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| Not only do we possess a wealth of interesting sites
within the area which is our main concern but scattered around its borders are houses and
churches of equal interest but often little used and in need of conservation. Such a place is Billesley Church. This lies off the road from Stratford to Alcester. It may well be that this quaint church will be locked when visitors arrive but a notice in the porch will undoubtedly give the address nearby of the keyholder |
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| Billesley was once a village but became depopulated
some-time before 1500 and is one of the large number of D.M.V.s (Deserted Mediaeval
Villages) scattered throughout the lowlands of the Midland counties. Wyke and King's Broom
are two such inside our valley area, with Kinwarton as a depopulated and reduced village,
though not totally deserted. All Saints' Church, Billesley, is a small building: most of its fabric is mediaeval, though the apse is a Norman survival, reconstructed in 1692. The south transept contains a fire-place near to where a family pew once stood: this was reserved for the occupants of the Hall ( a Jacobean building which is now a hotel). The west gallery and box pews in the church are also post mediaeval features. |
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