Hampton in Arden

Hampton is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086), when it was held by Geoffrey de Wirce. "In Coleshill Hundred Hantone. 10 hides. Land for 22 ploughs. In lordship 2; 2 male and 2 female slaves. 50 villagers with a priest and 16 smallholders have 13 ploughs. A mill at 40d; meadow, 10 acres; woodland 3 leagues long and 3 wide. The value was and is 100s." All of Geffrey's lands were held freely by Leofwin. Geffrey's wife was called Aelfeva and her English name suggests that Geffrey may have acquired his Warwickshire lands through her, by inheritance rather than by confiscation; she may have been Leofwin's heiress. A priest was recorded, implying that a church existed. Of the name, Hantone, Dugdale…

The parish church of St. Mary and St. Bartholomew has a chancel, nave with narrow aisles, west tower, south porch, and north vestry. The chancel is of about mid 12th-century date. It is comparatively long and narrow for the period, in a church of this size, and it has an unusual north doorway near the west end; it is possible that it represented the complete church, at least for a short time. The nave, if not coeval, was built soon afterwards and had a late-12th-century south aisle, of which the arcade remains. Possibly the nave was of the same width as the chancel, but was widened to the north about 5 ft. about the middle of the 13th century and a narrow north aisle and arcade added. The…