Rowington

The Mercia Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands—the name is derived from the ancient kingdom of Mercia which corresponds to that area. It is frequently encountered in older literature as the Keuper Marl or Keuper Marl Series.The Mercia Mudstone Group is now divided into five formations recognised and mappable across its entire outcrop and subcrop. The formations are a mix of mudstones, siltstones, sandstones and halites. Historically this sequence of rocks has been subdivided in different ways with different names in each of the basinal areas in which it is found. Increasing knowledge of the sequences and the more recent development of seamless electronic mapping by the British Geological Survey (BGS) necessitated a reappraisal of these divisions. A report published by BGS in 2008 recommended the abandonment of previous divisions and naming schemes in favour of a simpler approach which, having now been adopted, is set out below. Blue Anchor Formation Branscombe Mudstone Formation Arden Sandstone Formation Sidmouth Mudstone Formation Tarporley Siltstone FormationOlder schemes will remain in maps and literature well into the future, providing a source of potential confusion. An example might be the Arden Sandstone Formation which previously enjoyed lower status as a member and also higher status as a group.

Shrewley Tunnel is a canal tunnel near Shrewley, Warwickshire, England, which opened in 1799. It became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929.

Shrewley is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England, about 5 miles north-west of Warwick. It consists of Little Shrewley, and Shrewley Common, Hatton Station, Station Road and Five Ways. It has the Grand Union Canal, which passes through Shrewley Tunnel and cutting which is a SSSI, with the Chiltern Main Line railway and M40 motorway all running parallel and in close proximity at the south-western end of Shrewley Common. The parish has two pubs, The Durham Ox, in Shrewley Common, once well known for its Marrow Sunday post-harvest celebration, steam fair and produce competition and auction, and The Case is Altered at Five Ways. Shrewley has no church, but until the 1990s had an independent chapel with a regular congregation, the site of which has now been converted into a dwelling.

Baddesley Clinton (grid reference SP199714) is a moated manor house, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of the town of Warwick, in the village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England. The house probably originated in the 13th century, when large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared for farmland. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the house is a Grade I listed building. The house, park and gardens are owned by the National Trust and open to the public; they lie in a civil parish of the same name.

Lowsonford is a small village within the parish of Rowington in Warwickshire, England. The village lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Henley-in-Arden.

Wroxall Abbey is a substantial Victorian mansion house situated at Wroxall, Warwickshire which was converted for use as a hotel, spa, wedding venue and conference centre. It is a Grade II listed building.

Pinley Priory, also called Pinley Abbey, was a Cistercian nunnery in the parish of Rowington in Warwickshire, England. It was founded in the early 12th century and dissolved in 1536.The site of the priory is now occupied by the lands and buildings of Pinley Abbey Farm, and only traces now survive of the original priory buildings. The present Pinley Abbey Farmhouse, a Grade II* listed building, dates from the mid 15th century with later alterations. It incorporates part of a wall believed to have been part of an earlier monastic building, that also extends beyond it. To the north-west there is a cottage, originally 14th century but also later altered, that was probably once the priory guest house, also Grade II* listed. Various surviving earthworths, and re-used bits of masonry worked into later buildings, give further clues to the original complex.

Ardencote Manor is a hotel and former manor house located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the village of Claverdon, Warwickshire, England. The manor was originally built in 1863 as a dowry house for Mary Phillips, the daughter of a Manchester based wool merchant Thomas. The property passed through several owners until it was purchased in 1980 by a consortium with the idea of turning it into a hotel and country club. After several defaulted attempts the current owner, a Mr Huckerby, took it over in 1996 and finally got the project off the ground.At present the hotel has conference rooms, spa facilities, a swimming pool, tennis courts and an 18-hole golf course.

Wroxall Priory was a medieval monastic house in Wroxall, Warwickshire, England. It was founded c.1135 by Hugh, Lord of Hatton and Wroxall in thanks for his release from seven years' imprisonment in Jerusalem during the Crusades. After reputedly having a vision of St. Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners, he so appreciated the intervention of the saint that he gave 3,000 acres of land to the church in Wroxall to form a monastery for nuns of the Order of St. Benedict which was named the Priory of St. Leonard at Wroxall. A list of the Prioresses up to 1535 and further list of ministers from 1538 circa to the present can be found on the official website. A Charter issued by Pope Alexander III to the Priory of St. Leonard will also be found on the same web site. Along with all the religious houses of England, the house was dissolved in 1536 by Henry VIII. The Priory Chapel survives intact as St Leonard's Church and is a Grade I listed building. It is popularly known as Wren's chapel after Sir Christopher Wren bought the priory estate and is now a cathedral of the Free Methodist Church. It contains the figurine of Prioress Isabella Shakespeare, (aunt of William Shakespeare), and the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren's wife. The ruined remains of the rest of the priory buildings are Grade II* listed.The priory site is now occupied by Wroxall Abbey, a large Victorian house built by James Dugdale, High Sheriff of Warwickshire for 1868–69. It was occupied as a girls' school from 1936 to 1995 but has since been owned by the Quinn family and converted into a hotel. The legend of Sir Hugh is featured in stained glass within the house.

Wren's Cathedral, properly the Church of St Leonard and now a cathedral of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, was originally the Lady Chapel of Wroxall Priory. Wroxall Priory was founded in 1141 as the Priory of St. Leonard for nuns at Wroxall, Warwickshire by Sir Hugh-Hatton, eldest son of the Earl of Warwick. He fought in the Crusades and was released after being held prisoner for seven years in Jerusalem and having a vision of St. Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners. He so appreciated the intervention of the saint that he gave 3,000 acres of land to the church in Wroxall to form a monastery for nuns after the Order of St. Benedict which was named the Priory of St. Leonard at Wroxall. A list of the Prioresses up to 1535 and further list of ministers from 1538 circa to the present can be found on the official website. A Charter issued by Pope Alexander III to the Priory of St. Leonard will also be found on the same web site.

Kingswood Junction (grid reference SP185709) is a canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal meets the Grand Union Canal at Kingswood, Warwickshire, England.

Hatton railway station takes the name of the village of Hatton in Warwickshire, England, although it is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village. It is situated in the linear settlement of the same name (Hatton Station), that evolved around the station, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Other close settlements are Little Shrewley and Shrewley. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways. Hatton is the junction station at which the lines from Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham diverge. The station is unstaffed; ticketing is restricted to a 'Permit-to-Travel' machine located at the single entrance to the station on the London-bound (southbound) platform. There is a small shelter on Platform 1 (southbound - for trains from Birmingham to Leamington Spa) and also one on the island platform, which consists of Platforms 2 and 3 (Platform 2 is for Birmingham-bound services and Platform 3 is for stations from/to Stratford upon Avon, which bear to the west immediately north of the station. Trains can, however, use both Platforms 2 and 3 to reach Birmingham, as just outside the station, the lines re-join). A footbridge links Platform 1 with island Platform 2/3. Each platform at the station is equipped with a real-time electronic information departure screen.