2011 : B4060 Wickwar High Street

Image: © Maurice Pullin Taken: 21 Jun 2011

Looking north, the sign of the Red Lion marks then Wickwar Social Club. "The place-name 'Wickwar' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Wichen', meaning 'dairy farm or settlement'. The manor was given to John la Warre by King John and was held by Roger la Warre in 1285, when it was referred to as 'Warre Wyke'. Warre is a Norman family name which gave its name to Wickwar. The village originally lay on the Old Saltway from Droitwich to Chipping Sodbury and Pucklechurch, and was developed in the late 13th century by the de la Warre family with the establishment of a market in 1285. The main street, the present High Street, was laid out around the market place with uniform burgage plots and rear access lanes. Burghers paid an annual fixed rent to the overlord, but they could sell their tenancies much as in the free market today. In addition they often carried on trades and crafts which, together with their property rights, distinguished them from the feudal peasant. Livestock were often kept on the burgage plots behind the house, and this necessitated the rear access lane. The original settlement of Wickwar was located around the church and Poole Court, a 16th-century Manor House demolished in the 19th century, to the north of the village. All that remains of the Manor is its terraced garden, south-west of the church, which formerly stood on the edge of a lake. The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity is set on a small hill and is of 12th-century origin. It was extensively remodelled in the 14th and 15th centuries and was restored c.1881 by W L Bernard. Inside there is an interesting sculpture of St John the Baptist dated 1496, which was originally housed at Poole Court." The above was copied from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickwar

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