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| This parish was an amalgamation of two
manors, viz. Upton and Haselor. The former lay to the west side of Pelham Brook and
included the built-up area which is today named 'Haselor'. The latter lay to the east of
the parish and included the parish church and the hamlet of Walcote. Both manors went
south over the Stratford Road and took in the rising ground towards Binton and Grafton.
Both manors had a variety of owners since Domesday Book in 1086: Haselor's longest
manorial tenure was that of St.Mary's College, Warwick, 1395 to the 1530s, followed by the
Grevilles of Beauchamp Court and Warwick Castle. Upton's longest tenure was by the
Throckmortons of Coughton. The church at Haselor came under the authority of St.Mary's College in 1394 and it was they who put in their 'vicars'. |
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After Henry VIII, however, the Crown, who took over the college's authority, neglected the parish and regular vicars were few and far between before the 19th century. The church is probably best known for its notorious incumbent in the mid 19th century, the Rev.Cornelius Griffin. Suffering from a persecution complex, he did his best to fall foul of his churchwardens and at one point took to sleeping in a coffin at the church: he 'also found himself incarcerated in the debtors' gaol at Warwick. Nowadays, the church is run in tandem with Great Alne/ Kinwarton
Haselor has always been a farming parish, with the usual rural crafts. The only non-rural craft was the making of needles at Hoo water mill in the l9th/20th centuries. The mill still operates but for no commercial purposes. Unfortunately, modern trends have seen the closure of Haselor's pub, the 'Crown' and post office cum village shop. The primary school still remains and is highly regarded.
© G.E.Saville
