Wormleighton

Wormleighton Manor

Wormleighton is a village in the county of Warwickshire, England.

The village was abandoned after the English Civil War when the Spencer family home Wormleighton Manor was burned down in 1645. The village, however, refounded in the 19th century. Sites of interest also include a 12th-century church.

The first mention of a post office in the village is in September 1853, when a type of postmark known as an undated circle was issued.[1] The post office closed in 1971.

The historic family of Wormleighton is based in the North West of England. During World War II, Captain Ronald fought with distinction and was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944.

The Spencer family fortune derived from its earliest known ancestor, Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton, Warwickshire, who bought Althorp in 1522 with the huge profits from his sheep-rearing business. His descendants include the Earls Spencer and Winston Churchill.

In 1498 an inquest jury[2] recorded that 60 villagers had been evicted from the Wormleighton Estate "weeping, to wander in idleness ... perished of hunger".[3]

Notable people from Wormleighton

References

  1. ↑ The Undated Circular Marks of the Midland Counties, p. 151. (1997). The Midland (GB) Postal History Society. ISBN 0-9513311-3-2.
  2. ↑ Public Records Office, C43/28 File 14.
  3. ↑ A Social History of England 1200-1500 p126 edited by Rosemary Horrox and W. Mark Ormrod ISBN 0-521-78954-0

External links

Media related to Wormleighton at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 52°11′N 1°21′W / 52.183°N 1.350°W