Old Milverton 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 ...

east of

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 ...

and north west of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

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, 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 metres above sea level. The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St. James was built in 1879–80, on the site of an older church, from designs by John Gibson. It was funded by Lord Charles Percy and Lady Ann Bertie Percy (son and daughter-in-law of

Algernon Percy Algernon Percy may refer to: * Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland (1602–1668), English military leader * Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley (1750–1830), peer known as Lord Algernon Percy from 1766–86 *Hon. Algernon Percy (diplomat ...

). The church includes a

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window honouring Henry Jephson, who promoted the therapeutic benefits of

water and was instrumental in that town's success.Cave, L (1988) - ''Royal Leamington Spa'', Philmore & Co, Chichester, p62 In the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

is buried the political scientist Sir

George Catlin George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American adventurer, lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Old West. Traveling to the We ...

(1896-1979). Catlin, whose father served as an Anglican priest in Leamington from 1904 - 1912, was the husband of

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir ''Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the First ...

(1893-1970), pacifist, feminist and author of ''

Testament of Youth ''Testament of Youth'' is the first instalment, covering 1900–1925, in the memoir of Vera Brittain (1893–1970). It was published in 1933. Brittain's memoir continues with ''Testament of Experience'', published in 1957, and encompassing th ...

''. Brittain's ashes were divided between the grave of her husband and the grave of her brother

Edward Brittain Edward Harold Brittain, MC (30 November 1895 – 15 June 1918) was a British Army officer who was killed in the First World War; he was immortalised by his sister Vera Brittain in '' Testament of Youth''. Early life Brittain was born at Maccles ...

who died on active service in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, third edition, McFarland 2016, Scott Wilson; p88 Access to the

can be difficult in extreme weather as there are only two roads leading to it. There are very few amenities in Old Milverton. However, in the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

pre-school playgroup A pre-school playgroup, or in everyday usage just a playgroup, is an organised group providing care and socialisation for children under five. The term is widely used in the United Kingdom. Playgroups are less formal than the preschool education o ...

takes place on a regular basis and there is a bus which runs to the nearby towns of

and

and back once a day. The annual flower show and village

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

took place for the 116th time in September 2013 featuring attractions such as vegetable growing, flower arranging and a

barn dance A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building. The term “barn dance” is usually associated w ...

Nearby

Situated close by are the historic ruins of

Guy's Cliffe Guy's Cliffe (variously spelled with and without an apostrophe and a final "e") is a hamlet and former civil parish on the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon and the Coventry Road between Warwick and Leek Wootton, in the parish of Leek Wootton ...

house and 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 has ...

- a

water mill 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 o ...

mentioned 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 ...

which is now a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

. Just outside the

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

Park

Disc Golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

Club which is one of only 17 courses in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and was the venue for the 2008 and 2009 UK Championships. The electoral

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Milverton in

lies to the south.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire