Honiley is a small village 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the parish of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall, in the

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 ...

district, 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 from

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

, and from

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

on the A4177 road. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 62. Honiley was merged with adjoining parishes on 1 April 2007 and can now be found under Beausale,

Haseley Haseley is a small village and former civil parish in Warwickshire, England. It is four miles north-west of the county town of Warwick and nine miles (14.5 km) south-east of Solihull, now in the parish of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxa ...

, Honiley and Wroxall.

History

The Church of England parish church of Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Baroque building of 1723. It has a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, and short

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

. The interior includes original

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...

s and a west gallery. Honiley once had two wells associated with the church. If a man and a woman produced a child out of wedlock the two were to go to village wells (the men to St John's well, the women to Our Lady's well) and bathe. After that they were to crawl to the church to the statue of St John and ask for forgiveness. The village was, for a while at least, a small centre of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. The village has a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

moat, a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and a small

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typicall ...

. A short distance north-east of the village is a vehicle

proving ground A proving ground (US) is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. ...

that was formerly a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

station. Opened in May 1941 the station was originally called RAF Ramsey but was renamed

RAF Honiley Royal Air Force Honiley or RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire, southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, it has been sub ...

three months later. It ceased to operate in March 1958 and the buildings were demolished in 1960 although new ones have replaced them. Honiley has a

VOR VOR or vor may refer to: Organizations * Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales * Voice of Russia, a radio broadcaster * Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race Science, technology and medicine * VHF omnidirectional range, a radio navigation aid used in a ...

station that is a major waypoint for aircraft. "'Honiley', 'parish''.html"_;"title="parish.html"_;"title="'parish">'parish''">parish.html"_;"title="'parish">'parish''_5_1/2_m._NW._of_Warwick.html" ;"title="parish">'parish''.html" ;"title="parish.html" ;"title="'parish">'parish''">parish.html" ;"title="'parish">'parish'' 5 1/2 m. NW. of Warwick">parish">'parish''.html" ;"title="parish.html" ;"title="'parish">'parish''">parish.html" ;"title="'parish">'parish'' 5 1/2 m. NW. of Warwick. 12 c. ''Hunilegh''; 13 c. ''Hunileye''; 14 c. ''Honyle'', Charters and Rolls in the British Museum 1.]. Anglo-Saxon ''hunig league'' (''g=y''), the honey lea, ''[see]'' Ley. Honey was an article of great importance to our forefathers, and rents were frequently paid by it. It was their sugar, and the wax was needed for light and religious services." ( William Henry Duignan, 1912.) Honiley is pronounced locally as 'hun lee'. From ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', 1848: "... King Edward IV. was arrested in the year 1469 by Archbishop Neville, with an armed band of horse, at Honiley in

, and not at Ulney in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, or Olney in Buckinghamshire, as had been previously stated by several historians. This seizure was made by the advice of the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

and the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation ...

. The King was then taken to

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...

, from thence to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and afterwards to Middleham Castle, from whence he escaped. "Honiley, Coleshill, and other places in

were at this period the property of Sir Simon Mountfort, and he was appointed by King Edward IV (according to the

Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...

in Rymer) one of the Commissioners to raise the county of

in 1470. As it appears that Mountfort made Honiley his principal residence, it is very probable, from the intimacy subsisting between them, that when the King required a place of concealment, he selected Honiley for the purpose, which was somewhat more than "foure miles from Warwycke," as stated by an historian—for it is six. Honiley became forfeited to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

by the attainder of Mountfort in 1495. "The large

Manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

or Hall, probably built by this family, was most pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and was taken down in 1803 by the Rev. John Granville, the landlord, in order to avoid the expense of its reparation. Thus fell another ancient

baronial Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

residence, a sacrifice to bad taste and ruinous economy... "... The Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

visited

Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England managed by English Heritage; much of it is still in ruins. The castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England; with development through to the Tudor pe ...

again in July 1575 for 19 days, when, according to Laneham, she hunted "the hart of force" in the Chase, and probably visited Honiley Hall, which place was at the extremity of his woods, about three miles from the Castle. At this period the manor of Honiley belonged to the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

."Reader, W., ‘Old Manor House at Honiley’, ''The Gentleman’s Magazine'', 1848, pp. 141–42

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Honiley on Multimap.comCensus information on the Parishes of Honiley and Wroxall
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Former civil parishes in Warwickshire Warwick District