Priors Hardwick - <>

Priors Hardwick is an affluent, sought-after village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 172. The name derives from the fact that it was originally a manor belonging to the Priors of Coventry.HistoryThe oldest houses in the village are centred on the village green, with The Butcher's Arms dated as 1562, although some sources place it back as far as 1375.The proximity to the drover's road known as the Welsh Road influenced the village and the naming of local landmarks. The cattle drovers used to water their animals at a pond outside the village, which resulted in it being named Cowpool. This is unusual, since locally, such waterholes were named pits, rather than the Welsh-derived name pool (pwyll). London End in the village, and various buildings with welsh in their name also derive from the closeness of the road.The original settlement is on the government's list of Scheduled Ancient Monuments with most of the village being enclosed in a Conservation Area.In 1831 the area of the parish was 1600acre, which was reduced to 1535acre some time between 1881 and 1891In 1836 the village became part of the Southam Poor Law Union which ran a workhouse in Southam.

Tags: City,Arts & Entertainment