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Priors Marston & Hardwick

Priors Marston is a village in Warwickshire, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Daventry. The Oxford Canal and Jurassic Way both run nearby. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 the population of the parish is 506, most of whom live in the village.

 

In the village's toponym, "Priors" records the fact the village belonged to St. Mary's Priory, Coventry. "Marston" combines the Old English words Merse referring to a lake which formed a fishery in the early history of the village and tun meaning a settlement.

 

The village has a primary school called The Priors School. The school was originally a state school, opened in 1847. However in August 1996 the school was forced to close. After a month of intensive fundraising and planning the school re-opened - still offering free education to village residents, and also accepting fee paying pupils from further afield. The school raised over £1.2m during 15 years of self-regulation until 1 September 2011, when it became one of the first of 22 new free schools to open in the UK. This returned the school to state funding but independently managed.

 

The Church of England parish church is dedicated to Saint Leonard and is part of The Bridges Group of local churches. The earliest known church on this site was built in the 13th century. The tower dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, but the building was largely rebuilt in 1863 as it stands today. The church has recently undergone a significant renovation and improvement programme - including the addition of a kitchen and toilet, removing Victorian block work and modern organ pipe facade to reinstate and glaze an older arch to the tower, and removal of pews at the rear (west end) of the church.

 

The village hall, called Priors Hall is modern and is a joint venture with Priors Hardwick. It can cater for up to 250 people and the offices of several local businesses are based there. It also acts as an occasional cinema. The village also has a part time Post Office, a Sports and Social Club and a children's playground. There is also a traditional country pub/inn called The Hollybush Inn which provides food, drink and accommodation.

 

The village, being remote, only got a mains supply of electricity in 1934 and of water in 1948.

 

The village has a disused Moravian Church.

 

Priors Hardwick is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England. The name derives from the fact that it was originally a manor belonging to the Priors of Coventry

 

The oldest houses in the village are centred on the village green, with The Butcher's Arms dated as 1562, although some sources place it back as far as 1375.

 

The proximity to the drover's road known as the Welsh Road influenced the village and the naming of local landmarks. The cattle drovers used to water their animals at a pond outside the village, which resulted in it being named Cowpool. This is unusual, since locally, such waterholes were named pits, rather than the Welsh-derived name pool (pwyll). London End in the village and various buildings with welsh in their name also derive from the closeness of the road.

 

The original settlement is on the government's list of Scheduled Ancient Monuments with most of the village being enclosed in a Conservation Area.

In 1831 the area of the parish was 1,600 acres , which was reduced to 1,535 acres sometime between 1881 and 1891.


In 1836 the village became part of the Southam Poor Law Union which ran a workhouse in Southam.


Until 1974, the parish belonged to the Southam Rural District.


According to the 2001 census, the parish consists of 79 households with a population of 167.

 

The major business in the village is The Butcher's Arms, originally a pub, now a Portuguese restaurant.


The church in the village is dedicated to St. Mary Blessed Virgin.