Newton Regis Village
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Newton Regis Village |
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When Newton, the northernmost village in Warwickshire, became a Royal Manor of King Henry II in 1159, it was privileged to take the title of "Regis" and the estate was granted to one Geoffrey Savage and his heirs. The decent of the manor estate, "Kings Newton", is obscure but in 1686 it belonged to Robert Phillips and in 1730 was jointly owned by Sir Robert Burdett, Sir William Theodore Inge (grandson of Robert Phillips) and John Gorton. In 1893 Mr W. F. Inge owned two thirds of the estate and by 1909 the whole estate belonged to his widow. It passed to their daughter Miss Hilda M. Inge and upon her death in 1953 to Miss E. V. G. Thomson, now Mrs Inge-Innes-Lillingston of Thorpe Hall, Thorpe Constantine. It was the Inge family who built the village school in the 1840's, a church school. It is interesting to note that a century ago the village had a complete range of trades and handicrafts. There were shoemakers, tailors, carpenters and wheelrights; bakers, butchers and a grocer - all with apprentices. A quaint old name for the village was "Newton-in-the-Thistles" - possibly a reference to the time when thistles were grown for wool-carding, and it is claimed by some that King Charles I paused here to pray on his way into battle. Over the centuries Newton Regis has retained its tranquility - its black and white cottages, thatched roofs, farm buildings, a picture book duck pond and its church, all combining to form the traditional old world village image. The recent moderate of housing development has blended in well with the older buildings. The population is about 700. E. M. Cope - 2004 More at British History Online |