Atherstone on Stour

Atherstone on Stour is a small village and civil parish about 2 1⁄2 miles (4 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 59.[1]

Atherstone on Stour

St Mary's former parish church,
now a private house
Atherstone on Stour
Location within Warwickshire
Population59 (2001 Census)
OS grid referenceSP204510
Civil parish
  • Atherstone on Stour
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townStratford-upon-Avon
Postcode districtCV37
PoliceWarwickshire
FireWarwickshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament

Parish church

Atherstone on Stour's medieval parish church was demolished in the 1870s and replaced with the present parish church of St Mary, which was completed in 1876. It incorporates masonry from the previous church, including the heads of two 14th-century windows and a wall-mounted marble monument to William Thomas, who died in 1710.[2]

St Mary's is now redundant and in 2008 was converted into a private house. Atherstone on Stour is now part of the Church of England parish of St Mary, Preston-on-Stour, which is the next village to the south.

Houses
Alscot Park in 1818

Alscot Park is a country house about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) south of the village. It has a 17th-century or earlier core but was remodelled in Rococo style in 1750–52. At the same time the grounds were landscaped, probably with advice from Sanderson Miller. A new wing was added to the house in 1764.[3]

Cutlin Mill Cottage was a 17th-century timber-framed cottage with brick nogging and a thatched roof. It was by the bridge over the River Stour southeast of the village, on the road to Ailstone. It was associated with a corn mill that was later converted into an oil mill. The cottage was Grade II listed but was abandoned because it suffered from flooding.[4] The Alscot Estate let it fall into disrepair and in 2004 applied for listed building consent to demolish it. The Ancient Monuments Society opposed the application.[5] On 28 May 2010 the cottage was destroyed by fire. The estate demolished the ruins and then applied retrospectively for the cottage to be de-listed.[6]

RAF Atherstone

RAF Atherstone was a Second World War air station east of the village that trained aircrew for RAF Bomber Command. It opened in 1941, was renamed RAF Stratford in 1942 and closed in 1945. The site is now used mainly for warehouses.

Warehouse fire
Main article: 2007 Atherstone on Stour fire

On 2 November 2007 a large fire at a vegetable warehouse on the former airfield operated by Wealmoor Ltd made the national news and resulted in the deaths of four Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters: John Averis, Ian Reid (who died in hospital), Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Badley.[7][8] In February 2011 three senior officers of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence over the deaths.[9] In May 2012 all three officers were acquitted of all charges.[10]

References
17th-century Cutlin Mill Cottage derelict in 2005. It burnt down in 2010.
  1. "Area selected: Stratford-on-Avon (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. Historic England. "Church of St Mary  (Grade II) (1382542)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. Historic England. "Alscot Park  (Grade II) (1001183)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  4. "Press Statement Regarding Fire at Cutlin Mill". Alscot Estate. 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  5. "Listed Buildings Threatened by Applications to Demolish in 2004" (PDF). Ancient Monuments Society. 2004. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. "Listed Buildings Threatened by Applications to Demolish in 2011" (PDF). Ancient Monuments Society. 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. "Four Firefighters believed dead". BBC News. 3 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  8. "Families' tribute to firefighters". BBC News. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  9. "Charges over Warwickshire firefighters' deaths". BBC News. BBC. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  10. "Fire officers cleared over Atherstone warehouse deaths". BBC News. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

Further reading
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