|Moreton-in-Marsh the Name
A market town and parish in the upper division of the hundred of WESTMINSTER, county of GLOUCESTERSHIRE, - (1831 Topographical Index of England). The earliest signs of a settlement around Moreton dates back to 1st century Roman earthworks predating the Fosse Way, the Roman road that runs through the centre of Moreton-in-Marsh. The town is of Saxon origin and is over 1000 years old, the name Moreton meaning 'Moorland Settlement, and the much misunderstood 'in Marsh' originally being 'Henmarsh' - boggy land where wild birds were to be had.
|*Gloucestershire 1730 Magna Britannia:
Moreton-Hendmarsh, a small Market Town, and Parish consisting most of pasture, the Evenlode running on the borders of it. It had a Market in the Reign of K. Henry III. but has long been disused. It lies in the great Road from London to Worcester, and the Roman Fosse-way passeth thro' it. About a Mile from hence in the London Road, are four shires Stones, where the four Counties of Glocester, Oxford, Worcester and Warwick meet and join.
Ansfred of Cormeille held this Manor in the Conqueror's Reign, and it continued some Time in his Family; but it came to the Abbey of Westminster in King Henry III's Reign, in which it continued till the Dissolution, and then was given to the Dean and Chapter, who now enjoy it, but have leased it out to Mr. Batson of Bourton-on-the-Hill, who is the present Lord of it.
The Church is a Chapel of Ease to Bourton, and is supplied by the same Minister, dedicated to St. David, the Patron of the Welsh Nation, who is said to have lived 147 years, and done many Miracles; but has a Right of Burial granted to it by Pope Julius in 1512. The building is small, but has a North Ile, and a Tower at the West End, with Battlements.
There are several Inscriptions in it for the Creswick's Family, and besides some small Gifts to the Poor, they have a Stock of £60 to set the Poor on Work, given by several Persons.
*Courtesy of Rod Neep and the
Archive CD Books Project
Before the Norman Conquest, Moreton-in-Marsh was owned by the Earls of Mercia. In the Domesday Book it is shown as belonging to Westminster Abbey.
St. David's church
Rebuilt in 1859 replacing a smaller church of the same name dating to the thirteenth century.
The Congregational church
Built in 1860-61 by C. M. Gore in Oxford Street. First Minister was the Reverend Mann.
There were Knight's Fees held, one at Moreton Hen Marsh and one at Batsford by James de Solers under Margaret De Stokes, 20 Henry III (1236). Margaret descended from Ansfried De Cormeilles.
Roman Road Runs through the heart of Moreton-in-Marsh
One of the earliest railways in the country, the Stratford-Moreton tramway opened in 1826. The main line between London, Oxford and Worcester followed in 1853.
Four Shire Stone
A Cotswold stone pillar erected two miles from Moreton-in-Marsh. It marked the "coming ttogether" of the four counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. Unfortunately county boundaries have changed over time.
The Curfew Bell
The original curfew bell, dated 1633, still hanging in its tower, the curfew hall, on the corner of Oxford Street, the bell was used daily until 1860 and after in times of emergency for the fire brigade.
A fine Jacobean Manor house with its original furniture still intact and now run by the National Trust.
Inns of Moreton
|White Hart (Royal) Hotel - High Street. This Inn was originally a 16th Century Coaching Inn, and once provided peaceful refuge for Charles I, in the summer of 1644 during the Civil War. Although the Inn is said to have an inscription which dates its construction to over 100 years later. Several reports of a ghostly male figure, and various unaccountable noises.
1856 R. King
1885 Herbert James Berry
1891 Joseph Allan Hathaway. Alehouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1903 John Brown. Alehouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1906,1919 John Brown
1927 Mark Pearce
Batsford Park visited by George VI when he inspected the Green Howards in Moreton High Street before their embarkation to France in 1940. At one point there were 18 Public Houses and Hotels in Moreton
The Green Close
The Plough Inn - also known as the
The Rising Sun - west side of High Street (now private residence - the Limes)
1839-1863 Robert Walker
The Golden Gallon - High Street (private residence)
1851,1858 Thomas Butler
1891 George Groves. Beerhouse. Lardner & Sons, Little Compton ( John Mace Phillips)
The Foresters Arms - High Street (closed 1921)
1891 Rosannah Wilkins. Beerhouse. Henry L. Barker, Stow Brewery (owned Miss Davis)
1903 William Alexander the Elder. Beerhouse. Edward Augustus Green, Stow Brewery
1921 George Henry Smith
The Fox Inn -
The White Lion - High Street (closed during World War One)
1830 Thomas Horne
1856 Jane Cambray (Mrs)
1885 Owen James Coppage
1891 Owen James Coppage. Alehouse. Dunnell & Sons, Banbury (owner Charles Horne)
1903 Owen James Coppage. Alehouse. Dunnell & Sons, Banbury (owner Charles Horne)
1906 Harry G.W. Hemming
The Queen's Head - 1891 Frederick Horne (owner). Alehouse. Free from brewery tie
1903 A.F., J.N., E.C., & H.E. Horne (owners). Alehouse. Free from brewery tie
1903 Arthur Fredk. Horne, John Nicholson Horne, Edgar Chas. Horne, Harold Ewart Horne
The Green Dragon
The Crown - near Curfew Tower (closed in 1921)
1856 Henry Wells
1863 Edwin Wood
1879,1885 Thomas Lamb
1891 Elizabeth Lamb. Alehouse. Hitchman & Co., Chipping Norton
1902 Allan Robert Holbeach
1903 Allan Robert Holbeach. Alehouse. Hitchman & Co., Chipping Norton
1906 Allan Robert Holbeach
1914 Harry Ernest Wood
1921 Albert Edmunds
The Railway Inn - New Street (closed 1967)
1863 Jesse Timms
1876 J.A. Bayliss
1879 Charles Milton
1891 Charles Milton. Alehouse. Henry Lardner & Sons, Little Compton
1903 John Hicks. Alehouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1907,1929 Thomas Hicks (died October 1929)
1929 Mrs Thomas Hicks (died August 1937)
1937 Frederick Hicks (died October 1962, aged 64)
1962,1967 Henrietta Hicks
The chair in which King Charles I sat at his trial in 1649, was left to Moreton-in-Marsh Hospital by Dr. Sands-Cox in 1875. The chair was sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1928 for £550.
The Redesdale Hall or Market Hall Dates to the mid 19th century
|The Manor House Hotel - dates to 1658 - Believed to be haunted by Dame Creswycke
The Redesdale Arms Hotel (formerly the Unicorn) - known for ghostly footsteps High Street.
1671 William Nicholls (Unicorn Inn)
1698 Laurence Ratliffe (Unicorn Inn)
1782 Richard Phipps (Unicorn Inn)
1815 George Phipps (Unicorn Inn)
1850 Richard Keyte (Unicorn Inn)
1856 George Wells (Unicorn Inn)
1876 David Wootten (Unicorn Inn)
1879, 1885 Joseph Allen Hathaway (Unicorn Inn)
1886 Redesdale Arms
1891 Frederick Tanner (owner, died Nov. 1893 aged 43). Alehouse. Free from brewery tie
1903 Ann Tanner. Alehouse. Hitchman & Co., Chipping Norton
1903-1935 Ann Tanner (died June 1935, aged 86)
1935-1951 Olive Tanner
1951-1957 Mr and Mrs Mick 'Dixie' Dean
1957-1972 John Oldrey
1973 Crest Hotels
1981 Hugh Ross Corbett
1983 Mr and Mrs R. Jewell
1985 Michael Elvis and Patricia Seedhouse
1990 County Inns.
1995 Nick Clarke (manager)
The Bell Inn - High Street (still trading)
1856 W.J. Drury
1885 James Kempson
1891 James Kempson. Alehouse. William Turner
1902 James Kempson
1903 Alfred Edward Taylor. Alehouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1906,1919 Alfred Edward Taylor
1927 Maude Sansom (Mrs)
The Black Bear Inn High Street (still trading) Supposedly had a poltergeist called Fred.
1856 J. Newman
1885 Robert Stanley
1891 Isaac Union. Alehouse. Richard Iles Arkell, Donnington Brewery
1903 Mary Union. Alehouse. Richard Iles Arkell, Donnington Brewery
1906 Mary Union (Mrs)
1919 Henry Golding
1927 Isaac Harris
The Swan Inn - High Street (still trading)
1859 Emmanuel Slatter
1885 Joseph Octavius Gillett
1891 Charles O. Eeles. Alehouse. Tayler & Co, Cotswold Brewery, Northleach
1902 Frederick Baguley
1903 Frederick Baguley. Alehouse. Tayler & Co, Cotswold Brewery,
The White Horse Inn - Stow Road (still licensed and trading as the Inn on the Marsh)
1891 George Bumford. Beerhouse. Henry Lardner & Sons, Little Compton
1903 John Henry Tarplett. Beerhouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1906,1939 John Henry Tarplett
1997 (April) Richard and Catherine Prince. Marston's Brewery, Burton on Trent
1997 (Nov.) Wayne and Kim Brannagh
The Wellington Inn - London Road (still trading; Hook Norton Brewery tied house)
1891 Reuben Webb. Beerhouse. Henry Larner & Sons, Little Compton
1903 Ellen Poole. Beerhouse. Flowers & Sons, Stratford on Avon
1939 Harry Commander
1919 Charles Jeffrey
1927 Charles Pegler
1939 Charles Humphrey Pegler
1999 Bernard Edgeworth
Various sources plus the Gloucestershire Pubs web site:
A national school was endowed in 1813, with £4,000, by Lord Redesdale and Dr. Winford - with about 100 children of both sexes. There is likewise a free school for the children of dissenters, having about 30 boys on the foundation. (1831 Typographical Index of England).
The Abbot secured a charter for Moreton in1227 to have a weekly market and in 1267 for a fair. A new Charter was granted by Charles I in 1638