Mickleton is the northernmost parish in Gloucestershire, and is bounded by Worcestershire and Oxfordshire. The village lies within the flat countryside of the Vale of Evesham and the limestone escarpment of the Cotswolds and has characteristics of both areas. It is not a typical Cotswold village but a mixture of architectural styles from red brick buildings, Cotswold stone, old black and white timber and modern housing.
The historic core of Mickleton is compact and has retained its essentially linear form and traditional character; it includes the north eastern section of the High Street, parts of Mill Lane, Chapel Lane and the area round St Lawrence’s Church.
However, as shown on the map that the village has grown considerably, both around the historical core, and as a detached section to the east.
The Church of St Lawrence
The Church of St Lawrence dates from the 12th Century, but was constantly developed over the following centuries. I especially enjoyed the Decorated window tracery.
The south porch is a 17th Century addition, built to accommodate a school for poor boys in the village, under the terms of a bequest. The architect seemed to have been indecisive about whether to use crenelations or pinnacles, so opted for both – something I’d not seen before.
The interior of the church is beautifully light, partly because there are very few stained glass windows, and the nave is high.
The nave arcades were built at the end of the Norman period. Three rudimentary heads (apparently King Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and, perhaps, the architect) can be seen.
Behind a side altar is the monument to Utrecia Smith, who died in 1744. She was the gifted daughter of the curate here and the poet Shenstone wrote these lines to her
Whilst round in wild rotations hurl’d,
These glittering forms I view,
Methinks the busy restless world
Is pictured in a few.
So may the busy world advance,
Since thus the Fates decree
It still may have its busy dance,
Whilst I retire with thee.
In the churchyard is the memorial to Major Lawrence Johnston, the creator of nearby Hidcote Manor gardens, and his mother, Gertrude Cleveland Winthrop.
Nonconformity
There had been evidence of a Methodist Society in the village as early as 1820 and, from the 1850s, services were held in a nearby cottage. The same room was used for week-night meetings as well as for a reading room where lessons were given.
The present chapel was built in 1891, and closed in 2024.
Public Houses
Of the five public houses originally in the village, only 2 remain, the Butchers Arms and the Kings Head.
The Butchers Arms was one of the few Gloucestershire pubs to be tied to Sladden & Collier’s Evesham brewery. Sladden & Co. was acquired by the Cheltenham Original Brewery in 1927 and closed down. The pub has stone flagged floors and is timber framed. It is reputedly haunted by Hubert the ghost.
The Kings Arms The Kings Arms has been at the centre of village life since the 16th century. Flower and Sons, brewers of Stratford upon Avon held the deeds to the pub from 1784-1966. The first known landlord was Mr Kempson in 1592.
Thank to Gloucestershirepubsco.uk for the information and old photograph.
The Three Ways House Hotel was originally a private house and has been known by various names including: St. Lawrence’s, Salford House, Mickleton Lodge and Seton Lea. On a map of 1698 on this site stood Three Ways cottage (now demolished) which may be where the hotel derives its name from. The exact date the house was built is unknown, but it appeared as an L shaped building on a map of 1840. It is believed that the main building was built by a local doctor in 1871.
(with thanks for this information to mickletoncommunityarchive.org.uk)
The oldest cottages of the village are of timber frame construction. They generally have thatched roofs though some have been tiled and wattle and daub, or in some cases brick in-filling.
This is probably the most commonly-photographed part of the village, restored in 1987 by Ian and Keith Barnard.
During the 19th century the then Lord of the Manor, Sir Maxwell Steel Graves, made provision for public water supplies within the village with the provision of stand pipes in the High Street (now the fountain) and at Tadpole. These were supplied from his Parks reservoir.
The most imposing was designed by William Burgess and built in 1875. The medallion portraits are of Mrs Frances Bowen-Graves (L) and Sir Maxwell Steele-Graves (R), and the arms are those of the Graves family who owned the Manor. The memorial was given by Dame Elizabeth Graves. The inscription on the front of the stone reads:
‘The water was brought into this Village in the 1875/ & the Fountain built in memory of Sir J M Steele-Graves Bart/ & of his Daughter Mrs Bowen-Graves/ who lie in the Church-yard of this Parish.’
Medford house, built in 1694, and ‘a textbook example of the slow transition from vernacular Tudor Cotswold to Queen Anne classical’ (from Pevsner).
In 1942, it was set up as a hostel for the Women’s Land Army. The hostel regularly held dances for the Benevolent Fund and County Welfare Fund. In 1946 they held ‘a grand Xmas party with all the seasonal trimmings’.
Queen Mary paid a visit in May 1943 to inspect the ’modernised C16th house’ and present Good Service “Diamonds” to those girls who had worked on the land for 6 months. The hostel was the last to close of the 20 in Gloucestershire on the 15th September 1950.
The Poor’s Land Trust was established in 1612 and its recorded activity is “running of the church piece allotment gardens and distribution of surplus revenue to needy people in the parish of Mickleton”.
The Church Pieces Allotments are situated on the Stratford Road on the outskirts of the village. There are 60 plots in total which are rented as a whole plot, a half or a third sized plot.
Some plots are rented to the Mickleton Community Vineyard. Other Plots are rented by a young gardeners’ project. Most plots are, however, rented on an annual basis to residents of Mickleton and the surrounding area.
Image courtesy of cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Dave Bushell – geograph.org.uk/p/1464
Mill House, which derived its name from a cider mill on the corner of Mill Bank and Chapel Lane.
Mickleton Manor is one of the most prominent buildings in the village. Although it now sits behind high walls, it can be glimpsed through the gates and the East face and gardens are easily viewed across the ha-ha from the field behind the church.
In the 18th Century wings were built by Walwyn Graves. In 1891 the main library wing and portico was taken down, transported up Glyde Hill on a horse drawn railway, and rebuilt at Kiftsgate Court. A pulley system operated by a steam engine on top of the hill was used to haul the stone.
In 1976 the Manor House and grounds were offered to the village by Miss Hamilton, for £15,000. The Parish Council published a leaflet for Mickleton residents setting out the case for purchasing Mickleton Manor for community use. There was insufficient support for the idea and the offer was turned down.
The Manor has now been converted into four dwellings with beautiful views at the rear towards Meon.
Meon Hill, the most northerly point of the Cotswolds, rises above Mickleton.
In February 1945, it was the location of a notorious murder.
The victim was 74 year-old Charles Walton, a farm labourer who lived in Lower Quinton, which is below Meon Hill in Warwickshire. Despite his age he continued to work on local farms until the day of his murder. He was a real country man and knew many rural tales and the old ways of the countryside. He was purported to be well-liked in the village, although he was an unusual character. It is said that birds would flock to be fed from his hand and he had the ability to tame wild dogs with his voice. However, it’s said some villagers thought he might have been involved with witchcraft because of his strange knowledge and abilities.
He was killed on 14 February 1945, while tending hedges in a field at the bottom of the Meon Hill, with a pitch fork and a trouncing hook (otherwise known as a billhook). It was a brutal and unusual murder; and witchcraft was suspected, due to signs on the body.
The case was so important that investigations were led by Scotland Yard’s renowned Detective Inspector Robert Fabian. The character of Fabian was later to feature in a television detective series. The crime, however, has never been solved.
Thanks to Derek King of the Gloucestershire Social History Facebook page, for this lovely postcard of Bakers Hill, looking down into Mickleton (the spire of St Lawrences can just be seen).
The White Way, used to convey salt, running from Cirencester to Campden and then to Clifford Chambers and Stratford, passed through Mickleton as early as the 12th century.
A few of the houses in the village.
The community has created a collection of images and information, covering every aspect of life in the village, which is well-worth a visit for anyone who would like to find out more.
www.mickletoncommunityarchive.org.uk/
