Little Lawford is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

around to the north of the much larger village of

Long Lawford Long Lawford is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England, located just west of Rugby, around west of Rugby town centre. In the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 4,545, a significant increase from 3,180 ...

and west of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Consisting of 5 dwellings plus numerous other buildings that are used for commercial or farming business, in 2001 the parish had a population of 12 people. In the 2011 Census the population details were recorded under Long Lawford. It is located just to the north of the River Avon, which is crossed by a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

on the lane linking it with Long Lawford. It is also linked to Long Lawford by a

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding horses, riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now s ...

which crosses the Avon on a bridge.

Lawford Hall

In the

is Little Lawford Hall. The original Lawford Hall was built during the reign of Henry VII, possibly on the site of an earlier monastic grange which belonged to the

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

Pipewell Abbey Pipewell Abbey was an English Cistercian abbey, in the Northamptonshire hamlet of Pipewell in the old Rockingham Forest. It was established in 1143 by William Butevilain as a daughter house of Newminster Abbey in Northumberland. The Abbey also h ...

, which was dissolved during the dissolution of the monasteries. It became the ancestral home of the Rouse-Boughton family. According to folklore, one of the Boughtons lost his arm during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and his ghost which is known as 'One-handed Boughton' continues to haunt the area. In 1780 the hall was the scene of a notorious murder case, when the heir to the family fortune Theodosius Boughton, died under mysterious circumstances while still a minor. It was soon determined that the cause of his death was poisoning, and suspicion soon fell on his brother-in-law, Captain John Donellan, husband of his sister, who would stand to gain the family inheritance if Theodosius died before the age of 21. Despite protesting his innocence, Donellan was tried and convicted of Boughton's murder, and hanged at

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. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

the following year. Following these tragic events the family decided to demolish the hall in around 1790, sell the estate, and move elsewhere. Nothing now remains of it except foundations. The current house known as Little Lawford Hall was originally the

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

to the previous hall which were converted for human habitation in around 1800. The date inset above the front porch is 1604, which may have been when it was first built.

Little Lawford Mill

Also at Little Lawford is the former

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

on the river Avon. A mill was recorded here in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, and milling was a continuous activity here until as late as the 1920s. The former mill now without a waterwheel is now a private house.

References

External links

{{authority control Hamlets in Warwickshire