HARTSHILL
Acreage: 1,555.
Population: 1911, 2,450; 1921, 2,560; 1931, 2,542.
The parish of Hartshill comprises the southern part
of the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Mancetter. Its
situation in the East Warwickshire coalfield has
wrought great changes in Hartshill in the last century.
Its population has increased very considerably, and
most of its inhabitants are now engaged in mining or
in work at the quarries. (fn. 1)
Present-day Hartshill is a large village of comparatively modern houses. It is long and straggling, being
built round a road running north to south, linking
the Nuneaton-Atherstone and the Nuneaton-Coleshill
roads. Along the latter lies the large colliery village of
Chapel End, formerly dependent on Stockingford Colliery, which was just over the southern border of the
parish. Situated near the edge of an undulating plateau,
Hartshill village commands extensive views to the north
and east.
Between the Nuneaton-Atherstone road and the
village lie the extensive Hartshill quarries. Here red
syenite granite is worked, as is manganese of a comparatively high quality. Tramways running in a
north-easterly direction connect the quarries with the
Coventry Canal and the L.M.S. Railway.
There is an extensive wood, known as Hartshill
Hayes, stretching west from the village to the boundary
of the civil parish of Oldbury. This corresponds to
the manorial woods called in 1275 Suthaye, le Hokehaie, and le Newhaie. (fn. 2) On the eastern edge of the
wood are the remains of Hartshill Castle.
The remains of the Castle (fn. 3) consist of a curtain-wall
of the 13th century that inclosed an irregular five-sided
polygon. The walls of four sides are still standing,
roughly about 15 to 20 ft. high, two sides being complete. The east side, approximately parallel with the
main road, is a little over 200 ft. long. The north side
is complete and about the same length; it is curved
outwards at the east end to form a right angle with
the east wall. Only about 55 ft. of the south-east wall,
in which was the entrance gateway, apparently flanked
by octagonal towers, (fn. 4) is left. Of the west wall about
120 ft. is left from the north-west angle; it is not quite
parallel with the east wall. The whole of the southwest portion has disappeared. Against the north wall
was a chapel, of which a fragment survives.
The curtain-walls are built of local purple-brown
granite rag and are about 4 ft. thick: at the north-west
angle are cream sandstone quoins. At the north-east
angle is a broad diagonal buttress of ashlar which has
a medieval appearance but may have been added when
a timber-framed dwelling-house was erected in this
angle; this is now derelict, having been unoccupied
for about 30 years. Another less substantial buttress
at the south-east angle may have been added for a
similar reason, as there are some slight indications of
a former building in this angle.
The walls are pierced by cross-loops fairly regularly
spaced about 14–15 ft. apart, except in the middle of
the north wall where the chapel stood. The loops are
1½-in. slits with ring ends of 3 or 4 inches: the internal
splays have shouldered lintels. The best preserved are
in the east wall. Some of those in the north and west
walls have had the slits enlarged to the widths of the
bulls-eye ends; in the north wall is an original doorway
with chamfered jambs and pointed head. East of it
inside are the remains of the chapel; the east and part
of the south walls are standing to some height; the rest
is down. An east window had chamfered jambs: the
head is missing, but inside are a few voussoirs of a
chamfered round rear-arch; other voussoirs lie loose on
the ground. In the south wall is a small round-headed
niche, evidently a piscina. The chapel was about 36 ft.
by 16 ft. Its walls were of dark granite rag in rather
larger stones than the curtain-wall, with cream sandstone dressings. In the face of the north wall are some
remains of an original plinth with a round top member
above a splay.
The late-16th-century house in the north-east angle
is of some interest. For its long east side and north end
it used the curtain-wall, which was pierced for stonemullioned windows and later doorways; and a projecting chimney-stack of stone was built in the north
wall. This has a wide fire-place of stone to the ground
floor with a heavy chamfered lintel, a four-centred
arched stone fire-place to the first floor, and a smaller
moulded fire-place to the attic. Above are three
diagonal shafts of thin bricks. The diagonal buttress
was hollowed for a cupboard with a stone doorway.
The west front was timber-framed, but only the
southernmost bay is left standing with its roof. The
gabled south end was replaced with later brickwork
but has another projecting chimney-stack with two
brick diagonal shafts: the ground-floor wide fire-place
is of stone. The plan has two parallel ranges of rooms,
east and west, the latter including the two large chambers with the fire-places, and a middle entrance hall
which probably contained the staircase. The framed
partitions have wattle and daub infilling, and one has
moulded studs. A doorway in the north room has a
triangular arched head. The north-east room has a
re-used moulded medieval ceiling beam: the others are
stop-chamfered. The roof of the surviving south-west
part is of braced tie-beam and queen-post type.
There are some slight traces of other former buildings within the inclosure, which is fairly level. A wide
moat surrounded the site, the eastern arm being continued farther south. Beyond the north moat the high
ground continues northwards to a spur and includes a
moated mound with a still higher mound north of it.
It is all overgrown with trees and the ancient walls are
covered with verdure.
At Hartshill Green are two houses showing 17thcentury timber-framing. One on the main road has a
rough-cast front and framed gabled north end. The
other of T-shaped plan has been reconditioned and
the framing of the middle wing outlined in cement
facing. It has a central chimney-stack with two starshaped shafts of brick.
One of the cottages on the Green (fn. 5) , said to be the
birth-place of the poet Michael Drayton, who was
born at Hartshill in 1563, was pulled down for road
widening in 1941.
The modern church of the Holy Trinity south-east
of the castle is built of stone with brick dressings, and
has an apsidal chancel. The west doorway and window
are of the 12th-century style.
MANOR
At the time of the Conquest an estate of
2 hides in Hartshill and Ansley was held
by the Countess Godiva. (fn. 6) The overlordship, therefore, came to the Earls of Chester, and in 1229
Earl Ranulph recovered his seisin of the lands of
Robert de 'Hardreshull' (presumably in Hartshill),
which had been taken into the king's hands on the
supposition that they were held of the king by render
of a mewed sparrow-hawk. (fn. 7) Ranulph's sister and co-heir
was mother of Hugh d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel, who
held 2/3 knight's fee in Hartshill in 1235. (fn. 8) On the death
of Earl Hugh the fees of Chester assigned in dower to
his widow Isabel in 1243 included one in Hartshill,
held by William de Hartshill, (fn. 9) whose services were
next year conveyed to John FitzAlan, (fn. 10) a co-heir of
Earl Hugh. By 1303 the overlordship had passed into
the hands of Ralph Basset of Sapcote. (fn. 11) The manor
was held of the last of this line, Ralph Basset who died
in 1378; (fn. 12) his daughter and co-heir Elizabeth married
Richard, Lord Grey of Codnor, (fn. 13) and in 1482 Hartshill
was held of Henry, Lord Grey. (fn. 14) The only later
reference to an overlordship is in 1628, when the
manor was said to be held of 'the heirs of Ambrose
Cave, esq.', (fn. 15) the explanation of which is obscure.
Basset of Sapcote. Argent three bars wavy sable.
Grey of Codnor. Barry argent and azure.
According to Dugdale the manor of Hartshill was
held by Hugh de Hartshill in the time of Henry I. (fn. 16)
William de Hartshill died in 1262, (fn. 17) , and next year his
widow, Maud, was pardoned for marrying William de
Arden without royal permission. (fn. 18) Robert, William
de Hartshill's son, held the manor in 1265, but, after
his death at Evesham, supporting Simon de Montfort,
it was forfeited and granted to Warin de Bassingbourne. (fn. 19) It was subsequently redeemed and John de
Hartshill, Robert's brother, died in 1276 seised of the
manor. (fn. 20) His son and heir William was only 5 years
old and was in ward to John de Monhaut. (fn. 21) In 1292
William, then described as the king's yeoman, was
granted free warren in all his demesne lands at Hartshill, a privilege which was confirmed in 1295. (fn. 22) At
his death in 1303 his widow Juliane daughter of
Eustace de Hacche (fn. 23) received in dower ⅓ of the manor,
including rents of 4 free tenants, 3 villeins, and 4
cottars. (fn. 24) William's son John was only 10 years old,
and John de Wysham acted as his guardian until he
came of age. (fn. 25) John de Hartshill conveyed the manor
in 1326 to Philip de Hartshill, (fn. 26) presumably in trust,
as in 1356 Hartshill was settled on the same Sir John. (fn. 27)
He died about 1368, and as his son William had died
in 1349 his heirs were his three daughters by his
second wife, Margaret Stafford. (fn. 28) Elizabeth, one of
his daughters, married John Colepeper, and the manor
passed to their son, Thomas Colepeper, in 1378, (fn. 29)
and he held it in 1392. (fn. 30) The Colepeper family retained Hartshill down to 1547, although in 1475 Sir
John Colepeper pledged it, together with other
property, as security for a debt of 1,000 marks which
he owed to Brian Talbot. (fn. 31) Sir John recovered the
manor next year, and died seised of it in 1480. (fn. 32) His
grandson Thomas Colepeper seems to have mortgaged the estate in 1547, (fn. 33) and later to have sold it to
Sir Anthony Cooke, of Gidea Hall, Essex, (fn. 34) who died
seised of it in 1576. (fn. 35) His grandson Anthony gave the
manor in 1584 to his uncle William, (fn. 36) who had
married Frances, daughter of Lord John Grey. When
William died in 1589 Hartshill was left to his widow in
trust for his eldest son, William, then aged 14. (fn. 37) In
1605 it was conveyed by Sir William Cooke and Joyce
his wife to Sir John Morryce and Edward Turner, (fn. 38)
who were possibly acting for George Purefoy.
[Hartshill. Argent a cheveron sable between ten martlets gules.
Colepeper. Argent a bend engrailed gules.
George Purefoy was holding the manor at his death
in 1628. (fn. 39) His son George married Anne, daughter
and co-heir of Sir Thomas Glover of Hayes (Middx.) (fn. 40)
by Jane daughter of Francis Roberts. (fn. 41) A complicated series of transactions, each concerned with
⅓ of the manor and tithes of Hartshill and of the
manor of Hayes, took place between various persons
connected with the Purefoy family between 1641
and 1657, (fn. 42) but eventually in 1702 the manor was
sold by Sir Edward Seabright, bart., and Anne his
wife, Dorothy Purefoy, widow, and Jane Purefoy,
spinster, to Sir Nathan Wright, Keeper of the Great
Seal. (fn. 43) Sir Nathan died in 1721, and his younger son,
William Wright, was lord during the first half of the
18th century, (fn. 44) but sold the manor in 1751 to Robert
Prinsep, whose son Thomas, of Croxall, Staffs., conveyed
it in 1783 to Thomas Fisher of Raunston Hall, Leics. (fn. 45)
He sold Hartshill about 1791 to Ambrose Joseph
Salisbury, who is called lord of the manor at the time
of the Inclosure Award in 1811, though he had
apparently already sold it to the Hon. Thomas Bowes
of Caldecote, (fn. 46) who was lord in 1818 and, as Earl
of Strathmore, in 1821; (fn. 47) but Dempster Heming of
Caldecote Hall possessed it in 1828. (fn. 48) Kirkby Fenton
was lord of the manor in 1850 and 1884. (fn. 49) Captain
H. L. Townshend of Caldecote Hall held the manor
in 1900 and until his death in April 1924. Since that
date the title of lord of the manor of Hartshill appears
to have lapsed. (fn. 50)
In 1221 there is mention of Robert Panke who was
miller to Hugh de Mancetter; (fn. 51) and in 1304 a mill
called Panckemulne was attached to the manor of
Hartshill. (fn. 52) There are other references to a watermill here in 1584 (fn. 53) and 1605, (fn. 54) and its site may be
commemorated in the name of Leather Mill Farm on
the east of the River Anker.