CURDWORTH

'Curdworth' is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. In 1995 and 2000 Curdworth gained the title of Best Kept Village in Warwickshire, in the large village class [1].

Contents

Location

History

Civil War

External links

Location

Curdworth is situated in the county of Warwickshire and lies 11 miles east of the centre of Birmingham. North Warwickshire borders the Warwickshire borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth to the east, the county of Leicestershire to the north-east, Staffordshire to the north-west, Sutton Coldfield to the west and Birmingham in the West Midlands to the south.
The village is close to Junction T1 of the M6 Toll and Junction 9 of the M42 motorways, Hams Hall road freight terminal (on the site of the old Hams Hall power stations) and The Belfry Golf Courses and Hotel.

History

Curdworth and Minworth both originated in the 6th or 7th Centuries, being established by Angles settlers, and are historically associated with the Arden family (William Shakespeare's maternal relations). Curdworth is probably corrupted from Crida's Worth. ''Worth'' means ''property of'' and the Angle called Crida owned land here. Curdworth is mentioned in the Domesday Survey (1086).
The local parish church is St Peter ad Vincula. Adjacent to the Churchyard is the King George V Playing Fields, which was originally a raised clay and pebble base for a Medieval Saxon Manor Complex, which was attached to the church. This site and the moated Curdworth Hall, also a Saxon structure that was located at the top of Farthing lane, were of great importance in the area.
The remains of a moat, associated with the Arden's, are now buried under the M42. This site is thought to have been their home before they moved to Park Hall in Castle Bromwich.
At the edge of the playing fields is ‘The Bomb Hole', as known by locals, which is actually a Mild Pit, where a Saxon fertiliser consisting of clay and calcium carbonate were extracted.

Civil War

In August 1642 the first skirmish between the Roundheads and Cavaliers of the Civil War (1642-1649) took place in the fields to the south of Curdworth, the Battle of Curdworth Bridge. One of the musket balls fired left a mark in a nave window. Some of the casualties are supposed to be buried in the graveyard.

External links

★ Curdworth Pre-School

★ Curdworth Primary School

★ St. Nicholas and St Peter ad Vincula in Curdworth, Warwickshire

★ Curdworth Parish Council

★ Communities in Warwickshire

★ Warwickshire Police - Curdworth Ward

★ The Belfry Golf Courses and Hotel website