Lapworth

A Warwickshire Village

Local History Group visits

Boscobel House was built in 1632 as the home of the Catholic family, the Giffards. It is in an oak tree, the Royal Oak, near to this house, that Charles II hid from his pursuers after his defeat a the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The Giffards took in Charles II and hid him in the house. They were rewarded at the Restoration by him for their loyalty.
Moseley Old Hall is an Elizabethan farmhouse containing priests hiding places. The Catholic family here also provided refuge for Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The garden has been planted with period plants and a knot garden based on a 17C design.
The Ironbridge Gorge forms a spectacular setting for this visit to an area filled with industrial sites which were at the heart of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century in the Midlands. The great cast iron bridge, built by Abraham Darby III in 1779, dominates the gorge and is one of the symbols of the Industrial Revolution.
The Jackfield Tile Museum, down river of the bridge, is the home of Craven Dunnill Jackfield, makers of hand made tiles. They specialise in Victorian floor and wall tiles for restoration work and for new projects.

Broughton Castle is a medieval moated manor house lying south west of Banbury. It was built in 1300 by Sir John de Broughton; then in 1377, it was acquired by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. In 1451 it passed to the Fiennes family by way of an inheritance. The house was greatly improved in 1550 by Richard Fiennes into a Tudor style house. During the English Civil War it was the home of William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, who was a leading opponent of Charles I. Restoration work was undertaken in the 19th century under the direction of the Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. The Saye and Sele family continue to live there as it is still their family home.