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 | Towns of Warwickshire - Studley |
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Studley sits on Ryknild St, the old Roman road that passes through the county. However the first records of any settlement here come from Saxon times (around the 7th century) and indicate that there used to be two mills within the town.
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Places of interest
The village is old enough to have been recorded as existing in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is the site of both a castle and the remains of a medieval priory; the Augustinian priory was founded in the 12th century but was closed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII of England and was used as a source of stone for other local buildings. Nothing remaining today apart from the use of priory in a few local building names such as Priory Farm and other similar names.
Studley is also known for being the site of a sewing needle and surgical needle making industry and was once a leading area, gaining a European and even worldwide reputation. From the 19th century precision made surgical needles were in demand and with advances in manufacturing technology such was the demand that over 3,000 workers were employed. In the late 1970's the old factory where needles were made was burnt down, and the production of "Aero" needles moved to a nearby site. The original factory site now contains a supermarket, other retail outlets, and housing. One of the streets in the village is named "Crooks Lane", ostensibly because the crooked needles from the original factory were dumped at the end of this lane, but the road was there before the village had a needle factory.
Studley is often noted as having many pubs (17 within one square mile, plus numerous restaurants which also serve alcohol) and it has been suggested that the village has the second-highest number of pubs per head of population (second only to Blackpool).
The original village was along the banks of the River Arrow, where the parish church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary still remains; it features a north wall and window dating back to Norman times, fine surviving examples of opus spicatum or herringbone masonry, a medieval rood screen, Elizabethan era table and dug out chest, Jacobean era pulpit and brasses and other points of interest. Over the years the village expanded and moved up the hill to the site of the Roman road which by 1721 was also the main turnpike road between Stratford and Birmingham and therefore offering more opportunities for trade from the Mail coach and other passing trade.
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