Wootton Wawen

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Wootton Wawen Church, Warwickshire
Wootton Wawen Church, Warwickshire

Wootton Wawen is a small village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Its name is pronounced Woot'n worn and means Wagen's Wood. In 2001, the parish had a population of 1,246 and is located on the A3400, south of Henley-in-Arden, on the road to Stratford-upon-Avon.

St Peter's church is of Saxon origin and is the oldest church in Warwickshire although the church was extensively expanded in Elizabethan times. The church has a small chained library and later period monumental brass.

During the Black Death, bodies from Coventry were transported to the churchyard for burial in an area which has become known as the "Coventry Piece". This ground still cannot be disturbed.

The prosperity of the village was centred around the now-disused paper mill on the River Alne. Between the mill and the church is Wootton Hall, built in 1637 and home of the Carington family. Other notable buildings include the Bulls Head Inn which has a stone giving the date of the building as 1317.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal passes through Wootten Wawen and is carried on a cast-iron aqueduct across the main road. There are moorings and a canal boat marina in Wootton Wawen Basin. The canal was built by William James of Henley-in-Arden, who was a pioneer of the railway system. A cast-iron plaque on the aqueduct records details of the building of the canal.

Wootton Wawen railway station is on the Birmingham to Stratford Line.

The date on the Bulls head pub actually states 1397, however this is probably not true. The Bulls head was probably built around the same time as neighbouring Pound cottage which is around late 1500's.