Radway
Encyclopedia
Radway is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire
about 7 miles (11.3 km) north-west of Banbury
in neighbouring Oxfordshire
.
The village is at the foot of Edge Hill
and is notable for the Battle of Edgehill
, one of the early major engagements of the English Civil War
, which was fought in fields around the village and in the adjoining parishes of Ratley
and Kineton
.
The earliest known record of Radway is in the Domesday Book
of 1086. In medieval times its lands were divided between Arbury
Priory and Stoneleigh Abbey
.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries
under Henry VIII
in the 1530s the lands of Radway were granted to various of Henry's circle, notably the Coke family. As the lands were sold over the following years, the manorial
system of Radway broke down.
Radway became a centre of Puritan
ism during and after the Commonwealth period
. Persecution of Radway's Quakers
and the jailing of some led eventually to a small group emigrating in the 1680s to a Quaker colony in Gloucester County
, West New Jersey
. Letters from New Jersey still survive in the local record office.
Radway was enclosed
in the 1750s.
The Church of England parish church
of Saint Peter
was designed by the Gothic Revival architect
Charles Buckeridge
and built in 1866. The remains of a previous church, dating from the Middle Ages, are still visible. Inside St Peter's are memorials re-set from the previous church. They include the 15th-century effigy of a priest, the effigy of Captain Henry Kingsmill who fought for Charles I
and died in the Battle of Edgehill, and the architect Sanderson Miller
who died at Radway. St Peter's has a ring
of five bells, all cast by Robert Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
in 1868.
The Grange, originally an Elizabethan
gentleman's house, but Sanderson Miller extensively re-modelled them in Gothic Revival style, stands below the site of the original Stoneleigh Abbey
grange and is still a private house. It was occupied by Douglas Haig
before he became Commander in Chief on the Western Front in the First World War
. The Grange is now owned by David Richards, chairman of Aston Martin
.
At the top of the ridge adjoining the hamlet
of Edgehill
is the Octagonal Tower, a folly
designed by Sanderson Miller as a scale model of a tower at Warwick Castle
. The folly has been a pub since it was built, named in 1817 as the Inniskilling Dragoon
, but now the Castle Inn. It is said to stand on the site of another grange complex, known as Ratley Grange, also held by Stoneleigh Abbey.
Radway has a cricket club.
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
about 7 miles (11.3 km) north-west of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
in neighbouring Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
The village is at the foot of Edge Hill
Edge Hill, Warwickshire
Edge Hill is an escarpment and hamlet in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, South Warwickshire, England.Edge Hill gave its name to the first battle of the English Civil War, in which it was a prominent feature....
and is notable for the Battle of Edgehill
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....
, one of the early major engagements of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, which was fought in fields around the village and in the adjoining parishes of Ratley
Ratley
Ratley is a village in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, South Warwickshire, England. It lies on the north west side of the Edge Hill escarpment about 200m above sea level...
and Kineton
Kineton
Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278....
.
The earliest known record of Radway is in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. In medieval times its lands were divided between Arbury
Arbury
Arbury is a district and electoral ward of the city of Cambridge, England. The ward borders the following other wards : Histon, King's Hedges, West Chesterton, Market and Castle.-History:...
Priory and Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey is a large country mansion situated to the southwest of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Abbey was founded by the Cistercians in 1154...
.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in the 1530s the lands of Radway were granted to various of Henry's circle, notably the Coke family. As the lands were sold over the following years, the manorial
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
system of Radway broke down.
Radway became a centre of Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
ism during and after the Commonwealth period
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
. Persecution of Radway's Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
and the jailing of some led eventually to a small group emigrating in the 1680s to a Quaker colony in Gloucester County
Gloucester County, New Jersey
Gloucester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 288,288. Its county seat is Woodbury....
, West New Jersey
West Jersey
West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702...
. Letters from New Jersey still survive in the local record office.
Radway was enclosed
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
in the 1750s.
The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
was designed by the Gothic Revival architect
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Charles Buckeridge
Charles Buckeridge
Charles Buckeridge was a British Gothic Revival architect who trained as a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott. He practiced in Oxford 1856–68 and in London from 1869. He was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861.-Work:Much of Buckeridge's work was for parish...
and built in 1866. The remains of a previous church, dating from the Middle Ages, are still visible. Inside St Peter's are memorials re-set from the previous church. They include the 15th-century effigy of a priest, the effigy of Captain Henry Kingsmill who fought for Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and died in the Battle of Edgehill, and the architect Sanderson Miller
Sanderson Miller
Sanderson Miller was a pioneer of Gothic revival architecture, and a landscape designer who often added follies or other Picturesque garden buildings and features to the grounds of an estate....
who died at Radway. St Peter's has a ring
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
of five bells, all cast by Robert Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
in 1868.
The Grange, originally an Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
gentleman's house, but Sanderson Miller extensively re-modelled them in Gothic Revival style, stands below the site of the original Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey
Stoneleigh Abbey is a large country mansion situated to the southwest of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The Abbey was founded by the Cistercians in 1154...
grange and is still a private house. It was occupied by Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
before he became Commander in Chief on the Western Front in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Grange is now owned by David Richards, chairman of Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Edgehill
Edge Hill, Warwickshire
Edge Hill is an escarpment and hamlet in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, South Warwickshire, England.Edge Hill gave its name to the first battle of the English Civil War, in which it was a prominent feature....
is the Octagonal Tower, a folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
designed by Sanderson Miller as a scale model of a tower at Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
. The folly has been a pub since it was built, named in 1817 as the Inniskilling Dragoon
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
The 6th Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922.The 'Skins' are one of the four ancestor regiments of the Royal Dragoon...
, but now the Castle Inn. It is said to stand on the site of another grange complex, known as Ratley Grange, also held by Stoneleigh Abbey.
Radway has a cricket club.