England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Berkswell St John the Baptist

The Parish

The parish of Berkswell. sometimes spelt Berkeswell, lies in the northern portion of central Warwickshire roughly 6 miles west of the city of Coventry. Berkswell sits a mile east of the A452 road which links Kenilworth through to Coleshill and the M6 motorway. Berkswell is a mid-sized and compact crossroads village, in addition a number of small hamlets dot the wider parish. Berkswell is cut from the once extensive forest of Arden of Shakespearean fame.  Like most rural parishes in its county Berkswell would have had a varied farming regime with almost equal parts arable and pastoral, the soils being often of clay lend themselves more readily in those times to the latter form. Modern developments have come to the parish, the railway line linking Coventry with Birmingham passing through the parish, utilising a short tunnel, and granting Berkswell a station a little over a mile away in Balsall Common, a further branch line once lead to Kenilworth, in a lengthier tunnel, is now closed and dismantled and used as a popular local trail, the Coventry Way. The parish is drained northwards by the River Blythe which joins the Tame to become one of the major feeders of the mighty Trent joining it for the long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Berkswell is sited at around 110 metres in gently undulating countryside where local high spots rarely rise much above 140 metres. As already mentioned Berkswell parish was extensive, covering close to 5,900 acres and making it one of the largest in its county, that acreage would have supported a population of around 1,500 parishioners. In Domesday times Berkswell was reported as a holding of the Count of Meulan and a tiny place it was offering merely 3 ploughs with typical meadows & woodland.

The Church

St John's church sits to the west of the village, on the edges of the extensive grounds of Berkswell Hall, and accessed by the dead-end lane of Church Lane. Pevsner, rightfully, describes St John as being one of the most architecturally interesting churches in its count and devotes almost 3 pages of text to its description. Needless to say only the highlights will appear in this taster of a description. There is evidence that the spring which rises nearby had deeply religious significance, it also grants the well to the village name. and the site could very well have been that of a pre-Conquest shrine. The earliest fabric in St John's is, however, 12th century and Norman Romanesque in style. The chancel is the principal piece of interest chiefly for its two crypts one of which is octagonal but it is not the only Norman fabric as that is also found in the nave. in its northern arcade. In the 14th century the nave acquired its equivalent southern aisle in the Decorated style whilst in the 15th century a northern aisle appeared as well as today's western tower both in sturdy Perpendicular. Perhaps as famous as its crypts is the entrance where the 12th century southern doorway is enclosed in a timber framed 15th century porch reminiscent of house construction of that era. Somewhat surprisingly the Victorians did not interfere in a major way leaving this treasure for us today, a feature church of the Thousand Best Churches in Simon Jenkins tome and well worth a visit. Church Lane is amply used for on-street parking it terminates directly at the churchyard gates. The church sits in the southwestern corner of the extensive churchyard which inhibits some favored aspects but most angles are available for the photographer.