Tanworth-in-Arden (; often abbreviated to Tanworth) is a small village 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 authorit ...

in the county of

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-Av ...

, England. It is southeast of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and northeast of

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

, and is administered by Stratford-on-Avon District Council. The civil parish includes Tanworth-in-Arden itself plus the nearby settlements of Earlswood, Wood End, Forshaw Heath, Aspley Heath and Danzey Green. The population of the parish was 3,104 at the

2011 UK census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

History

The village is of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

origin, with the name derived from ''Tanewotha''; meaning the

thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluka ...

's 'worth' or estate. In the 19th century, the suffix 'in-Arden' was added to the name, in order to avoid confusion with the town of Tamworth in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, it refers to the Forest of Arden in which the village lay. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

was at one time very extensive, covering land that now includes

Hockley Heath Hockley Heath is a large village and civil parish in the Arden area mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, incorporating the hamlet of Nuthurst, with a history dating back to the year 705 AD as a wood owne ...

, Earlswood and beyond. In the 14th century, the important families of the area were the Archers of Umberslade Hall, the de Sydenhale family of Ernolds Place and Sydenhall Farm in Illshaw Heath, and the de Fulwoods of Clay Hall. Throughout most of its modern history Tanworth-in-Arden was part of the "union of

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

". In 1878 Tanworth-in-Arden lost a sizeable piece of its

territory when

broke off to form a new parish with the

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 depic ...

of Nuthurst (formerly of

Hampton-in-Arden Hampton in Arden is a village and civil parish located in the Forest of Arden in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of Warwickshire until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within ...

parish). In 1894 Tanworth-in-Arden was included in the Solihull Rural District, before eventually being redesignated under the

Stratford-on-Avon District Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district in southern Warwickshire, England. The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" unlike its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based. The district is mostly rural and cov ...

later in the 20th century. Solihull remains the village's

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

. The village was a filming location for the fictional village of Kings Oak from the British television series '' Crossroads'' until 1988. On 29 November 1967 the parish was renamed from "Tanworth" to "Tanworth-in-Arden".

Notable landmarks

Notable historical buildings still standing in the village include The Bell Inn

public house 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 the 14th-century

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

of St. Mary Magdalene. The boxer "Gentleman" Jack Hood was the licensee of The Bell for 36 years, displaying above the bar the

Lonsdale belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), int ...

that he won on 31 May 1926. (The belt was sold by his daughters in 2011.) Tanworth was the childhood home of folk musician

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

and his sister, the actress

Gabrielle Drake Gabrielle Drake (born 30 March 1944) is a British actress. She appeared in the 1970s in television series '' The Brothers'' and ''UFO''. In the early 1970s she appeared in several erotic roles on screen. She later took parts in soap operas '' C ...

. His grave lies in the

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

. Since his death in 1974, Nick Drake has achieved

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual Religion, religious, spirituality, spiritual, or Philosophy, philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its Followership, common interest in ...

status, and the village churchyard has become a place of pilgrimage for his fans. In recent years, an annual gathering of his fans has been held in the village. The grave of nine-times world

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

champion

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...

MBE, GM, and his daughter Michelle, who were both killed in a car accident at Portway in 1981, are also to be found here. An annual memorial motorcycle run was held every March from the former Norton motorcycle factory to Tanworth, although this was stopped after the 2011 event. The parish includes Umberslade Hall, on the border with Nuthurst, which dates from around 1695, and for six hundred years the home of the Archer family and later the industrialist George Frederic Muntz.

Transport links

The village lies close to the ex-

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

line from to but has never had a station of its own: rather it lies midway between two others - Wood End to the north and Danzey to the south, both about distant, though the latter was once known as ''Danzey for Tanworth''."Danzey (DZY)"
, National Rail Enquiries. Retrieved 20 October 2019

Historic estates

Historic estates within the parish of Tanworth include: * Ladbrooke

References

External links

Tanworth-in-Arden Parish Council, Tanworth-in-Arden & EarlswoodTanworth-in-Arden archives
- Our Warwickshire
Annual Mike Hailwood Memorial Run to Tanworth1st Tanworth in Arden Scout Group
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Civil parishes in Warwickshire Stratford-on-Avon District