Stretton-Upon-Dunsmore (All Saints)

STRETTON-UPON-DUNSMORE (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Rugby, Rugby division of the hundred of Knightlow, N. division of the county of Warwick, 6 miles (S. E. by E.) from Coventry; containing, with the township of Princethorpe, 1080 inhabitants, and an area of 2781 acres. This parish, which derives its name from its situation on the Roman fosseway, nearly in the centre of what was formerly Dunsmore heath, extends for about two miles and a half on the road from London to Holyhead. The village is about half a mile south-west of the road. Plaster of Paris is made from the gypsum of which a considerable stratum is found in the parish, and large quantities of lime are burnt from the limestone that abounds here. The living is a vicarage; net income, £438; patrons, the Rev. H. T. Powell, vicar, for one turn, and other parties for two turns; impropriators, several proprietors of land. The late Rev. William Daniel, vicar, bequeathed £4000, subject to the life of his wife, to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry and the Archdeacon of Coventry, in trust for building a new parochial church. The edifice was erected from a design by Mr. Rickman, and was opened for divine service on Whit-Tuesday, 16th May, 1837: it consists of a nave, chancel, aisles, and tower. The whole cost was £5232, the balance being supplied by the sale of the materials of the old edifice, a charge on the church lands, the sale of pews, collections at the doors, and subscriptions. A national school is supported from the proceeds of land bequeathed by William Herbert in 1694. Here is a spring strongly impregnated with lime, which will incrust rough substances with limestone formation if left in the water for a considerable time. At Knightlow Hill, on the boundary of the parish, is an ancient stone called Knightlow Cross, one of the oldest memorials of feudal tenure existing, and on which certain fines are annually paid by the surrounding parishes.