| Chesterton | |
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Chesterton
Chesterton shown within Warwickshire |
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| OS grid reference | SP348594 |
|---|---|
| District | Stratford-on-Avon |
| Shire county | Warwickshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | leamington spa |
| Postcode district | CV33 |
| Dialling code | 01926 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Stratford-on-Avon |
| List of places: UK • England • Warwickshire | |
Chesterton is a small village in Warwickshire, England. It is about five miles south of Leamington Spa, near the villages of Harbury and Lighthorne.
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The parish of Chesterton and Kingston includes the agricultural area of Kingston east of the village. The parish forms a roughly rectangular block, nearly four miles in length from north-west to south-east and two miles broad. It is home to the notable Chesterton Windmill, built in 1632 from a design attributed to Inigo Jones, just off the Fosse Way and a Grade I listed building.
There was a Roman town on the Fosse Way less than a mile from the present village of Chesterton.[1]
From census reports 1841-1901, the main occupation for residents was agricultural labouring, with many having to leave the village and move elsewhere to find work. The manor house was demolished in 1802, although the remains of the walls and gateway still stand. Humble Bee cottages, on the hill where the manor ruins are, are now abandoned, but are thought to have been owned by ancestors of Lord Willoughby de Broke (John Verney), who was descended from the owners of the manor. Originally, three terraced cottages existed, being rented by farm workers, but the cottage on the far right has been demolished.
Since the 1350s much of the village had been in the possession of the Peyto family who lived at Chesterton House. Chesterton House was demolished in 1802 after Margaret Peyto, last of the family, died in 1772 and left her estates to her cousin John Verney of nearby Compton Verney.
The parish church dedicated to St. Giles, is thought to date back to the 12th century, the most recent update being in 1862. Parish records held at warwick records office date back to 1538. At one time the church served the settlement of Chesterton. This settlement disappeared as a result of the inhabitants moving away to Chesterton Green, after receiving a visit from that most unwelcome of itinerants, the plague. Local rumour has it that tunnels connect the church to nearby Humble Bee cottages.