Willesley (St. Thomas)
The parish comprises 910 acres, of which about 25 are woodland, and the remainder arable and pasture in nearly equal portions: the soil is various. The southwestern boundary of the parish is skirted by the Ashby and Coventry canal, whence a railway passes to the former town. The manor-house is a handsome structure in the form of the letter H, built about the time of Charles I., and situated in a park of undulated surface, embellished with plantations: the mansion has been enlarged and improved within the last six years. The living is a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £62: the patronage and impropriation belong to Sir C. Abney Hastings. The church, situated a short distance from the manor-house, is a very small plain edifice, with a tower at the west end; the walls are turreted, stuccoed on the outside, and much overgrown with ivy. The period of its erection is not known: the interior has been renovated within the last fifteen years.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.