WYKEN AND CALUDON
The ancient parish of Wyken, the area of which
was estimated as 670 acres in the mid 19th century, (fn. 91)
formed only the northern and eastern parts of the
later civil parish. The southern part, the Caludon
estate, was a detached part of the ancient parish of
St. Michael's, Coventry, until it was transferred to
Wyken in 1884. The area of the combined civil
parish in 1891 was 1,333 acres. (fn. 92) The civil parish of
Stoke Heath, created out of 74 acres in the west of
Wyken in 1920, became part of Coventry in 1928,
and of the rest of Wyken parish the greater part -
1,263 acres - was taken into the city in 1932 and
the remaining six acres in the extreme east were
transferred to Combe Fields. (fn. 93)
Most of the parish consisted of a strip of land
about two miles long and half a mile wide, on the
south and west of the river, stretching from Courthouse Green in Foleshill to Sowe Bridge. On the
west was a small area of higher ground near Stoke
Heath, called Wyken Heath and Wyken Knob, and
on the east the boundary followed the course of the
former eastern branch of the River Sowe to include
Hungerlay Hall Farm. (fn. 94) The small area of land to the
north of the river included Wyken Manor House, the
former Craven Colliery, and part of Henley Road.
The Caludon estate stretched from the River
Sowe, south of Sowe Bridge, westwards to the high
ground near Stoke Heath. It was partly divided from
Wyken proper by a streamlet from Stoke Heath
which joins the Sowe just east of Wyken church;
this was presumably the stream, rising from Caludon
well, which in the early 14th century marked the
boundary with Foleshill. (fn. 95)
Ansty Road runs north-eastwards from Coventry
towards Leicester through Caludon and the south
of Wyken, crossing the River Sowe at Clifford
Bridge. Clifford Bridge Road runs south from this
bridge towards Binley, and crosses the river at
Sowe Bridge. The railway, from Pinley to Foleshill,
and the Coventry Canal run just inside the former
western boundary of Wyken in its extreme northwestern corner, and a now disused branch railway
from Hawkesbury in Sowe once served the Craven
Colliery. The whole of Caludon and much of Wyken
are occupied by modern housing estates.
MANORS AND ESTATES.
WYKEN was first
mentioned in the early 12th century when it was
among the chapelries on the estates of the earls of
Chester that were granted to Coventry Priory. (fn. 96)
The overlordship passed with the other Chester
estates to the manor of Cheylesmore, and Wyken
was still subject to the Cheylesmore court in the
mid 17th century. (fn. 97) Throughout the 13th century
the estate was described as an eighth (fn. 98) but later as a
third of a fee. (fn. 99) The principal estate began to be
called a manor in the early 14th century. (fn. 1)
Combe Abbey had a water-mill in Wyken and
Sowe in the late 12th century, (fn. 2) and although the
abbey appears only as an intermediate tenant in the
13th century (fn. 3) the references to this holding in the
abbey's registers were probably responsible for later
attributions of the overlordship to the abbey. (fn. 4)
The earliest known tenants in Wyken were
members of the Bruton or Bret family - Alice
widow of Walter, James, and Robert - who held
the mill from Combe Abbey (fn. 5) and the principal
holding from the Chester estate in the late 12th
and early 13th centuries. (fn. 6) Shortly after 1243 the
estate passed to Geoffrey de Langley, possibly as
part of the transaction by which he acquired Shortley
from Henry d'Aubigny. (fn. 7) In the 13th and 14th
centuries the estate was held by various members of
the Langley family - including Walter, Alice,
Robert, and John - and, like Pinley, by their
successors William Careswell, Joan Trillow, and
Sir Baldwin Frevill. (fn. 8) The Langleys extended the
estate by purchasing a number of small freeholdings
in the village. (fn. 9) When, on the death of the second
Sir Baldwin Frevill in 1419, his estate were divided
between his three co-heirs Wyken was at first held
in three parts, (fn. 10) but after the redistribution of 1452
became part of the share of Margaret Frevill and
her second husband Richard Bingham. (fn. 11) The manor
was settled on Ralph Willoughby, Margaret's son,
by her first husband, (fn. 12) and on Margaret's death
in 1493 passed to her grandson, Sir Henry
Willoughby. (fn. 13)
Wyken was held by the Willoughby family until
1596 (fn. 14) when, as a result of his extravagance, Sir
Francis Willoughby was forced to sell it to Richard
Green, (fn. 15) of a family whose members had been the
principal tenants in the village since the early 16th
century. (fn. 16) The Green family held the manor until
the mid 18th century, when, after the death of
Henry Green, the estate passed to William Craven (fn. 17)
(who inherited the title of Baron Craven in 1764),
son of Henry's daughter Maria Rebecca and John
Craven of Whitley. The Cravens (from 1801 earls of
Craven) (fn. 18) remained the principal landowners in
Wyken until after the First World War, (fn. 19) when much
of the parish was acquired by Coventry corporation
for housing estates.
The Langleys probably had a house near the field
called Hallfurlong and their small park south of the
church, (fn. 20) but the Willoughbys do not appear to have
lived on the estate. Henry Green's manor-house,
which was mentioned in the Sowe tithe dispute of
1689 onwards, was probably in Wyken. (fn. 21) It may
well be identified with the present Manor Farm,
known in the earlier 19th century as Wyken House, (fn. 22)
which stands on the south side of Henley Road. The
tenant in 1778 was William Serjeaunt, who also held
the game rights of the manor in 1788. (fn. 23) The position
of the building, close to the Sowe boundary and in
the extreme north of Wyken, is, however, an unusual
one for a manor-house. A possible explanation is
that this was already the home of the Green family
when they acquired the manor in 1596 and that it
only became the manor-house after that date.
Members of the Craven family were said to have
lived there, (fn. 24) but this seems unlikely since they had
better houses nearby.
The older part of the house is timber-framed and
has an L-shaped ground plan, consisting of a hall
block and a smaller wing projecting to the south.
Part of the hall block appears to have been remodelled and raised in height at some period,
probably in 1624 when a stone chimney bearing this
date was built on its north side. There is another
early-17th-century chimney with diagonal brick
shafts at the junction of the two wings. A projecting
staircase wing on the west side of the house has
been enclosed by brick extensions, both to the west
and north, which date from the early 19th century.
There are indications that the hall block has been
truncated at its east end, where the gable wall is of
19th-century brickwork. If so, the timber-framed
house was originally of greater size. (fn. 25) A circular
brick dovecot to the south-east of the house was
demolished within living memory and foundations
of other buildings have been found in this area. The
rickyard of the farm was on the north side of Henley
Road until after the Second World War (fn. 26) when this
land was acquired for housing. In 1964 about 40
acres to the south were still in use as farmland and
a nursery garden. (fn. 27)
Coventry Priory acquired rights in Wyken by the
de Montalts' grant of 1250. (fn. 28) In 1279 its holding
consisted of a tenant with a half-virgate and two
under-tenants. (fn. 29) There were further acquisitions
made in 1305 and 1392. (fn. 30) Most of the small priory
holding in Wyken in the 14th and 15th centuries
formed part of the Attoxhale estate in Sowe immediately north of Wyken, (fn. 31) which had originally
been built up by the Erneys family. (fn. 32) These lands
passed to Coventry corporation in 1542, after the
Dissolution, and were included in the endowment
of Sir Thomas White's Charity in 1551. (fn. 33) Other
pieces of land in Wyken were included with the
priory's holding in Stoke, and were leased with that
holding to Hugh Wyatt in 1541. (fn. 34) It is possible that
this land became the detached part of Wyken
between Caludon and Stoke which seems to have
been occupied by 'Edward Day's dwelling house'
in 1675. (fn. 35) In 1775 this was occupied by Joseph
Hanson, and had formerly been held by Mrs.
Garlick; it was a freeholding of the manor of
Wyken. (fn. 36) A house was shown on the site in 1793, (fn. 37)
about 400 yards east of Stoke church near the
modern Wordsworth Road. The house here became
known as Wyken House in the later 19th century,
perhaps after the name ceased to be used for Manor
House Farm.
Another freeholding in Wyken parish in the 18th
century was that of Thomas Itchenor. (fn. 38) If, as is
probable, it was this holding which William
Pridmore (d. 1840) acquired in the early 19th
century, it can be identified as an enclave of Wyken
into Caludon marked on a map of 1778. (fn. 39) A house,
called New House, was shown on this site in 1834; (fn. 40)
it was later called Wyken Grange and was situated
in what is now the Torcross Avenue area, where
its name is commemorated in Wyken Grange Road.
Pridmore's son, W. F. Pridmore, seems to have lived
in Stivichall until the later 1860s, then to have
moved to Wyken Grange, and finally, before 1872,
to Wyken House near Stoke church. (fn. 41) Here the
family lived until at least 1900. (fn. 42) Wyken House was
put up for sale in 1929 (fn. 43) and the estate was afterwards broken up for building. Wyken Grange was
also demolished for building sites between the two
world wars. (fn. 44)
Land described as a carucate and a mill in Wyken
were held in 1279 by Nicholas de Segrave, lord of
the Caludon estate, immediately to the south. (fn. 45)
Thereafter there was always part of the Caludon
estate in Wyken. (fn. 46) In the early 15th century some
land in Wyken held with Stockingford manor was
granted to Arbury Priory, (fn. 47) but there are no other
references to the holding. Land in Wyken was also
held in connexion with the Zouche estate in Foleshill, (fn. 48) and in the 18th century some of the Caludon
estate was held with a Foleshill farm. (fn. 49)
CALUDON was not among the chapelries of the
Coventry district mentioned in the 12th century,
and was probably a comparatively late settlement.
It was granted by Ranulf de Blundeville, Earl of
Chester, to Stephen de Segrave (d. 1241) at the end
of the 12th century. (fn. 50) It was called a manor in 1239, (fn. 51)
and described as a quarter-fee in 1275. (fn. 52) The overlordship passed with the Chester estates to the manor
of Cheylesmore. (fn. 53) Coventry Priory claimed that it
had bought the rent paid by Caludon to the overlord,
but its claim was not sustained. (fn. 54)
Caludon was held by the Segrave family until the
death of John Segrave, Lord Segrave, in 1353, (fn. 55)
when it passed to his daughter Elizabeth and her
husband, John Mowbray. (fn. 56) The manor was held by
the Mowbrays (after 1397 dukes of Norfolk), through
the varying fortunes of the family, until the death in
1481 of the Lady Anne Mowbray who was then the
wife of Richard, Duke of York. In the subsequent
partition of the Mowbray estates between the two
co-heirs, John Howard, Lord Howard, and William
Berkeley, Lord Berkeley, (fn. 57) Caludon was apparently
allotted to the latter who was in possession of the
estate in 1491. (fn. 58) The manor then descended in the
Berkeley family until 1631 when George, Lord
Berkeley, sold it to Thomas Morgan, of Weston
under Wetherley, (fn. 59) who had estates elsewhere
in Warwickshire and in Northamptonshire. His
daughter and co-heir, Jane, married John Preston,
of Furness (Lancs.) and Westmorland; (fn. 60) their son
Sir Thomas Preston, Bt., held the manor at his
death in 1709 when it was inherited by his younger
daughter, Anne, the wife of Hugh Clifford, Lord
Clifford of Chudleigh. The estate remained in the
Clifford family until 1815, when it was sold piecemeal. (fn. 61) In 1846 the house and 200 acres in the east
were owned by John Brown of Trinity College,
Cambridge, 205 acres in the north by T. and J.
Stephens, and 83 acres in the south by G. A.
Pridmore. (fn. 62) In the late 19th century the site of the
house and part of the estate were owned by the
Revd. E. H. Garrard; G. A. Pridmore still occupied
the southern area. (fn. 63) In 1929 the site was owned by
H. J. Green. (fn. 64) After the First World War much of
the land was acquired by Coventry corporation for
housing estates, and the farmhouse and the remains
of the castle are now included in a recreation ground
(1964).
Caludon House or Castle was the only permanent
nobleman's residence in the neighbourhood of
Coventry. Apart from short periods when the house
or castle was leased or disused, members of the
Segrave, Mowbray, and Berkeley families lived
there through much of its existence. Thomas
Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, was said to have been
living there when he appeared for the abortive duel
before Richard II at Gosford Green in 1398.
Curiously, the noble families living at Caludon do
not seem to have used their power in the affairs of
Coventry or its district. The castle was apparently
abandoned either in the lifetime of Thomas Morgan
or shortly after his death. The unique position of the
castle in the district and the romantic appeal of its
ruins have attracted the notice of antiquaries and
produced accounts in which it is difficult to disentangle genuine information drawn from unquoted
sources, and pure imagination. The story easiest to
reject is that the house was the birthplace of St.
George. (fn. 65)
The first manor-house at Caludon seems to have
been built by the Segraves at the end of the 12th
century; (fn. 66) there was a chapel there shortly after. (fn. 67)
In 1279 there was a park of 20 acres and a pool. (fn. 68)
The house or castle was probably rebuilt in 1305
when John Segrave received a licence to crenellate
the building. (fn. 69) A similar licence is said to have been
granted in 1354, (fn. 70) and the castle was probably again
rebuilt at that date. Buildings mentioned as damaged
in 1385 included a tiled building of four bays
inside the bridge, a tiled building of seven bays
outside the bridge, and a thatched barn of five
bays. (fn. 71) A house on a bridge in Caludon mentioned
at this time was presumably built over the moat. (fn. 72)
The castle also fell into disrepair for some years
after Norfolk's banishment in 1398, but is said to
have been rebuilt by Henry, Lord Berkeley, about
1580 and added to by Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley, in
the early 17th century. It was supposedly besieged
and captured during the Civil Wars which would
account for its disrepair in the late 17th century. (fn. 73)
The moat surrounding the castle enclosed an area
of about an acre. For at least 150 years the only
remains of the building itself have consisted of part
of the north wall, standing immediately inside the
dry moat. This wall is of grey sandstone with red
sandstone dressings and is two stories high. It
contains two tall pointed windows with incomplete
tracery of mid-14th-century character, which may
well have belonged to a first-floor great hall. Jambs
of similar windows form the two ends of the surviving length of wall, suggesting that the hall must have
been of at least four bays. Below the tall windows
are those of an undercroft, with a flue rising in the
thickness of the wall between them. (fn. 74) From its style
it would appear that this fragment is part of the
castle as rebuilt by John, Lord Mowbray, who was
licensed to crenellate in 1354. No traces of any later
additions have survived. The former farmhouse,
which occupies part of the moated site to the southeast of the castle ruins, (fn. 75) is said to have been built
by one of the Cliffords about 1800, using material
from the castle. (fn. 76) It was, however, already in
existence by 1788, when it was known as Caludon
House. (fn. 77) The older part of the building is of brick,
now mostly cement-rendered, on a stone plinth.
Many alterations and additions were made in the
19th century. In 1964 the house was in poor repair,
only partly occupied, and awaiting demolition. There
is a second moated site to the south of the existing ruins.
GENERAL HISTORY.
The identity and character
of the locality which was called Wyken is particularly
elusive. Wyken was not mentioned in the Domesday
Survey and, because Coventry Priory had little
property there, there is less information about the
parish before the 16th century than for most of the
others in the district. There are no inclosure or tithe
awards for the parish. In 1841 the local witness in
the case about the county of the city had almost
nothing to say about the parish except that it was
very small, (fn. 78) and in 1927 it was said to have had 'a
purely agricultural character'. (fn. 79)
The church stands on a low spur overlooking
Wyken Bridge. Although there is no evidence that
there was ever a village or hamlet around the church
- in the 19th century there were only two or three
minor buildings and a plot on which the former
vicarage may have stood (fn. 80) - such a village may
have existed before inclosure, and two medieval
sources describe rows of three houses. (fn. 81) Two paths,
from Caludon and Wyken Grange (now the roads
known as Wyken Croft and Torcross Avenue), met
near the church, and the continuation of Wyken
Croft northwards past the church towards Henley
was joined by Blackberry Lane just south of Wyken
Bridge. The lay-out of the church, Wyken Bridge,
and the paths around them, when compared with
that of the Sowe road (Ansty Road) - which takes
a sharp turn north-eastwards on the parish boundary
and then runs straight across the parish to Clifford
Bridge (fn. 82) - suggests that the former was the more
ancient.
A highway to Leicester was mentioned in 1338,
but this could have been either the Henley road or
the Sowe road. (fn. 83) It has already been noticed that
the road through Sowe fields to Ansty was much
less important than the routes through Sowe Waste
to the north; (fn. 84) this would equally reduce the
importance of the Sowe road through Wyken. The
Sowe road was called simply Caludon Lane from the
15th to the 17th centuries. (fn. 85) It was probably the
highway to Hinckley mentioned in 1639, (fn. 86) but it
was not marked in 1725. (fn. 87) It was, however, clearly
shown in 1793, (fn. 88) after the Sowe inclosure of 1756
and the realignment of the roads there. The road
was turnpiked in 1812-13 (fn. 89) and thereafter became
increasingly important, but Wyken was not radically
affected, as some neighbouring parishes were, by the
roads passing through it.
La Wyke and other early forms of the name of the
parish suggest that, like Caludon, the estate of the
Brets and the early Langleys was a single farm. It
was not in the great area of waste and woodland to
the north of Coventry, and it touched Hasilwood
only around Stoke Heath to the west and Sowe
Shortwood near Attoxhale in the north; like Sowe
village across the river to the east, it was an arable
rather than a pastoral district. There are no references
to woods in Wyken before the 16th century; in 1668
the manor included 24 acres of wood and 80 acres of
heath, (fn. 90) and in 1778 six acres of woods and other
pieces of land. (fn. 91) The commons, too, were very small.
Wyken Green, where there was a highway, was
mentioned in the 14th century. (fn. 92) Wyken Common
was first mentioned in the 17th century, and Wyken
Knob or Knot, near Stoke Heath, in 1815. (fn. 93) The
whole area of commons made up only thirteen acres
in 1778. (fn. 94)
There were several woods in medieval Caludon.
An assart on the edge of a wood there was mentioned
in the 13th century. (fn. 95) In the late 14th century the
keeper of the estate caused damage to it by felling a
wood called Newhewen, oaks and ashes in Dedemoor, and more oaks in the park. (fn. 96) In 1555 Caludon
manor included 100 acres of wood. (fn. 97) Newhewen
and woods in Caludon were mentioned in 1675. (fn. 98)
There were no extensive commons in Wyken,
probably because the owners had rights outside the
parish, in, for instance, Sowe Waste or Shortwood,
which, as has been noted elsewhere, (fn. 99) was common
to several surrounding villages. The lordship of
Caludon had 80 acres in the waste in Sowe later
called Cliffords Waste, presumably in composition
for rights over the whole waste. (fn. 1) The tenants of
Wyken had grazing rights until at least the early 16th
century, (fn. 2) and although Sowe Waste had been
inclosed piecemeal before the 18th century, the
Wyken pound (probably at the gate into Wyken
Field mentioned in 1581) (fn. 3) remained, only just
outside the Sowe boundary, in 1886. (fn. 4) An area of 31
acres on Stoke Heath was held with the manor of
Wyken in the 18th century. (fn. 5) The tenants of Wyken
also had grazing rights in Hasilwood and in 'Billingfield' in the 15th century. (fn. 6)
References to Wyken Field or Wyken Fields, to
culture, and to selions and headlands indicate that
the fields there were open in the 13th and 14th
centuries. (fn. 7) In 1262 Walter de Langley and Nicholas
de Segrave agreed on the mutual renunciation of
commoning rights on their fields in Wyken and
Caludon. Certain inclosures were also recognized,
including those of Hallfurlong and Moorcroft, which
were apparently demesne fields of Wyken. The
grazing arrangements indicate a three-year rotation,
but there is no evidence of three large fields. The
fields later mentioned in Caludon were Michelfield,
Litelfield, and Ashmoor. (fn. 8)
Meadows along the River Sowe were important
in Wyken. They were sometimes referred to as lying
within the arable fields, but they were held as
separable plots, not in strips. (fn. 9) There were several
small inclosed fields in addition to the open fields,
particularly north of Wyken in the Attoxhale district
on the edge of Sowe Waste. (fn. 10) Wyken Croft, which
has sometimes been used as the name of a locality,
and is now the name of a road, was part of the
Attoxhale holding. (fn. 11) Caludon itself was a single large
demesne farm, described as two carucates in 1279,
with meadows and some small closes. (fn. 12)
In 1279 Walter de Langley had a carucate in
demesne in Wyken and eighteen villein tenants,
twelve tenants with quarter-virgates, four with halfvirgates, and four with small holdings; the tenant
of the Coventry Priory holding also had a halfvirgate. (fn. 13) The virgates owed light labour services
entirely connected with haymaking. (fn. 14) This system
of virgates was still in existence in the early 15th
century. (fn. 15) In addition to unidentified tenants paying
certain rents, nine tenants were listed by name in
1401, (fn. 16) but the reason for the distinction between
these two groups is obscure. The last reference to
selions in the fields of Wyken was in 1479. (fn. 17) A
tenement and yardland, then consisting, not of
arable, but of pasture and meadow, was mentioned
in 1650. (fn. 18) By 1778 most of Wyken was divided into
five compact farms held by copyhold tenure. There
were also, in addition to Lord Clifford of Caludon,
two freeholders and three smallholders. (fn. 19) A plot of
six acres, 'part of the park', at the junction of Wyken
Croft and the Sowe road, was the only land kept in
the Cravens' hands; High Park and Barley Park
were in Lapworth's farm. These pieces are probably
the remains of the medieval park. (fn. 20) Apart from the
coal working on Serjeant's Farm, the farms remained
almost unchanged until after the First World War. (fn. 21)
There were 23 tenants in Wyken in 1279, 15
taxpayers in 1327, 11 taxpayers in 1524, and 24
households in 1563. (fn. 22) There were 23 adults
enumerated in the Compton Census of 1676; (fn. 23) these
references suggest that there was a stable social
structure and no inclosure during this period. By
1730 there were only about thirteen houses and in
1801 twelve houses with a population of 66. (fn. 24) It
would seem that inclosure and a decline in population
took place between 1650 (or 1676) and 1730. This
gap can perhaps be narrowed further. In 1718 Henry
Green gave to the church a house and ten acres,
which seems to have been a village holding in the
open fields; by 1775 this had been converted into an
investment of £200 held by Lord Craven. (fn. 25) The
period of inclosure may, then, have been between
1718 and 1730, and it may be suspected that the
vigorous and litigious Green family was responsible. (fn. 26)
If there had been a hamlet around the church, it had
disappeared by 1778. The twelve or thirteen houses
were then concentrated at the five farms, with one
or two on Wyken Green and at the pound on the
Henley road; there was also the house called Paradise
and some other buildings near Stoke Heath which
mark the first encroachment by Coventry suburbs
on the parish. (fn. 27)
Evidence of the character of farming in Wyken
is scanty, though, as has already been indicated,
meadows and hay were important from an early
date. (fn. 28) The Watts family, who farmed at Hungerley,
claimed to be the inventors of a mole drainage
plough. (fn. 29) Several references to ditching (fn. 30) suggest
that such a plough may have been devised for
draining meadows along the River Sowe, which were
still subject to flooding in recent times. Mention of
beasts and grazing in the Middle Ages indicates the
characteristic mixed farming of that time. (fn. 31) In the
early 19th century only about 130 acres of Wyken
were sown, with grain and potatoes; potatoes and
turnips were also being grown in gardens. (fn. 32) The
Wyken Pippin, once a well-known apple, is said to
have originated in Wyken from a tree grown by one
of the Craven family in the late 18th century. The
tree was still cultivated in Wyken cottage gardens in
the 19th century. (fn. 33)
Coal digging spread south from Hawkesbury in
the early 17th century. Unfortunately many of the
early references to 'Wyken' mines are inaccurate,
and refer to the Attoxhale farm in Sowe, only small
parts of which were in Wyken parish. (fn. 34) The Greens
and the Cravens were interested in mines, however,
and possibly in the late 18th century a shaft was
sunk on Serjeant's Farm just east of the farm
buildings and north of the River Sowe. By 1850 this
was known as the Craven Colliery. (fn. 35) A tramway, and
later a branch railway, were extended south from
Sowe to the colliery, and a fresh shaft was sunk in
the early 20th century and new buildings erected. (fn. 36)
The rapid increase in the population of Wyken
between 1901 and 1911 from 124 to 321 was
attributed to the greater numbers of miners. (fn. 37) There
was also an electricity station on the site. (fn. 38) The
mine became disused before the Second World War (fn. 39)
and its site is now occupied by a factory and a warehouse. In 1859 miners on strike from Wyken (possibly from the Wyken Farm Colliery in Sowe) took
part in election disturbances in Coventry. (fn. 40)
The population of Wyken rose slowly from 66 in
1801 to 148 in 1861, though maps show no noticeable
additional buildings. (fn. 41) A slight fall to 129 in 1871
presumably indicates that there had been some
weavers in the village up to 1860, who were driven
out by the subsequent slump in weaving. The
population remained unchanged (in spite of the
addition of Caludon to Wyken parish) until 1901,
when it was 124; there were then 27 houses, compared with twelve in 1801. (fn. 42) The 19th century,
during which there had been such great changes a
mile or two to the north and west, had very little
effect on Wyken.
There was a rapid increase in population to 321 in
1911 and 364 in 1921, accompanied by the appearance of new buildings; these included Caludon
Cottages, Grange Terrace, and Wyken Terrace on
Ansty Road. Immediately after the First World
War the Stoke Heath housing estate was built on the
west of the old Caludon estate, and was followed
before and after the Second World War by houses
which now (1964) cover the whole of Wyken and
Caludon except an area on either side of the River
Sowe between the church and Manor Farm and in
the Hungerley neighbourhood. (fn. 43) Lyng Hall Comprehensive School, built in 1955, now covers the site of
Harris's Farm at Wyken Green. The brick farmhouse, dated 1830, and the farm buildings have been
restored and are used as part of the school. Other
modern buildings include the Morris (B.M.C.)
factory off Nuffield Road in the north-west corner of
Wyken, the Wyken Community Centre (formerly a
Ministry of Labour hostel) off Clifford Bridge Road,
schools, and several chapels. The River Sowe is
being straightened by refuse tipping near Wyken
Bridge. By 1921 many of the inhabitants were
Coventry workers, and in 1939 the population of the
ecclesiastical parish was estimated as 18,000. (fn. 44)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
As parts of the manor
of Cheylesmore, both Wyken and Caludon were
subject to the jurisdiction of the Cheylesmore courts
and later to the county of the city. The tenants of
Wyken regularly attended the biennial Cheylesmore
courts in the 14th century. (fn. 45) There is no evidence
of a separate manorial court at Wyken. At Caludon
there was a court for all the local estates of the
Berkeleys; Stivichall tenants, for instance, held their
lands by copy of court roll of Caludon manor in the
15th century. (fn. 46) The Cheylesmore court continued
to function until at least 1659; rents were then being
received for the manor of Wyken, for Caludon, and
from two cottagers for plots on common land still
subject to Cheylesmore. (fn. 47)
There were constables for Wyken parish from at
least 1664, churchwardens from at least 1669, and
overseers from 1680. (fn. 48) In 1841 it was said that there
were no courts of any kind for Wyken; a single
constable was nominated by the vestry. (fn. 49) The
Caludon estate remained part of St. Michael's,
Coventry, until 1884. (fn. 50) Wyken was then in Foleshill
Union (later Rural District). There was a parish
council for the civil parish of Wyken (including
Caludon) from 1894 until its disappearance in
1931. (fn. 51)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.
GREEN'S CHARITY. It was stated in 1786 that Jane
Green had given by deed (n.d.) £5 to the poor of
Wyken which was then vested in Lord Craven and
yielded 5s. a year, but in 1833 nothing was known of
this charity. (fn. 52)
MUSTO'NS CHARITY. The Revd. Thomas Muston,
Rector of Brinklow, by will dated 1729, left a
messuage and lands in Foleshill, on trust that from
the rents 20s. a year should be paid to the Rector of
Brinklow and 10s. to the churchwardens of Wyken
to be distributed among the poor of the parish. The
residue of the rents was to form an augmentation to
the living of Wyken. By the Foleshill Inclosure Act
of 1774 an allotment of 14 a. 2 r. at Little Heath was
made to Wyken church in respect of this property. (fn. 53)
Though the 10s. was still distributed in 1875 (fn. 54)
payment had lapsed by 1908. The Vicar of Wyken
was then receiving £22 10s. rent from the Foleshill
property which he understood to be part of his
stipend and out of which he paid 20s. to the Rector
of Brinklow; the rent had risen to £32 10s. by 1913.
The charity property was later sold to Coventry
Woollen Spinners and was re-sold in 1922, after
the firm's liquidation. The 30s. charge had not been
paid since about 1920, but after a fresh sale of the
property in 1926 it was redeemed by transfer of £60
stock, by which time all arrears had been recovered. (fn. 55)