Grafton, Temple (St. Andrew)
GRAFTON, TEMPLE (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford division of the hundred of Barlichway, S. division of the county of Warwick, 3¼ miles (S. E. by E.) from Alcester; containing, with the hamlet of Arden, 401 inhabitants. This place was given at the Conquest by William to one of his adherents, and was possessed in the reign of Henry III. by the Knights Templars; hence the prefix "Temple" to the name. The property was purchased at the Dissolution by the Sheldon family. The parish comprises 1985 acres; the surface is hilly, the soil clay, and there are quarries of excellent limestone, producing also marble. At its eastern extremity it is intersected by the road from Stratford to Alcester. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £93; patron, F. F. Bullock, Esq.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.