Many people are unaware of how far back the history of Westwood Heath stretches. A walk along the two main thoroughfares of Westwood Heath Road and Bockendon Road/Crackley Lane, takes you past a possible Iron Age settlement, in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, past 3 medieval moats and fishponds and then on towards the site of Hurst, a deserted medieval village. How lucky we are to have all this history on our doorstep!
The next few Memory Mondays will take a look at another fascinating site; that of Bockendon Grange. This was the farm belonging to Stoneleigh Abbey; others existed at Cryfield and Millburn, with there being a larger one nearer to the abbey itself, at Stareton. The present farm of Bockendon Grange is located at the sharp bend, as Bockendon Rd becomes Crackley Lane. This is a Victorian building, very likely replacing a much older structure. The location of the original grange farm – on Bockendon Lane itself - was a moated site, where “The Moat” a 1970s house, was constructed.
Early History of Westwood Heath
Westwood Heath is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. However, as part of that survey, land was divided into administrative areas called Hundreds (an area that might contain around 100 dwellings). Cromwell Lane formed the boundary between the Coleshill Hundred and the Stoneleigh Hundred. Interestingly, these boundary junctions are also a point on the ancient cattle drovers’ road from the Welsh Hills to London. From maps it can be seen that Westwood Heath was part of Stoneleigh Hundred and so the association with Stoneleigh goes back at least that far. The Domesday Survey tells us that Stoneleigh Hundred was classed as very large, having 76 households. It was valuable in terms of tax revenue, assessed at 8.3 geld units (units of taxable land). It was rich in resources having meadow, woodland, 2 mills and pasture for 2000 pigs. Pigs were very important in the medieval period – they ate anything and produced meat, which tasted better if the pigs had foraged on acorns in oak woodland. This was abundant in our area, surrounded by the Forest of Arden. The ploughland was worked by 5 lords and 30 men’s plough teams.
The Founding of the Cistercian Order and the Establishment of Stoneleigh Abbey
This situation appears to have continued for the best part of the next 70 years until Stoneleigh Abbey was founded in 1155. From this point on, there would be strong links between Westwood Heath and the Abbey until 1928 when Lord Leigh sold the land. Much of the story of the founding of Stoneleigh Abbey and details of life there can be found in the Stoneleigh Leger Book (1392).
The story of the Abbey’s founding begins with two devout hermits, Clement and Hervey, who together with some followers were granted land near Beaudesert on Cannock Chase at Radmore (Red Moor) by King Stephen. The Bishop of Chester, Roger de Clinton, confirmed this arrangement and allowed them to follow whatever spiritual way of life they chose. But they were soon disturbed by noise from the Bishop’s foresters “who riding frequently that way, much disturb’d their devotions…” and they appealed to Empress Matilda (a rival claimant to Stephen’s throne during a civil war known as The Anarchy) for help. She agreed, but only if they adopted Cistercian rule, an order she particularly favoured and had assisted the Church in establishing. The Order was run according to the modified rules of St Benedict. Clement, Hervey and followers accepted this and so Radmore became an abbey. William was the first abbot in 1140. Matilda’s son Henry, Duke of Normandy (later Henry II) confirmed this situation and they established a community. Significant endowment was received from many donors and the members of the community received instruction in Cistercian practices by the Abbot of Bordesley, Worcestershire.
However, none of this prevented further disturbances from the foresters. In 1154, on the day of the accession to the throne of King Henry II, the monks petitioned him to exchange Radmore for the manor of Stoneleigh. He agreed and they were granted 100 acres of land stretching from Westwood Heath to Stoneleigh. They moved to Cryfield in the first instance – expelling to Hurst the people they found already settled there - and tried to establish a community. However, they discovered that the proximity to the road was unacceptable. At long last, they established themselves near the confluence of the Sow and Avon Rivers and the foundation stone of Stoneleigh Abbey was laid on April 11th 1155. Westwood Heath fell within the Arden landscape, which at that time was still under-developed compared to the Feldon in the south of the region. The 12th Century saw the beginning of woodland clearances which would continue into the next century. By the time of the establishment of Stoneleigh Abbey and the grange at Bockendon, there were five other settlements in the area: Stareton, Finham, Canley, Fletchamstead and Cryfield.
Sources: www.burtongreen.blogspot.co.uk W.J.Hextall, 1854. The Cistercian Abbey of Stoneley in Arden and its Occupants. ‘From Monastery to Country House: An Architectural History of Stoneleigh Abbey 1156-1660’ by Richard K Morris. In Stoneleigh Abbey The House, Its Owners, Its Lands. Ed. Robert Bearman. (Market Pro 2003). The Medieval Abbey: Its Lands and Its Tenants by Andrew Watkins in above. ourwarwickshire.org.uk
Images: Map of Knightlow Hundred showing Stoneleigh. Map showing location of the 2 moat sites, the modern house on the site of a third moat, The Pools, Bockendon Grange Farm. Rear of the present Bockendon Grange Farm (Creative Commons Licence) Site of a moat at Bockendon (www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk) Post-medieval fishponds at Bockendon Grange (www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk) A Cistercian Monk (image from a Victorian transcription of the Stoneleigh Leger Book, held at MRC, University of Warwick).
