauper lunatics at the expense of the parish. Another was run by Thomas Burman in 1795, who charged "one guinea/week for board and medicines, the patient finding their own linen and washing. If any person chuses a servant constantly to attend on them, board and wages are separately considered.".[14][15]
References
Specific
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sarah Valente Kettler and Carole Trimble (2004). The Amateur Historians Guide to the Heart of England: Nearly 200 Mediæval and Tudor Sites. Capital Books. p. 123. ISBN 1892123657.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 John Britton, Joseph Nightingale, James Norris Brewer, John Evans, John Hodgson, Francis Charles Laird, Frederic Shoberl, John Bigland, Thomas Rees, Thomas Hood, John Harris, and Edward Wedlake Brayley (1814). The Beauties of England and Wales. London: Longman and co. (and 10 others). pp. 272–273.
- ↑ Lennard, Reginald Vivian (1959). Rural England, 1086–1135: A Study of Social and Agrarian Conditions. Clarendon Press.
- ↑ Terry Slater (1981). A History of Warwickshire. Phillimore & Co Ltd. pp. 56–57.
- ↑ Calendar Patent Rolls, 1321-4. PRO. p. 360.
- ↑ Marie B. Rowlands (1987). The West Midlands from Ad 1000. Longman Publishing Group. p. 27.
- ↑ Calendar Patent Rolls, 1334-8. PRO. p. 310.
- ↑ JWilliam Dugdale. The Antiquities of Warwickshire. p. 803.
- ↑ F. C. Wellstood (1919). Records of the Manor of Henley in Arden, Warwickshire. Shakespeare Press, Stratford upon Avon.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Alan Dyer (2001). Martin Daunton. ed. The Cambridge Urban History of Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 448. ISBN 0521417074.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Owen Hood Phillips (2005). ShakespJeare And The Lawyers. Routledge. p. 36. ISBN 0415353130.
- ↑ Revel, Riot, and Rebellion: Popular Politics and Culture in England 1603-1660. Oxford University Press. 1987. ISBN 0192851934.
- ↑ William Cobbett (1832). A geographical dictionary of England and Wales. London: William Cobbett. p. 388.
- ↑ Marlene Ann Arieno (1989). Victorian Lunatics: a social epidemiology of mental illness in mid-nineteenth century England. Susquehanna University Press. p. 24. ISBN 0945636032.
- ↑ Charlotte MacKenzie (1992). Psychiatry for the Rich: : a History of Ticehurst Private Asylum, 1792–1917. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 0415088917.
General
- Allen, Geoff (2000). Warwickshire Towns & Villages. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. ISBN 1 85058 642 X.
Further reading
- William Cooper (1946). Henley-in-Arden: An ancient market town and its surroundings. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers.
- George Thomas Noszlopy (2003). Public Sculpture of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. Liverpool University. p. 42. ISBN 0853238472. – more information about Henley's market cross
- R Charles Welham (1993-05-24). Henley-in-Arden: life from the past. Studley: Brewin. ISBN 1858580188.