Hampton in Arden

Hampton is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086), when it was held by Geoffrey de Wirce. "In Coleshill Hundred Hantone. 10 hides. Land for 22 ploughs. In lordship 2; 2 male and 2 female slaves. 50 villagers with a priest and 16 smallholders have 13 ploughs. A mill at 40d; meadow, 10 acres; woodland 3 leagues long and 3 wide. The value was and is 100s." All of Geffrey's lands were held freely by Leofwin. Geffrey's wife was called Aelfeva and her English name suggests that Geffrey may have acquired his Warwickshire lands through her, by inheritance rather than by confiscation; she may have been Leofwin's heiress.[4] A priest was recorded, implying that a church existed.

Of the name, Hantone, Dugdale states that the name was occasioned from the situation, "hean" in the Saxon signifying high though by contraction written "han" and through corrupt pronunciation "ham".[5]

Dugdale could find no mention of Geffrey having any children and concluded that he must have died without issue, his lands reverted to the Crown and by a grant of Henry I all his lands were passed to Nigel de Albani. Nigel had a son, Roger, surnamed Mowbray, from whom, from the middle of the 12th century the de Ardernes, became the Lords of the Manor.[5] Afterwards it passed by marriage to the de Montford family of Coleshill and then subsequently reverted to the Crown. It was granted to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, by Queen Elizabeth I in 1570 but reverted to the Crown after his death. In 1625, it was assigned to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I. In the early 19th century it was sold to Isaac William Lillingston who later sold the Manor of Hampton to Sir Robert Peel (former Prime Minister and founder of the modern police force). On Sir Robert's death in 1850, the manor was inherited by his son, Frederick, who did much to 'modernise' Hampton, demolishing many half-timbered and thatched cottages. He employed the architect W E Nesfield to build new dwellings, shops and lodges.[1]

Hampton in Arden is part of the Bickenhill ward of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and is represented by Councillors Alison Rolf, Robert Sleigh and Jim Ryan, all of the Conservative party.[9] Nationally, it is part of the constituency of Meriden whose Member of Parliament is Saqib Bhatti of the Conservative party. Prior to Brexit in 2020 it was included in the West Midlands electoral region of the European Parliament.

The current Hampton-in-Arden railway station

The M42 motorway, Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) are nearby.

Hampton was at the southern end of the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, later part of the Midland Railway. Opened as a double-track main line on 12 August 1839, the section from Whitacre to Hampton, known as the Stonebridge Railway, was downgraded to a branch line in 1842 after the opening of the line from Whitacre into Birmingham; it was singled in 1843 and lost its final passenger service in 1917 as a wartime economy measure. After lingering on as a goods line, it was closed entirely in 1935 following a bridge failure at Packwood. The line had originally enabled passengers from the Derby, Tamworth, Kingsbury, Whitacre, Shustoke and Coleshill areas to make connections at Hampton for other parts of the country, because at one time the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway had stations side by side at Hampton, at the point where the two lines met (called Derby Junction). The Midland station building can still be seen, but the LNWR station disappeared long ago, being replaced by the present Hampton-in-Arden railway station some 500m nearer London in 1884. The track bed of the old Midland route remains and a footpath for hikers and railway buffs runs alongside the site of the original track. Hampton is now served by hourly bus service X20 between Stratford-upon-Avon, Solihull and Coventry operated by Johnsons as well as Diamond Bus C89 between Solihull and Coventry. The railway provides a link between Birmingham and Coventry approximately every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday.

The White Lion Public House

The village has one pub, the 17th-century The White Lion public house north-east of the church on the High Street, which is plastered externally, but old beams are exposed inside.[7] There is also one restaurant, the Beeches Bar & Grill, within an 18th-century Georgian building on Marsh Lane, with panel front door centred, topped with rectangular windows (in door or as a transom) and capped with an elaborate entablature supported by decorative pilasters. It began life as a private house but was later bought by the local George Fentham charity as a place of recreation for men. In 1913 a hall was built adjoining the house and the whole complex was used as a VAD Hospital during the First World War. After the war the hall became the equivalent of a village hall and the house reverted to being a working men's club. In the late 1980s the club was used less and less and an alternative use had to be found. In 1997 it was converted into, what is now, the Beeches Bar & Grill. Beeches Bar & Grill

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hampton in Arden.

• Pictures
• The Station
• Hampton Monthly – news from around the village
• St. Mary & St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church, Hampton-in-Arden
• http://www.hamptoninarden.org.uk/