Coughton, Warwickshire
| Coughton | |
|---|---|
 Coughton Court |
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 Coughton
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| Coughton shown within Warwickshire | |
| Population | 157 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SP080604 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ALCESTER |
| Postcode district | B49 |
| Dialling code | 01789 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Coughton /ˈkoʊtən/ is a small village located between Studley 2.4 miles (4 km) to the North and Alcester, 2 miles (3 km) to the South, in the county of Warwickshire, England. The village lies 19.3 miles (31 km) from Birmingham on the Birmingham–Alcester A435 road, which here follows the line of the Roman Icknield Way.
The village mainly consists of a number of houses on Sambourne Lane, Coughton Lane and farms and is primarily noted as being the location of the National Trust property, Coughton Court, which lies 400 yards to the east of the A435. The population according to the 2001 census was 139, increasing to 157 in the 2011 census.
The name may suggest a settlement or farm known for the hunting of woodcock or game birds, However, the prefix Cock- is not uncommon in place-names, but its meaning is doubtful. The name is spelt Coctune in the Domesday Book. It is generally found on or near hills, say Napier and Stevenson. It may be a personal name, Cocca; it may be the name of the bird; or it may (as in Old Norse) mean 'throat,' which would geographically be 'a narrow gorge, valley, or pass'.
The manor of Coughton is recorded in the Domesday Book when it was one of 70 manors in Warwickshire held by Thorkell, or Turchill, of Warwick later surnamed Arden. Thorkell was an Anglo-Saxon, his father, a descendant of Vikings, was Sheriff of Warwick under King Edward the Confessor. Thorkell refused to support King Harold, his relatives the earls of Mercia, Leofric and his successors Ælfgar and Morkere, had constantly been at arms against Harold whom Mercia had never really recognised as King of England and he therefore received the gratitude of William the Conqueror, allowing him to retain his lordship and many landholdings in Warwickshire. Under orders from William he constructed a ditch with an entrance gate around the town of Warwick as part of William's campaign in 1068–69 known as the Harrying of the North. Thorkell was one of only two Anglo-Saxons in the country south of the Tees holding an estate of baronial dimensions directly from the King after the Conquest. The record reads " Land of Turchill of Warwick, in Ferncombe Hundred, William holds 4 hides in (Coctune) Coughton. Land for 6 ploughs. 2 freemen, 7 smallholders and 4 slaves with 3 ploughs. A mill at 32d; in Warwick 1 house which pays 8d; meadow, 10 acres; woodland 6 furlongs long and 4 furlongs wide; pasture land, 50 pigs. The value was 40s; later 20s; now 50s. Untan held it freely." However, soon after 1086 William II created the earldom of Warwick for Henry de Beaumont, who changed his name to Henry de Newburgh, appointed him Constable of Warwick Castle and gave him the great estate of Thorkell of Arden. It is not known why Thorkell was dispossessed, he may have only been granted a lifetime tenure of his lands the estate passing to the Crown on his death or it may have been that his son died before him and that he left no direct heir. His family, the Ardens however, held land from the Earls of Warwick for another 200 years.
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