Snitterfield
Encyclopedia
Snitterfield is a village
and civil parish
in the Stratford on Avon
district of Warwickshire
, England
, less than a mile to the north of the A46 road
, 4 ½ miles from Stratford upon Avon, 6 ½ miles from Warwick and 17 miles (27.4 km) from Coventry
.
frequenting the meadows near the Sherborne Brook which runs through the village. The earliest record of Snitterfield is on a map dated 1630 by John Speed
and as late as 1814, Snitterfield was spelt as Snitfield.
At the time of the Norman conquest of England
Snitefeld was held by Saxi who also possessed land at Walton
, Charlecote, Bramcote, Dorsington and Werlavescote but by 1086 it was held by the Count of Meulan; "in Ferncombe Hundred, Snitefeld. Saxi held it he was a free man. 4 hides. Land for 14 ploughs. In lordship 2; 10 slaves.11 villagers with a priest and 4 smallholders have 6 ploughs. Meadow 12 acres. Value before 1066 and later £4; now 100s."
Shakespearean connections are reflected in the home of some of Snitterfield's major employers, at Prospero Barn, The Green
Snitterfield; Prospero
was a character in The Tempest
. Prospero Barn houses Structured Training Ltd, SalesPathways Ltd and Predaptive OD Ltd.
Other employers include the Stratford Manor Hotel, a Mercedes-Benz
dealership, and the local Wyvale Garden Centre. Snitterfield is also home to one of the UK's oldest-established independent factoring (finance)
brokerages, Factoring Partners.
of the Conservative Party
.It is included in the West Midlands
electoral region of the European Parliament and the six members are; Mike Nattrass
(UK Independence), Liz Lynne
(Liberal Democrat), Malcolm Harbour
(Conservative), Michael Cashman
(Labour), Philip Bradbourn
OBE (Conservative) and Nicole Sinclaire
(UK Independence).
church of St. James The Great consists of a chancel
, nave
, north and south aisles, and a west tower. There are also modern vestries north of the chancel and south of the tower. The sequence of the earlier development of the building is a little uncertain owing to the proximity of the various periods, added to the marked differences in detail, and some confusion caused by later alterations. Probably the south arcade dates from the latter half of the 13th century and the north from the early 14th century, but the similarity of the windows in both aisles suggests that after the north aisle was built the south aisle was widened to 9 ft (2.7 m). to match the other. The chancel, built of rubble, is of severer detail and may have followed soon after the 14th-century north aisle; it is of great length compared with the nave and has large windows. The west tower was evidently erected in several successive stages: the lowest 10 ft (3 m). in the early 14th century, continued up another 8 or 9 ft (2.7 m). about 1340 with ashlar walling, the west window having moulded jambs rather like those of the south doorway, and completed c. 1400 in ashlar of larger stones.
The clearstory was added early in the 16th century: there seems to have been some trouble from weakness in the arcades, especially the northern, which shows inequalities in the arches resulting probably from partial reconstructions, and most of its capitals have been rather crudely remoulded. No important changes occurred before the 19th century, but there was some deterioration, as a description of 1858 mentions that the chancel was heavily buttressed on the north side and its windows had lost their tracery. The closing of the side doorways and insertion of the west doorway were done before that time. Scars and repairs in the arcades are evidence of the damage caused to the masonry by the erection of galleries in 1841. Probably the vestry south of the tower was then added. Since then the church has been well restored, the chancel windows provided with tracery, and the north vestry and organ chamber added.
, a long distance footpath which approximates the escape
route taken by King Charles II
after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester
, passes through Snitterfield. King's Lane owes its name to the tradition which says that Charles II rode through here with Jane Lane
during his escape in September 1651.
, bowls
, cricket
, and football.
RAF Snitterfield
a former Royal Air Force station is situated to the west of the village. The northern section of which is now a golf
course and the south-east side home to a glider
club
The local Scouts Group is 'Bearley & Snitterfield' which includes Beaver, Cub and Scout sections.
The village has two pubs, The Snitterfield Arms and The Foxhunter, and a village shop, (voted England's best in 2002). The Foxhunter was badly damaged by fire in June 2007 and is presently closed.
The village has grown with a 10% increase in the amount of housing between 2002 and 2003. Further development is limited to barn conversion
s and plots for no more than five properties.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Stratford on Avon
Stratford-on-Avon (district)
Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district of southern Warwickshire in England.The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" to distinguish it from its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based, although this name often causes confusion .The district is mostly rural and...
district of Warwickshire
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, less than a mile to the north of the A46 road
A46 road
The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...
, 4 ½ miles from Stratford upon Avon, 6 ½ miles from Warwick and 17 miles (27.4 km) from Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
.
History
The early name of Snitterfield was "Snytenfeld", open field of snipe, "Feld", signifing a cleared stretch of land amid the Forest of Arden and "Snyten" referring to the snipeSnipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
frequenting the meadows near the Sherborne Brook which runs through the village. The earliest record of Snitterfield is on a map dated 1630 by John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
and as late as 1814, Snitterfield was spelt as Snitfield.
At the time of the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Snitefeld was held by Saxi who also possessed land at Walton
Walton, Warwickshire
Walton is a small hamlet just south of Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, England. It is next to the River Dene and is most notable for Walton Hall which is now an hotel and spa. It is home to the Hamiltons who own the land...
, Charlecote, Bramcote, Dorsington and Werlavescote but by 1086 it was held by the Count of Meulan; "in Ferncombe Hundred, Snitefeld. Saxi held it he was a free man. 4 hides. Land for 14 ploughs. In lordship 2; 10 slaves.11 villagers with a priest and 4 smallholders have 6 ploughs. Meadow 12 acres. Value before 1066 and later £4; now 100s."
Economy
Welcombe Hills vineyard was established in 2001 situated at Vine Cottage, Kings Lane, Snitterfield, producing English wines from Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and Bacchus grape varieties. In August 2009, all five Welcombe Hills wines entered in the Mercian Vineyards Association regional competition won medals.Shakespearean connections are reflected in the home of some of Snitterfield's major employers, at Prospero Barn, The Green
Snitterfield; Prospero
Prospero
Prospero is the protagonist in The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare.- The Tempest :Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, who was put to sea on "a rotten carcass of a butt [boat]" to die by his usurping brother, Antonio, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda survived,...
was a character in The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. Prospero Barn houses Structured Training Ltd, SalesPathways Ltd and Predaptive OD Ltd.
Other employers include the Stratford Manor Hotel, a Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
dealership, and the local Wyvale Garden Centre. Snitterfield is also home to one of the UK's oldest-established independent factoring (finance)
Factoring (finance)
Factoring is a financial transaction whereby a business job sells its accounts receivable to a third party at a discount...
brokerages, Factoring Partners.
Governance
Snitterfield is a ward of Stratford on Avon District Council and represented by Councillor Helen Haytor, Conservative. Nationally it is part of Stratford-on-Avon constituency, whose current Member of Parliament following the 2010 election is Nadhim ZahawiNadhim Zahawi
Nadhim Zahawi is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, after the retirement of previous MP John Maples....
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.It is included in the West Midlands
West Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
West Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elected 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency will also elect a "virtual MEP" who will be able to sit in the Parliament if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect...
electoral region of the European Parliament and the six members are; Mike Nattrass
Mike Nattrass
Mike Nattrass is an English politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing the West Midlands constituency for the UK Independence Party , elected for the first time in June 2004 and re-elected in June 2009....
(UK Independence), Liz Lynne
Liz Lynne
Elizabeth Lynne, known as Liz Lynne, is a British politician, and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands for the Liberal Democrats since her election at the 1999 European election...
(Liberal Democrat), Malcolm Harbour
Malcolm Harbour
Malcolm Harbour is a British politician. He is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands. He is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and the Chairman of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.-Motor industry:Malcolm Harbour was...
(Conservative), Michael Cashman
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman is a British former actor, now a Labour politician. He has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands constituency since 1999.- Acting :...
(Labour), Philip Bradbourn
Philip Bradbourn
Philip Bradbourn OBE MEP is a British politician, and Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands, for the Conservative Party...
OBE (Conservative) and Nicole Sinclaire
Nikki Sinclaire
Nicole Sinclaire is a European politician from the United Kingdom and is a current MEP.Educated at the University of Canterbury graduating with a Bachelor of Laws qualification. Sinclaire has worked for Lloyds as a 'problem troubleshooter' was employed as a Gateway store manager and worked in...
(UK Independence).
Notable buildings
The parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church of St. James The Great consists of a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, north and south aisles, and a west tower. There are also modern vestries north of the chancel and south of the tower. The sequence of the earlier development of the building is a little uncertain owing to the proximity of the various periods, added to the marked differences in detail, and some confusion caused by later alterations. Probably the south arcade dates from the latter half of the 13th century and the north from the early 14th century, but the similarity of the windows in both aisles suggests that after the north aisle was built the south aisle was widened to 9 ft (2.7 m). to match the other. The chancel, built of rubble, is of severer detail and may have followed soon after the 14th-century north aisle; it is of great length compared with the nave and has large windows. The west tower was evidently erected in several successive stages: the lowest 10 ft (3 m). in the early 14th century, continued up another 8 or 9 ft (2.7 m). about 1340 with ashlar walling, the west window having moulded jambs rather like those of the south doorway, and completed c. 1400 in ashlar of larger stones.
The clearstory was added early in the 16th century: there seems to have been some trouble from weakness in the arcades, especially the northern, which shows inequalities in the arches resulting probably from partial reconstructions, and most of its capitals have been rather crudely remoulded. No important changes occurred before the 19th century, but there was some deterioration, as a description of 1858 mentions that the chancel was heavily buttressed on the north side and its windows had lost their tracery. The closing of the side doorways and insertion of the west doorway were done before that time. Scars and repairs in the arcades are evidence of the damage caused to the masonry by the erection of galleries in 1841. Probably the vestry south of the tower was then added. Since then the church has been well restored, the chancel windows provided with tracery, and the north vestry and organ chamber added.
Transport links
The Monarch's WayMonarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.Most of the footpath is waymarked...
, a long distance footpath which approximates the escape
Escape of Charles II
The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
route taken by King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
, passes through Snitterfield. King's Lane owes its name to the tradition which says that Charles II rode through here with Jane Lane
Jane Lane, Lady Fisher
Jane Lane played a heroic role in the Escape of Charles II in 1651. The main significance of the story is the key part that the escape played in forming the character and the opinions of Charles.-Origins:...
during his escape in September 1651.
Education
Snitterfield has Snitterfield Primary School, School Road, Snitterfield, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 0JL.| School | Compulsory education stage | School website | Ofsted Office for Standards in Education The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England .... details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snitterfield Primary School | Primary Primary education A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,... |
Primary School | |
Sports and leisure
Snitterfield has a sport horse training centre, a riding school, and a sports club, incorporating tennisTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and football.
RAF Snitterfield
RAF Snitterfield
RAF Snitterfield is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Snitterfield, Warwickshire, England, north of Stratford-upon-Avon.RAF Snitterfield was operational during the Second World War, the airfield had around 30 aircraft stands and currently the location of the bomb store is unknown...
a former Royal Air Force station is situated to the west of the village. The northern section of which is now a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course and the south-east side home to a glider
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
club
The local Scouts Group is 'Bearley & Snitterfield' which includes Beaver, Cub and Scout sections.
The village has two pubs, The Snitterfield Arms and The Foxhunter, and a village shop, (voted England's best in 2002). The Foxhunter was badly damaged by fire in June 2007 and is presently closed.
The village has grown with a 10% increase in the amount of housing between 2002 and 2003. Further development is limited to barn conversion
Conversion (barn)
The Conversion of Barns involves the conversion of old farming barns to commercial or residential use structures. Many older farm buildings are being converted for holiday use...
s and plots for no more than five properties.
Notable residents
- Richard ShakespeareRichard ShakespeareRichard Shakespeare was a husbandman of Snitterfield, Warwickshire, north-northeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, and the father of John Shakespeare and thus the grandfather of William Shakespeare....
, grandfather of the poet, is first mentioned in the manorial records of Snitterfield in 1535 and finally in 1560. He does not appear in the registers which begin in 1561 and is believed to have died in the intervening time. His wife, Abigail Webb, mother of John ShakespeareJohn ShakespeareJohn Shakespeare was the father of William Shakespeare. He was the son of Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield, a farmer. He moved to Stratford-upon-Avon and married Mary Arden, with whom he had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood...
the poet's father, and a sister of Mary WebbMary WebbMary Webb , was an English romantic novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and people which she knew. Her novels have been successfully dramatized, most notably the film Gone to Earth in 1950 by Michael...
(Mary ArdenMary ArdenMary Shakespeare, née Mary Arden, was the mother of William Shakespeare. She was the daughter of Robert Arden and his first wife Mary Arden née Mary Webb . The Arden family had been prominent in Warwickshire since before the Norman Conquest...
's mother) died in Snitterfield in 1595. Another of her sons, Henry, remained in the parish until his death in 1596. - John ShakespeareJohn ShakespeareJohn Shakespeare was the father of William Shakespeare. He was the son of Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield, a farmer. He moved to Stratford-upon-Avon and married Mary Arden, with whom he had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood...
, father of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
was born here but moved to Stratford having married Mary Arden and in 1579 surrendered his interests in the family property in Snitterfield to Robert Webbe. - John GrantJohn Grant (Gunpowder plotter)John Grant was a member of the failed Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I of England with a Catholic monarch. Grant was born around 1570, and lived at Norbrook in Warwickshire. He married the sister of another plotter, Thomas Wintour...
was born in Snitterfield of an old and respected family and lived at the now demolished moated house of Norbrook. He was brother in law to Thomas WintourThomas WintourRobert Wintour and Thomas Wintour , also spelt Winter, were members of the Gunpowder Plot, a failed conspiracy to assassinate King James I. Both were related to other conspirators, such as their cousin, Robert Catesby, and a half-brother, John Wintour, also joined them following the plot's failure...
, whose sister, Dorothy he had married and was recruited into the Gunpowder PlotGunpowder PlotThe Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
along with Robert Wintour and CatesbyRobert CatesbyRobert Catesby , was the leader of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605....
's servant Thomas BatesThomas BatesThomas Bates was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 1604 planned to kill King James I by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and...
in March 1605. Norbrook became the plotters Warwickshire headquarters and magazine, Grant stored gunpowder and weapons during the summer of 1605 and rode from here to the Red Lion Inn, DunchurchDunchurchDunchurch is a civil parish and village on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 2,842 in the village.- History :...
to await news of Guy FawkesGuy FawkesGuy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
attempt. When the failure became known the conspirators dispersed, some to Norbrook where they rested the night of 6 November 1605 before making their way to Holbeche HouseHolbeche HouseHolbeche House is a mansion located near Kingswinford, on the borders of Staffordshire. It is the building in which some of the central Gunpowder plotters were captured, and the rest killed.-Gunpowder Plot:...
, Staffordshire where they made their final stand. Here, Grant was blinded, his eyes being burnt out when a spark from the fire ignited the gunpowder they were trying to dry, which had become wet on the journey. He was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of LondonTower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. After being found guilty along with the other conspirators, on Thursday 30 January he was executed at St Pauls Cathedral, London along with DigbyEverard DigbySir Everard Digby was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Although he was raised in a Protestant household, and married a Protestant, Digby and his wife were converted to Catholicism by the Jesuit priest John Gerard...
, Thomas Wintour and BatesThomas BatesThomas Bates was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Bates was born at Lapworth in Warwickshire, and became a retainer to Robert Catesby, who from 1604 planned to kill King James I by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder, and...
. He refused to confess his treason saying it was "no sin against God". Abominably blinded, he allowed himself to be led quietly up the ladder to the halter and after crossing himself, went to his death. His estate was confiscated and granted to Batholomew Hales, then Lord of Snitterfield. - Richard JagoRichard JagoRichard Jago was an English poet. He was the third son of Richard Jago, Rector of Beaudesert, Warwickshire.-Education:Jago was educated at Solihull School in the West Midlands. One of the school's five houses bears his name...
, the poet, was rector here from 1754 to 1781. He was born in 1715 at BeaudesertBeaudesert, WarwickshireBeaudesert is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England, half a mile east across the River Alne to the north and west of Henley-in-Arden, to which it is closely associated and shares a joint parish council with...
Rectory, Henley in Arden where his father Richard was rector. Educated at Solihull Grammar SchoolSolihull SchoolSolihull School is a British Independent school situated near the centre of Solihull, West Midlands, England.2010 saw Solihull School celebrate its 450th anniversary since its foundation in 1560....
, one of the houses is named after him, where he met another minor poet William ShenstoneWilliam ShenstoneWilliam Shenstone was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes.-Life:...
. From there he went to University College, Oxford where he took his MA in 1738 having been made curate at Snitterfield the previous year. He became vicar of HarburyHarburyHarbury is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. In the 2001 census it had a population of 2,485....
in 1746 and shortly after ChestertonChesterton, WarwickshireChesterton is a small village in Warwickshire, England. It is about five miles south of Leamington Spa, near the villages of Harbury and Lighthorne.-Parish:...
both in Warwickshire followed by Snitterfield in 1754 where he took up residence until his death in 1781. Lord Willoughby de BrokeBaron Willoughby de BrokeBaron Willoughby de Broke is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1491 for Sir Robert Willoughby, of Brooke/Broke manor, Heywood, near Westbury, Wiltshire, de jure 9th Baron Latimer...
presented him with the rectory at KimcoteKimcote and WaltonKimcote and Walton is a parish situated in Leicestershire, approximately 4 miles north east of Lutterworth. The villages of Kimcote and Walton combine to form one parish, with all Saints Parish Church being situated in Kimcote. The parish was the base for many stockingers during the 19th Century....
in Leicestershire in 1771 and he resigned Harbury and Chesterton keeping Snitterfiled and Kimcote. His best known poem is the long topographical, Edge Hill (1767). Three silver birches were planted in the vicarage garden by his daughters. - John WoottonJohn WoottonJohn Wootton was an English painter of sporting subjects, battle scenes and landscapes, and illustrator.-Life:Born in Snitterfield, Warwickshire , he is best remembered as a pioneer in the painting of sporting subjects – together with Peter Tillemans and James Seymour – and was considered the...
an English painter and illustrator of sporting subjects, battle scenes and landscapes, was born in Snitterfield around 1682. He probably received some instruction from Jan WyckJan WyckJan Wyck was a Dutch baroque painter, best known for his works on military subjects...
in the 1690s, and was possibly patronized from an early age by the aristocratic households of Beaufort and Coventry (as was Wyck), perhaps while working as a page to Lady Anne Somerset at Snitterfield House. Snitterfield House was situated south of the church, built in the late 17th century it was demolished in the early 19th century. However, there seems to be no real evidence for this save his early painted view of the house and the family’s later acquisition of many of his works. Joseph Farington saw a painting of Diana and the Nymphs (1707; untraced) at Antony HouseAntony HouseAntony House is the name given to an early 18th-century house, which today is in the ownership of the National Trust. It is located between the towns of Torpoint and the village of Antony in the county of Cornwall, United Kingdom...
, Cornwall, but Wootton’s earliest extant dated work is the horse portrait Bonny Black (1711; Belvoir CastleBelvoir CastleBelvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
, Leicestershire). By this time he had begun to establish himself in London, having moved there before his first marriage, to Elizabeth Walsh, in 1706. He was a subscriber to the first English Academy of Painting and Drawing in 1711 and by 1717 had been elected a steward of the Virtuosi Club of St Luke’s. He died in London on 13 November 1764.