Polesworth

Polesworth is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Polesworth is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It is east of Tamworth, and is northwest of Atherstone, the closest towns. The border with Leicestershire is to the east, while Derbyshire is to the north. The River Anker runs through the village,OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) which joins the River Tame at nearby Tamworth Castle.

In the 2021 census the civil parish of Polesworth had a population of 8,727, inclusive of the contiguous sub-villages (often regarded as suburbs) of Birchmoor, St Helena, and Hall End directly to the south, and Warton to the East. The built-up area of Polesworth which includes the adjoining village of Dordon to the south (a separate parish) had a population of 9,913 in 2021.

History

The name Polesworth is derived from "pol" meaning a "pool" and "worth" meaning "a dwelling" or enclosure in the Old English language. Polesworth was once the site of an abbey. Polesworth Abbey was founded in 827 by King Egbert with his daughter Editha (later Saint Editha) as Abbess. It prospered for 700 years but was disbanded as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1544 the lands of the Abbey were granted by the Crown to Francis Goodere, who used the stones of the Abbey to build a manor house; Polesworth Hall.

Henry Goodere, son of Francis, was a patron of the arts and Polesworth Hall was a centre of culture during Elizabethan times. The poet Michael Drayton was in the service of the Goodere family around 1580, and his works contain allusions to Polesworth and the River Anker. Other notable figures including the dramatist Ben Jonson, architect Inigo Jones and poet John Donne, made up the core of an elite group who became known as the Polesworth Circle. It is also rumoured that William Shakespeare spent time at Polesworth. Polesworth Hall no longer exists, as it was demolished around 1870, and replaced by the vicarage.

In around 1509 Thomas Cockayne constructed Pooley Hall, which today includes some of the oldest brickwork in the country. The hall still exists and overlooks Pooley View. That part of the hall known as Pooley Farm was once the home of the late American Soul and Motown singer Edwin Starr, famous for the song War.

During the English Civil War, Polesworth and Wilnecote are listed among the towns paying arrears to the Parliamentary garrison at Tamworth. In an account drawn up by a Captain Thomas Layfield for the period from 1 November 1645 to 1 May 1646, Polesworth (being rated at £8 a week) was assessed at and paid £196.16.0 while Wilnecote (at £2 a week) paid £50.7.0.

When the Coventry Canal was built through Polesworth in the 1770s, the village developed a coal-mining and clay industry and the population underwent rapid growth. During the Second World War, opencast coal-mining devastated the surrounding countryside, and caused the River Anker