Guy's Cliffe (variously spelled with and without an apostrophe and a final "e") is a hamlet and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the River Avon and the Coventry Road between

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and

Leek Wootton Leek Wootton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe, in the Warwick district, in the county of Warwickshire, England, approximately south of Kenilworth and north of Warwick. It lies in t ...

, in the parish of Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe, in the

district, in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England, near

Old Milverton Old Milverton is a hamlet east of Warwick and north west of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England, and situated in a bend of the River Avon. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 319. Hamlet It lies at an altitude of 60–65 metr ...

. In 1961 the parish had a population of 2.

Civil parish

It is in the

of Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe; the latter was ecclesiastically on the same boundaries a minor chapelry. The secular version of the unit (i.e. civil parish) was, for a time, the least populous third-tier local authority in England; from 1 April 1986 it was merged with Leek Wootton to become "Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe" civil parish. Guy's Cliffe became a parish in 1858. The name Guy's Cliffe originates from the name of the

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

and estate that the land belonged to, which in turn was named after the cliff which the house itself was built on. The house has been in a

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

ed state since the late 20th century and is on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

due to significant problems.

History

Before 1900

Guy's Cliffe has been around since

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

times and derives its name from the legendary

Guy of Warwick Guy of Warwick, or Gui de Warewic, is a legendary English hero of Romance popular in England and France from the 13th to 17th centuries, but now largely forgotten. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the Matter of England ...

. Guy is supposed to have retired to a hermitage on this site, which legend led to the founding of a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

. The chantry was established in 1423 as the Chapel of St

Mary Magdelene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and the rock-carved stables and storehouses still remain. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

the site passed into private hands. The current, ruined house dates from 1751 and was started by

Samuel Greatheed Samuel Greatheed ( - 2 August 1765) was a British politician. He was the member of Parliament for Coventry from 1747 to 1761. Samual Greatheed was the son of John Greatheed of St Mary Cayon, Saint Kitts, and his wife Frances. The Greatheed fami ...

, a West India slave-owner, merchant and Member of Parliament for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

1747-1761. His son

Bertie Greatheed Bertie Greatheed (1759–1826) was an English dramatist, slave owner and landowner. Life Greatheed was born on 19 October 1759, the son of the MP Samuel Greatheed of Guy's Cliffe, near Warwick, and his wife Lady Mary Bertie, daughter of Peregrin ...

inherited the estate after the death of his mother in 1774 and further improved the house and grounds in 1810 to heighten the picturesque qualities of the site. Gaveston monument

The estate also included a mill, stables, kitchen garden and land as far as Blacklow Hill to the north-west of the house. It is the site of an ancient settlement and the location of

Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall ( – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the house ...

's murder. In 1821 Bertie Greatheed erected a stone cross to mark the execution, ‘Gaveston's Cross’, and later commented in his diary that he could read the inscription on the cross with his telescope from the house.

1900 onwards

The house was used as a hospital during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

became a school for evacuated children. Guy's Cliffe estate was broken up and sold in 1947. In 1952 the mill became a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and restaurant and was named The

Saxon Mill The Saxon Mill is a former mill at Guy's Cliffe, Warwickshire, England, situated about one mile northeast of the town of Warwick. It is now a restaurant and bar. It is on the River Avon and it has a water wheel, although a larger waterwheel ha ...

, the stables became a riding school and the kitchen garden became a nursery, all of which still exist today. A toll house also stood by the road to the north of the Saxon Mill but was demolished in the mid 20th century. The new owner of the house intended to convert it into a hotel but the plans came to nothing and the house fell into disrepair. In 1955 the house was purchased by Aldwyn Porter and the chapel leased to the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, establishing a connection with the Masons that remains today. The roof had fallen in by 1966. In 1992, during the filming of ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, which h ...

'' (

The Last Vampyre "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes stories collected between 1921 and 1927 as ''The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in the January 1924 issues ...

), a fire scene got out of control and seriously damaged the building, leading to an insurance claim.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

has given the building

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

status. One new house was built within the grounds, Guy's Cliffe House (note: the ruined house), and by the 1980s, when the parishes merged, the population of the Parish of Guy's Cliffe was no more than four people. The new boundary split the original estate: the stables and nursery are not within the current Parish of Leek Wootton & Guy's Cliffe, but the house, mill and modern homes are.

Geology

The cliff is protected as Guy's Cliffe

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) owing to its geological interest. Its citation states that this is due to it being a good exposure of

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic period (geology), period or the middle of three series (stratigraphy), series in which the Triassic system (stratigraphy), system is di ...

sandstone, which is of particular interest for fossils of

Mastodonsaurus ''Mastodonsaurus'' (meaning "teat tooth lizard") is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic of Europe. It belongs to a Triassic group of temnospondyls called Capitosauria, characterized by their large body size, large ...

Points of interest

*The chapel, used for Masonic ceremonies, has a large statue depicting

. *

Piers Gaveston Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall ( – 19 June 1312) was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of Edward II of England. At a young age, Gaveston made a good impression on King Edward I, who assigned him to the househo ...

, the favourite of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, sought refuge and was (allegedly) apprehended here before his execution on nearby Blacklow Hill at

. *

on the River Avon, a former water-powered mill, now a pub and restaurant.

References

Warwickshire Museum details for Guy's Cliffe House English Heritage: Heritage Gateway, architectural description of listed building ''A History of the County of Warwick'' Vol 8 (1969) pp434-447 British History Online
;Specific

External links

The GuysCliffeHouse.org.uk Photo Gallery Archive » A collection of historical and modern day photographs, images and depictions of Guys Cliffe House, Warwickshire, England...

Guys Cliffe House entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country HousesLeek Wootton & Guy's Cliffe Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Country houses in Warwickshire Grade II listed buildings in Warwickshire Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire Former civil parishes in Warwickshire Warwick District