Welcome to the unofficial Pillertons'
Web site
home of information on the twin villages of
Pillerton Hersey & Pillerton Priors.
The
Warwickshire villages of Pillerton Priors and Pillerton Hersey (The Pillertons') are
situated in "Red Horse Vale" amidst the gently rolling hills of the
Feldon. Pillerton Priors is 7 miles South of Stratford on Avon on the (A422) Banbury
road at the Junction with the road to Kineton (B4451), on which stands Pillerton Hersey, a
mile East of Priors.
The two villages make up a single parish, combined around
1666 when the Church of St. Mary Magdalen in Priors was burnt down. The Church was never
rebuilt but the churchyard is still consecrated ground and an "open air" service
is held every year on the Sunday closest to the patronal festival - July 22nd.
As the churchyard sits on high ground, that extends
along the main road, it affords fine views over Red Horse Vale. Close by the Churchyard is
Sandpits Farm, but within "a stones throw" the soil changes to the heavy
Pillerton clay, laid down by Lake Harrison, a glacial Ice-Age lake that extended from
Coventry to Morton in Marsh. As the boundaries of the Lake moved with the centuries
so it deposited anything from fibrous soil, through sand, to Lias clay, but mainly clay!
The road from Priors descends towards Hersey following
the natural drainage. Rain that falls on the Pillertons' finds it's way to the head of the
Dene Valley, flows past Walton Hall and eventually joins the Avon. The brook that
passes through Hersey is often reduced to a trickle in dry periods failing to replenish
the last of the (reputedly) mediaeval fish ponds. This insignificant water course turned
into a raging torrent in "The Great Flood" of Easter 1998 inundating several
houses previously well above flood level.
Viewed from the Priors road, Hersey seems to
"nestle" in a shallow valley; the tower of the church, clustered round with
houses, protruding from the trees. Although in reality the Church of St. Mary
the Virgin is on the edge of the village. From the same viewpoint the ridge that
much of Priors stands on, dominates the skyline. The main Stratford to Banbury road
continues southwards along this ridge and is edged with some fine mature trees.
The population of the villages must have declined in the
early part of the twentieth century; (see the links page for 19th century
census records). The 1998 electoral roll records 210 voters in
Priors, and 138 in Hersey. In Priors there are few houses that pre date the Great
War, Hersey is more generously endowed and therefore the more picturesque. Priors as
befits it's one time name of Pillerton Superior, has a more modern, but still pleasant,
appearance. This, however, is under threat as witness the wholly inappropriate Barratt
Homes development on the main road and the recent Pettifer development in Kiblers Lane.
Despite its small size Priors can boast a Post Office,
a Garage and Service Station complete with shop, a Village Hall built in 1980 and a family
manufacturer of Garden Sheds.
Events Page
- Church Services & Village Functions.
Location Page
- Brief notes on the locality.
Links Page
- Links to other relevant pages on the Web.
Rota Page
- Church Cleaning & Priors Churchyard mowing.
Church Page
- Notes on the Church.
Send e-mail to the Webmaster.
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