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Ansley is a
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 ...
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 ...
consisting of Ansley, Ansley Common, Church End, Birchley Heath and, previously, Ansley Hall Colliery. Ansley is on the River Bourne, a tributary of the River Tame. The parish is 526 ft above sea level. The Arley Tunnel runs underneath Ansley village. Built in 1864 it forms part of the Birmingham to Leicester railway line.


Name

Some suggest that the etymology of the name Ansley is a derivation of the Old English ''ansetleah'', with ‘anset’ meaning isolated hermitage and ‘leah’ (ley) meaning wooded pasture. Many place names in the area end with ‘ley’, including Arley,
Fillongley Fillongley, listed as Fillungeleye in 1135, is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire in England. The village is centred on the crossroads of the B4102 (which connects Solihull and Nuneaton) and the B4098 ...
, Astley, Hurley,
Baxterley Baxterley is a small village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire in England. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 335, reducing to 328 at the 2011 Census. The village is about two miles west of ...
,
Witherley Witherley is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : The civil parish of Witherley includes Atterton, Fenny Drayton, and Ratcliffe Culey ...
,
Corley ''Corley'' (and the associated hamlet (place), hamlets of Corley Ash and Corley Moor) is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 66 ...
, Binley,
Allesley Allesley () is a suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry metropolitan borough, West Midlands, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west-northwest of Coventry city centre and 4 miles (6.5 km) east-south-east of Meriden. Located in ...
,
Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...
and
Keresley Keresley is a suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry, West Midlands, England, about north of Coventry city centre and southwest of Bedworth. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 791 falling to 713 ...
. This is likely a result of the "sporadic clearing of the woods" (specifically the Forest of Arden) that originally covered the area, and the gradual creation of new settlements preceding and following the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. Others believe the name to come from ''ãnstiga'', with ‘ãn’ meaning one and ‘stig’ meaning path. Ansley appeared as ''Hanslei'' 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
(1086). Other later derivations have included ''Anesteleye'' (1235), ''Anstle'' (1316), ''Ansteley'' (1416), ''Anceley'' (1658), ''Anestelay'' and ''Anseley''. The name Ainsley is derived from Ansley.


History

The earliest evidence of human settlement in the area consists of a round barrow – an artificial mound concealing a grave – dating from the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
. Located near where Ansley Hall stands, the mound was excavated and lowered in the mid-twentieth century. Before the Norman Conquest, the principal landowners of the region were
Leofric, Earl of Mercia Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock and was a very powerful earl under King Cnut and his successors. Leofric was the husband of Lady Godiva. Life Leofric was ...
and his family. Ansley’s Domesday Book entry lists a population of 6.5 households and 13 villagers. The settlement was part of the
Hemlingford Hundred Hemlingford Hundred was one of the four hundreds that the English county of Warwickshire was divided into, along with Kington, Knightlow and Barlichway. It was recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Coleshill. At the time of the Do ...
of
Coleshill, Warwickshire Coleshill ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole, on which it stands. It had a population of 6,900 in the 2021 Census, and is situated east of Bi ...
, in the subdivision of
Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...
. After Leofric’s death in 1057 the title of Lord and
tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, a tenant-in-chief (or vassal-in-chief) was a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as opposed to holding them ...
passed to his wife,
Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...
. The Lord of the Manor was
Nicholas the Bowman {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Nicholas the Bowman (fl. 1086) (or "Nicholas the Gunner", Latin: ''Nicolaus Balistarius'' or ''Archibalistarius''), also known as Nicholas ''de la Pole'', was a servant of King William the Conqueror (1066-1087) and w ...
, a Norman soldier rewarded for his service during the conquest. It was probably William II (c.1057-1100) who gave Ansley to
Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...
, (c.1047-1101). In the early 12th century Ansley passed, through marriage, to the
Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...
, however the manor and its land was given to his tenant, William de Hardreshulle (Hartshill), Lord of
Hartshill Hartshill is a large village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, contiguous with the much larger town of Nuneaton, the town centre of which is 2.5 miles (4 km) to the south-east. The parish borders the district of Nuneaton a ...
. When Hardreshulle died, his eldest son, Robert, inherited Ansley. In the 13th century, Ansley and neighbouring Hartshill were granted by the Hardreshulle family to an unknown knight in exchange for 40 days’ service a year to the King. Towards the end of the century, the land passed by marriage to the Colepeper family (also spelt Culpeper). Ansley Castle belonged to the Hastings family during the reign of
Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...
(1100-1135). It was
licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
to be crenellated by Johannes de Hastings in 1300 but was deserted soon after. By the turn of the 17th century, the antiquarian
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
(1551-1623) wrote of "mouldering towers covered with ivy". The castle no longer stands. A few traces of a separate Norman castle built by Hugh Hardreshulle in 1125 are still visible. When the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
reached Warwickshire in the mid-14th century, the people of Ansley abandoned the village and moved approximately a mile to the village’s current location. The parish church of St Laurence, however, remains in its original position. Traces of the original village can still be seen from the air, as can signs of medieval and post-medieval "
ridge and furrow Ridge and furrow is an Archaeology, archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open field system, open-field system. It is a ...
cultivation". By 1482, Ansley was owned by the Prior of St Mary’s, Coventry. Bourne Brook, running north-east to south-west through the parish, has had an Irish bridge ford at Ansley Mill since the 12th century. The mill was sold by John Colepeper to Ralph Pickering and John Dyson in 1550. The building that currently stands was built in 1768. The last known miller was Isaac Thurn, in 1896. The mill has subsequently been converted into a private home. Hoar Park, located on the B4114, was established in 1430. The current building dates from the 1730s. Hoar Park Wood was designated a
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) in 1987. Other woodlands in the parish are Lady Wood, Seven Foot Wood and New Park Spinney.


Ansley Hall

Ansley Hall and its
estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representativ ...
was home to the Ludford family for the best part of 450 years, from 1410 when Sir Thomas Colepeper leased 50 acres of the land to Henry Ludford. Colepeper’s grandson increased this to 300 acres, but not the hall itself. This gave rise to the situation where the Ludfords claimed for rightful ownership, taking legal action against the Colepepers in 1535 and 1544, both times unsuccessfully. In 1551, the Colepepers sold Ansley Hall and its estate. It passed through several hands, including George Wightman of Elmesthorpe, Leicester in 1558, who sold it to William Glover, a London dyer, in 1592. Sir Thomas Glover sold it in 1609 and it was purchased by George Ludford in 1613 (or possibly 1611). From this time, the inhabitants of hall were as follows: *George Ludford (1583-1627) m. Sarah Warren **John Ludford (1624-1675) m. Catherine Prescott ***James Ludford (1655-1699) ****Thomas Bracebridge Ludford (d.1700) although younger than his brother Samuel, Thomas initially inherits Ansley Hall from his uncle, James Ludford ****Samuel Bracebridge Ludford (1680-1727) inherited Ansley Hall from his younger brother m. Catherine Lewis *****John Bracebridge Ludford (1707-1775) m. Juliana Newdigate (1711-1780) ******John Newdigate Ludford (1754-1825) m. Elizabeth Boswell (1756-1825) ******* Elizabeth Juliana Bracebridge Ludford (1779-1859) m. Sir John Francis Newdigate Ludford, 5th Baronet Chetwode (1788-1873) assumed the name Newdigate Ludford by Royal Licence, 1826, leased mineral rights for the land under Ansley Hall to the Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company in 1872 Ansley Hall was described in ''
The Beauties of England and Wales ''The Beauties of England and Wales'' (1801–1815) is a series of books describing the topography and local history of England and Wales. Produced by a variety of London publishers, the work appeared in 18 multi-part volumes arranged by county, ...
'' (1814) as "a large and rather confusing mansion, irregular but very respectable." It was part Elizabethan, part Georgian with gothic sash windows. Most of the building dated from 1720 to 1730. It had in its art collection "the celebrated drawing made by Beighton in 1716 from the curious fresco painting of
Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is in ruins. The castle was founded after the Norman Conquest of 1066; with development through to the Tudor period. It ...
" from a wall at
Newnham Paddox Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 445. Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east of C ...
. Nearby Bretts Hall, named for the Brett (or Bret) family, who lived there during the time of Henry III was pulled down in 1750 to create Ansley Park, which included a formal avenue, a Chinese temple and a hermitage (cell) which is attributed to
Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...
(c.1715-1783) who built a similar hermitage at
Weston Park Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire ...
. The park’s Chinese temple was designed by
Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-British architect. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, the Gold State Coach and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. ...
(1723-1796), architect to
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
and author of ''Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines and Utensils'' (1757). Chambers had travelled to China in the 1740s and was regarded as an expert in his field, "unrivalled by others in his profession". He built Ansley Hall’s temple in 1767, and designed similar structures in
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
, Blackheath and
Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...
. Beneath the temple was a cell containing a monument relating to the Purefoy family, Parliamentarians who had had their estates confiscated because of their involvement in the death of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
. In 1758 Ansley Hall was visited by the poet
Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English history of literature, literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead (poet ...
, who would later become poet laureate. He wrote the poem ''An Inscription'' about Ansley’s hermitage which begins "Beneath the stony roof reclin’d / I sooth to peace my pensive mind''. In 1814 the park was described as "well stocked with deer". Ansley Hall and its land was leased to the Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company by the Ludford family in 1872 after which the hall was used as a club and institute for colliery officials and estate tenants. After the UK coal industry was nationalised in 1947, the Hall became a social club for miners and their families. With the collapse of the mining industry, the hall was derelict by the 1960s. Between 1998 and 2001 it was developed into 16 private homes.


Industry

Until coalmining came to Ansley in the 1870s, its principal industry was agricultural (barley, rye,
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...
and
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
land), with some silk ribbon weaving and brick making. In the early 19th century John Newdigate Ludford of Ansley Hall had been a "noted cheese-maker", selling to the Leicester market. By the early 20th century the principal crops were wheat, oats, peas and beans. Coal was worked on a small scale.


Ansley Hall Colliery

The Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company established the Ansley Hall Colliery in 1872. A pit was sunk between 1873 and 1874 with three shafts, one for ventilation. The mine was described as covering "approximately 3,000 acres and encompassed no less than eleven seams of coals, giving a total thickness of eighty feet and with six seams of a workable quality potentially providing over 100 million tons of gettable coal." The deepest point was 540 feet below ground.
William Garside Phillips William Garside Phillips JP (13 April 1849 - 1 January 1929) was a pioneer in mining education, the managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery and chair of the Atherstone Rural District Association from 1907 to 1929. He was called ''The Field Ma ...
(1849-1929) became the managing director in 1879 and was "instrumental in improving the colliery’s productivity and economic fortunes". Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company’s largest stakeholder was Sir James Barlow (1821-1887), a cotton magnate from Bolton, Lancashire. His son,
Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet, (4 November 1845 – 12 January 1945) was a British royal physician, known for his research on infantile scurvy. Early life Barlow was the son of a Lancashire cotton manufacturer and Mayor of Bolton, James Ba ...
(1845-1945), was chairman of the company for some time (he was also the royal physician and known for his research into infantile scurvy). His son in turn, Sir James Alan Barlow, 2nd Baronet (1881-1964) was a director. The company bought the entire estate in 1899. The colliery became significant enough to have its own railway line, and the Ansley Hall Colliery Branch Line opened in 1876. It remained in operation until 1959. In 1888, instead of relying on
pit ponies Pit or PIT may refer to: Structure * Ball pit, a recreation structure * Casino pit, the part of a casino which holds gaming tables * Trapping pit, pits used for hunting * Pit (motor racing), an area of a racetrack where pit stops are conduc ...
for transporting coal and
coal refuse Coal refuse, also known as coal waste, rock, slag, coal tailings, waste material, rock bank, culm, boney, or gob (garbage of bituminous), is the material left over from coal mining, usually as Tailings, tailings piles or spoil tips. For every ton ...
the pit became fully electric, the first colliery in Warwickshire to adopt this "pioneer movement". In 1904 it could produce 1,200 tonnes of coal a day. At its peak, in 1940, it employed 670 people. The pit merged with Haunchwood colliery in 1959 which in turn closed in 1967. The company also owned a
brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a clay pit, quar ...
capable of producing 3 million hard red bricks per year. Some of the bricks were used in the north aisle of St Laurence Church. Production ceased in 1959.


Water and electricity

Ansley was the last parish in Warwickshire to get a "more or less efficient supply of good water", and remained dependent on shallow wells until 1913. As late as 1927 there were still "no water closets in the village, and some of the sanitary arrangements were distinctly objectionable." In 1928 Ansley Parish Council cancelled the retaining fee they had been paying to the Nuneaton Fire Brigade, owing to "there being no public water supply, and very little other sources of supply in the Ansley village." In 1929
Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...
’s Medical Officer of Health called Ansley "the one black spot of my district" in terms of water supply. He went on to say that "they would always have trouble at Ansley Village, as there was no water scheme. The water from the wells had been condemned." An article published in 1929 read, "Ansley village is one of those places which is just on the edge of things, yet possesses little in the way of modern conveniences. It has neither electric or gas lighting, is without an adequate water supply and has no sewerage system. A resident
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...
that owing to the lack of a sewerage system the district was infested with rats… and if a fire were to break out in a block of houses it would be impossible to get under control, there being no water to cope with it." In 1931, cast iron water mains were finally laid to the village. The following year a sewage scheme for Ansley Common and Chapel End was put in place. The possibility of Ansley's being added to Nuneaton's electricity supply from the Leicestershire and Warwickshire Electric Power Company was first raised in 1923, when the supply to neighbouring Chapel End and Hartshill was imminent, Hartstill having "suffered for years from the quality of the gas, which had been rotten." In 1932, St Laurence Church was "fitted out and made ready for lighting by means of electricity" for which, in the words of the vicar, Rev. R P Rowan, "we have waited long and patiently." In 1934, despite "the large volume of traffic which use the road", there was still no street lighting in Ansley village, although later that year cabling to Ansley Road via
Arbury Hall Arbury Hall () is a Grade I listed country house in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, and the ancestral home of the Newdigate family, later the Newdigate-Newdegate and Fitzroy-Newdegate ( Viscount Daventry) families. History The hall is bu ...
was laid.


Places of worship


St Laurence Church

St. Laurence Church is located at Church End. It is a Grade II
listed building 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, Hi ...
with mid to late-12th century foundations. It is possible that it was originally built for Lady Godiva, as she had "several churches built in the area at this time that were dedicated to St Laurence, after Abbot Laurence, a trusted friend." Whether the name should be spelt Laurence or Lawrence has been a "bone of contention for many centuries". It is currently spelt with a ‘u’. In 1206 William de Hardreshulle, Lord of Hartshill (d.1261) bestowed the church to the nuns of Polesworth Abbey. It stayed in the possession of the Abbey until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 16th century. It then became the property of the crown. The church’s tower and clerestory were added in the late 15th century. The chancel was doubled in length in the 18th century. The porch was added the late 19th century and the north aisle in 1913. The church was restored in 1894 and 1902. A west gallery was removed in 1931. On one column there is a "grotesque carving of two monsters striving for possession of a man". There are the remains of Norman hinges on a door, dating from around 1150. In the churchyard is a Parish Room, an on-site function room, by Kenneth Holmes Associates (2003), and the octagonal base of a medieval cross. The church’s financial situation has varied considerably through the centuries, but was particularly parlous in 1837, when the vicar of St Laurence, whose annual salary was £116 – far below the national average of £285 – appealed to the bishop to be ‘non-resident’ in Ansley, citing an "unfit residence". By 1884, the vicar’s annual income was £236, but had fallen again to £160 by 1904. The church was submitted to the
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...
to be considered for inclusion in their list of historic buildings in 1898, 1908 and 1913. It received its Grade II* status in 1968. Temporary girders were added to the church interior by the
National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
for the period between 1960 and 1968, to prevent subsidence from coal mining directly underneath. In 1973, seven weeks before their wedding, and amid much secrecy,
Mark Phillips Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in British equ ...
and
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
visited St Laurence Church to attend the funeral of Phillips’ grandmother, Mrs Dorothea Phillips. When the couple married, the parishioners of Ansley gave them "an inscribed telephone notepad". St John’s Church in Ansley Common, built in 1927, is now twinned with St Laurence Church.


Bells and windows

There are six bells in the tower:
Bell 1: Made by Thomas Newcombe (c.1580) named ‘Margareta’ and is marked with their shield and a cross
Bell 2: Made by Robert, Thomas and William Newcombe (1609)
Bell 3: Made by George Oldfield (1669) stamped with ''Feare God Honour The King 1669''
Bells 4-6: Three trebles made by
John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...
(1976). These modern bells were funded by Ansley parishioners, from fund-raising barbeques held at Red House Farm and by Frederick and Daisy Cartwright in memory of the Cartwright family of Ansley. In the early 20th century, St Laurence took part in the Warwickshire tradition of bell ringing on
Bonfire Night Bonfire Night is a name given to various yearly events marked by bonfires and fireworks. These include Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) in Great Britain; All Hallows' Eve (31 October); May Eve (30 April); Midsummer Eve/Saint John's Eve (23 Jun ...
, Restoration Day (29 May) and the Sovereign’s birthday. The north window in the chancel contains fragments of 15th century glass from Coventry. There are also windows by Jones and Willis (1872),
Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...
(1897), two by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
& Co (1921 and 1928) and a ''Woolliscroft Commemorative Window'' (2015) by Claire Williamson. In 1931 a window designed by
Karl Parsons Karl Bergemann Parsons (23 January 1884 – 30 September 1934) was a British stained glass artist associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. Early life, 1884 – 1898 Parsons was born in Peckham in south London on 23 January 1884, the 12th a ...
, ''Christ in Majesty'', together with a new screen, choir stalls and electric lights, were dedicated to the memory of William Garside Phillips, who had been the managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery since 1879, and his wife. File: Ansley Window by Parsons 2.jpg, Karl Parsons, 1931 File: Ansley Window by Parsons 1.jpg, Detail, Parsons window File: Ansley Window by Parsons 4.jpg, Detail, Parsons window File: Ansley Window by Parsons 5.jpg, Detail, Parsons window


Other places of worship

Over the years, Ansley has had the following additional places of worship, all now closed: * ''Ansley Congregational Chapel'' on Birmingham Road was established 1822. A new chapel was built in 1904 * ''Providence Independent Chapel'', a small chapel, was built in 1823 * In early 1826 the ''Church of Christ'' began holding open air services in Ansley, with up to 1,200 people in regular attendance. These large turnouts led to money being collected to build a permanent place of worship, with contributions received from "many pious persons in London and in the country". Land was purchased and a chapel was erected to accommodate about 300 people where a first service was held on 14 July 1826, with however only twelve members. Ansley appeared in the church’s ''Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle'' in June 1827, where its population was described as "remarkable for ignorance and profaneness" and "remarkable for its moral darkness, and desperate wickedness". It was reported that "very few persons belonging to the village attended" the chapel "and from that time to the present une 1827the enemies of truth have exerted all their energies to prevent the success of the Gospel at Ansley." * ''Wesleyan Chapel'', Ridge Lane, a new chapel was built on the site of a former chapel in 1931 * ''Birchley Heath
Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...
Meeting Place'' was founded in 1826 with capacity for 60 people. * ''Ansley United Reformed Church'' was in operation by 1881 * ''Mission Church of St John'', Ansley Common, in operation by 1912


WWI and WWII

The ''Ansley Village Soldiers’ Relief Fund'' was created during WWI. The parish’s Grade II listed war memorial, a Latin cross built of
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
and Hollington sandstone, stands on the corner of Birmingham Road and Nuneaton Road. A plaque reads "To the honour of the Ansley men who served their country in his Majesty’s forces during the Great Wars" and lists the names of the 32 men of Ansley who died in WWI and nine in WWII. The land for the memorial was given to the parish by the Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company on 21 August 1920 and the memorial was dedicated by Dr Charles Lisle Carr (1871-1942),
Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichf ...
, on 21 August 1921. The memorial originally featured two artillery guns, but these were removed in 1939 to be melted down for the war effort. The concrete bases on which the guns stood remain. A grant of £1,300 from
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 ...
and the
Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation is a British registered charity that awards grants to support science and medicine, health, education and the arts and humanities. It was established in 1955 and re-registered in 2014. , the endowment of the Wolfson Fo ...
in 2008 was used to clean, repair and repoint the joints of the Hollington sandstone. In 1940, women from Ansley made 1,263 articles for the Warwickshire War Supply Services scheme, which were distributed to, amongst others, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and to Ansley’s Air Raid Precaution Point No. 8. In 1941, Ansley Women’s Voluntary Services (WVS), overseen by Mrs J H Phillips, the wife of Ansley Hall Colliery’s managing director, contributed 1,344 articles to the war effort, including 50 theatre gowns,180 pairs of pyjamas and 650 bandages, putting them first in the North Warwickshire WVS collection drive. There was also a Soldiers’ Comforts and Parcels Fund based at the Boot Inn, meaning "every soldier, sailor or airman in the village received several gifts from the fund." In April 1945 the ''Ansley Common Forces Fund'' was established, to "provide comforts for members of His Majesty’s forces who have gone from Ansley Common." The administrative centre, for when the men were demobilised, was situated at 173 Ansley Common. In 1947 the fund paid for an oak
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
to be installed at the Mission Church of St John, dedicated to two local men who died in WWII.


Buildings and facilities in Ansley

File: Ansley Church Hall, Birmingham Road, Ansley - geograph.org.uk - 1888743.jpg, Ansley Village Hall, opened 1914 File: Nursery Hill Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 1864290.jpg, Ansley County School. The land was donated by W G Phillips. It opened 1906. Renamed Nursery Hill First School in 1973 File: The Lord Nelson and Victory Restaurant, Ansley village - geograph.org.uk - 3355182.jpg, The Lord Nelson Inn, where, in the late 19th century, a lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows would meet. It contains two microbreweries. File: The Boot Inn, Ansley - geograph.org.uk - 1864330.jpg, The Boot Inn. Open earlier than 1835. In the late 19th century, the Friendly Sick Society would hold its meetings. Of the group it was "said to be the best club within many miles of this place" (now closed)


Clubs and societies

Ansley has played host to many clubs and societies since the 19th century:


Active clubs

* ''Ansley Allotment Society'' – established 1844 after being "stimulated by the advantages enjoyed by the inhabitants of surrounding villages". A nearby farm was offered to the Society "on easy terms" and the money from a sick club was used for the purchase. Now called Croft Mead Allotments. * ''Ansley Cricket Club'' Ansley Common – in operation since before 1892 * ''Oakridge Golf Course'' – opened 1992 * ''Haunchwood Sports Football Club'' * ''Ansley Common Residents’ Association (ACRA)'' established 2013


Historic clubs

The following clubs and societies are no longer in operation: * ''Ansley Benefit Society'': Active in 1862 (closed in 1899) * ''Ansley Victoria Cricket Club'': Active in 1895 * ''Ansley Football Club "The Lord Nelson Conquerors"'': Established in 1896 * ''Ansley Agricultural and Horticultural Society'': Active in 1900 * ''Ansley Tennis Club'': Active in 1912 * ''Ansley Boy Scouts'': Established 1914, a new HQ was built in 1933 * ''Ansley Social Club and Institute'': Active in 1921. At its peak, it had 11,000 members. In 1926, "a pioneer class under a scheme arranged by the University Joint Committee of Birmingham and the W.M.C. and Institute Union" was run at the club, the subject being 19th century industrial history. (closed in 2015, with the land used for housing) * ''Ansley Hall Colliery Football Club'': Active in 1919 * ''Ansley Co-Operative Society'': Active in 1926 * ''Ansley Girl Guides'': Active in 1927 * ''Ansley Mothers’ Union'': Active in 1928 * ''Ansley Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB)'': Active in 1928 * ''Ansley Social Club Orchestra'': Active in 1931 * ''Ansley Women’s Institute'': Opened in 1933 * ''Ansley and District Nursing Association'': Active in 1933 * ''Ansley Sports Club'': Active in 1934 * ''Ansley Adult School'' (part of the National Adult School Union): Active in 1935 * ''Ansley Bowling Club'': Active in 1937 * ''Ansley Hall Scouts'': Active in 1939 * ''Ansley Women’s Voluntary Services (WVS)'': Active in 1941 * ''Ansley Young Farmers’ Club'': Active in 1942 * ''Ansley Progressive Association'': Active in 1943 * ''Ansley Common Football Club'': Active in 1995


People connected with Ansley

* Anonymous (late 13th century) – a Franciscan friar born in Ansley. He compiled the ''Liber Exemplorum'', a collection of "plausible stories, used to seize the attention of a preacher’s audience and illustrate a moral or theological point" * In the mid 15th century, the vicar of Ansley granted parish land to
Sir Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...
(c.1393-c.1470), the author of Le Morte d’Arthur together with seven other people * Henry Sewall (1544-1628) – merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1622, owned land in Ansley * Robert Clements (b.1595, Cosby, Leicestershire, d 1685, Haverhill, Massachusetts) – founding settler of
Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...
lived in Ansley before sailing to New England, USA * Isabella Farmer (d.1686, Massachusetts) – an early settler of
Billerica, Massachusetts Billerica ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian ...
and the second wife of
Thomas Wiswall Thomas Wiswall (1601–1683) was an early settler of British America, a prominent early citizen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and a key figure in the founding of Cambridge Village, now known as the city of Newton, Massachusetts. Early life Wis ...
, was born in Ansley *
Nathaniel Ireson Nathaniel Ireson (1685 – 18 April 1769) was a potter, architect and mason best known for his work around Wincanton in Somerset, England. He was probably born in Ansley, Warwickshire. He rebuilt much of the centre of Wincanton following a fire i ...
(1685-1769) – master builder, was probably born in Ansley * William Chambers (1723-1796) – Swedish-Scottish architect, commissioned to design a Chinese temple at Ansley Hall in 1767 *
Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English history of literature, literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead (poet ...
(1723-1790) – English historian and poet, visited Ansley in 1758 and wrote the poem "An Inscription" about visiting the hermitage at Ansley Hall, published in 1777 * William Hutchins (1792-1841) – churchman and academic was born in Ansley. He sailed to Tasmania in 1836 and was the first Archdeacon of
Van Diemen’s Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal-inhabited island was first visited by the Dutch ship captained by Abel Tasm ...
*
George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
(1819-1880) – novelist, poet, journalist and translator, was born in neighbouring
Arbury Arbury is a suburb and electoral ward in Cambridge, England. As of the 2021 UK census, the ward had a population of 9,883 people. History The area has been occupied since at least Roman times. In the 1950s, stone coffins from the 2nd century ...
and may have set ''
Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...
'' and ''
The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in three volumes on 4 April 1860 by William Blackwood and Sons. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Pub ...
'' around Ansley *
William Garside Phillips William Garside Phillips JP (13 April 1849 - 1 January 1929) was a pioneer in mining education, the managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery and chair of the Atherstone Rural District Association from 1907 to 1929. He was called ''The Field Ma ...
, JP (1849-1929) – Chairman of Warwickshire Coal Owners’ Association for 20 years, Chairman of Atherstone Rural District Committee for 21 years, managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery lived in Ansley for 50 years * Joseph Phillips (1881-1951) – first-class cricketer, was born at Ansley Hall. He played for Ansley Hall Cricket Club. He was grandfather to Captain
Mark Phillips Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in British equ ...
* Harry Smith (1886-1955) – manager at Ansley Hall Colliery * Charlie Dixon (1903-1993) – English footballer, born in Ansley * John Eric Maidens – inventor of a knitting machine pattern device, lived in Ansley * Ethel Elizabeth Angell, FRSA – oil painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy in the 1930s and 1940s was from Ansley Common *
Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, (27 March 1925 – 15 April 2022) was a British politician and farmer who went into politics as a leader of the National Farmers' Union. He later became active in the Conservative Party and was elected as a ...
(1925-2022) – politician, born at Park Farm, Ansley. He attended Ansley C of E Primary School and was a member of Ansley Young Farmers’ Club * Johnny Schofield (1931-2006) – played football for Ansley Hall Colliery * Maureen Stephenson (1927-2008) – author, lived at Ansley Mill from the 1980s * Naomi Smith (1980-1995) – schoolgirl, murdered at Ansley Common in 1995


Recent developments

In recent history Ansley has been the recipient of several community grants:


Community Fund

Ansley has successfully applied for the following grants from the
National Lottery Community Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for " good causes". It is the largest community funder in the UK and ...
: *2005 - Ansley Sports Cricket Club was awarded £5,000 for pitch covers *2007 - Ansley village and Birchley Heath were awarded £10,000 from the to install new playground equipment *2007 - Ansley Sports Cricket Club was awarded £3,240 for essential equipment *2008 - Ansley Allotment Society was awarded £6,873 to create composting toilets with disabled facilities *2009 - Birchley Heath was awarded £8,986 to improve playground equipment *2012 - Ansley Parish Council was awarded £10,000 for a Community Hardstanding and Meeting Place project


Heritage Lottery Fund

In 2008, Ansley became part of the North Arden Heritage Trail, a circular walk around North Warwickshire, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The 25-mile trail passes through Atherstone,
Mancetter Mancetter is a village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, where Watling Street crosses the River Anker. The population was 2,339 at the 2011 census. It is contiguous with the town of Atherstone, on the B4111 road towards Hartshil ...
, Hartshill, Ansley, Arley, Fillongley,
Maxstoke Maxstoke is a hamlet and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, England. It is situated approximately 2.5 miles north of Meriden. Maxstoke and the parish of Maxstoke were established in the hundred of He ...
,
Shustoke Shustoke is a village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 549. It is situated 2.5 miles no ...
,
Nether Whitacre Nether Whitacre is a small village and larger rural civil parish in North Warwickshire, Warwickshire, England. Topography It is one of 'The Whitacres': Nether Whitacre, Over Whitacre and Whitacre Heath which are in the upper valley of the Rive ...
,
Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...
, Dordon,
Baddesley Ensor Baddesley Ensor is a village and civil parish in the district of North Warwickshire in Warwickshire, England, about three miles west of Atherstone. It runs into the village of Grendon, which forms a parish itself. History There were mining ac ...
and
Merevale Merevale is a small village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey (founded in 1148) and ...
.


Big Local

In 2012, Ansley village, together with Old Arley and New Arley was a recipient of £1,000,000 of Big Local funding, a National Lottery Community Fund-funded programme, which invested in 150 areas across England. Initially calling themselves "Leys Millionaires" they changed to "Ansley and Arley Big Local".


Ansley Common Recreation Ground

In 2021, Ansley Common, together with three other play areas, were granted £200,000 by the county council to improve play facilities, including building a BMX or pump track.


Culture

* The poet Thomas Warton wrote the poem ''An Inscription in a Hermitage'' after visiting Ansley Hall’s hermitage in 1758. Part of the poem appeared in chapter XVII of
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
’s 1820 novel ''
Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...
''. * ''The Ludford Box'' is a collection of eleven children’s books spanning 1746-1781, once owned by John Newdigate Ludford of Ansley Hall and then his daughter, Elizabeth Juliana Ludford. These books were the subject of a 1989 study by Brian Alderson, discussing "their contribution to our knowledge of eighteenth-century children’s literature" and are kept at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
’ Department of Special Collections * Ansley appeared in
John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington (18 February 1743 – 8 January 1813), previously styled ''The Hon. John Byng'' for most of his lifetime (until 1812), was a British aristocrat and celebrated 18th-century diarist. Byng's fifteen extant diar ...
’s 1793 ''Torrington Diary – A Tour of North Wales'', where he described it as "a pleasant village with a neat public house". * The Ansley Morris, a woman’s
Cotswold Morris Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A band or single music ...
side, was founded in 2007 * A sandstone sculpture, called ''Tom'' by Graeme Mitcheson was installed on the village green in 2009. It forms part of the North Arden Heritage Trail and depicts Ansley’s heritage and natural environment, including mining, ribbons, conkers, brooks and great crested newts * Ansley is referenced in Rosie Goodwin’s novels ''Yesterday’s Shadows'' (2009) Pub. Magna, ''A Mother’s Shame'' (2014) Pub. Canvas, ''The Soldier’s Daughter'' (2014) Pub. Canvas, ''The Little Angel'' (2017) Pub. Zaffre, ''A Simple Wish'' (2021) pub. Bonnier and ''A Lesson Learned'' (2023) Pub. Bonnier. * Ansley is mentioned in Kathleen Fleming’s autobiography ''Thirty-five Acres, a Spade, and a fork'' (2013) Pub. Xlibris * The ''Ansley Village Coal Mining Heritage Wheel'' was opened on Ansley Island, the roundabout outside the village, in February 2017. It features half of the original shaft winding wheel from
Daw Mill Daw Mill was a coal mine located near the village of Arley, Warwickshire, Arley, near Nuneaton, in the English county of Warwickshire. The mine was Britain's biggest coal producer. It closed in 2013 following a major fire. It was the last remaini ...
colliery, the last working colliery in Warwickshire, which closed in 2013. A plaque reads "A tribute to the many miners who worked in our local coal mines. They worked underground in darkness so that we might be in warmth and light." The other half of the wheel is at New Arley Primary School, New Arley


Further reading

* * *


External links


British History Online – British History - Ansley''Our Warwickshire'' historical photos of AnsleyNorth Arden Heritage Trail


References

{{Reflist Villages in Warwickshire Borough of North Warwickshire Mining communities in England Civil parishes in Warwickshire