In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Coleshill like this:
COLESHILL, a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict in Meriden district, Warwick. The town stands on the river Cole, adjacent to the Hampton line of the Birmingham and Derby railway, 9 miles by road, but 14½ by railway, E by N of Birmingham. It occupies an eminence; includes one long street, running north and south; is a seat of petty sessions and a polling-place; gives the title of Baron to the family of Digby; and has a station on the railway, a post office‡ under Birmingham, a banking office, two chief inns, a bridge over the Cole, a market-house, a parish church, two dissenting chapels, and a grammar-school. ...
The church is decorated English; underwent complete restoration in 1859; was then found to include many remains of a previous Norman church; has a tall, graceful, crocketted spire; and contains a richly sculptured Norman font, two recumbent effigies of armoured knights, four altar-tombs of alabaster, and monuments of the Digby family from the time of Henry VII. The grammar school and institutions connected with it have £215 from endowment; and other charities £83. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; and fairs on Shrove-Monday, 6 May, and the first Monday of Jan., July, and Oct. The parish includes also a place called Gilson. Acres, 6, 200. Real property, £11, 535. Pop., 2, 053. Houses, 456. The property is divided among a few. The manor had an ancient castle; belonged to the De Clintons, one of whom fought against Henry III. at the battle of Evesham; passed to the Mountforts, one of whom suffered forfeiture and death for supporting Perkin Warbeck; was given to the Digbys, who became Earls of Bristol and Earls Digby; and belongs now to G. D. W. Digby, Esq. Roman coins have been found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester. Value, £718.* Patron, G. D. W. Digby, Esq. Sir William Dugdale, the antiquary, was a native.—The sub-district contains seven parishes and part of another. Acres, 22, 223. Pop., 4, 903. Houses, 1, 088.
Coleshill through time
Coleshill is now part of North Warwickshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North Warwickshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Coleshill itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Coleshill in North Warwickshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8683
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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