Ardens Grafton is a hamlet or small village in the Stratford-on-Avon District of Warwickshire, England, situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Alcester and 14 miles (23 km) west of the county town of Warwick. It has a main street and consists mostly of houses constructed of local stone with tiled roofs, with the exception of two properties, 'Manor Cottage' and 'Chapel House' both of which have timber-framed walls and a thatched roof. Two other buildings retain fragments of ancient framing.[1] During the reign of Edward III in 1347 the village was recorded as Grafton Inferior while neighbouring Temple Grafton (where the population details can be found), 0.50 miles (0.80 km) to the East, was named Superior[2] Other designations used during the Middle Ages were Nether Grafton, Grafton Inferior or Grafton Minor whilst the larger village of Temple Grafton was distinguished as Over Grafton, Grafton Superior, Church Grafton, or Grafton Major. A reference to 'Temple Grafton alias Ardens Grafton' occurs in 1650.[1]
History
Grafton Minor occurs in a grant to Evesham Abbey by Ufa, Sheriff of Warwickshire, dated 973. As it is included among Ethelwig, Abbot of Evesham's acquisitions ('Alia Graftun') it may in the meantime have been lost by the monastery, and with Temple Grafton seized by the Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, quasi lupus rapax, (like a ravaging wolf) after Ethelwig's death. It is most probably to be identified with the 3 hides and 1 virgate in 'Graston'[1] which the Domesday Book records among the possessions of William Fitz-Corbucion; Leuric and Eileua held it of him and before the Norman Conquest they had held it freely. "Leofric and Aelfeva hold 3 hides and 1 virgate in Graston (Ardens Grafton). Land for 2 ploughs. In lordship 1; 2 slaves; 1 villager and 3 smallholders with 1 plough. Meadow 4 acres. The value was 40s; now 30s. They also held it themselves freely."[3]
The land rises to an altitude of over 300 ft. in the northern part of the parish and slopes down to about 180 ft. by the river-bank at Hillborough, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. The hamlet stands on the edge of the hill, commanding views across the valley to Bredon Hill and the Cotswolds.[1]
