The parish was referred to as Draicote in the ancient Domesdayhundred of Startley when Geoffrey de Venoix was lord and tenant-in-chief in 1086. The morphemedray is common in England's place names, yet unused elsewhere in the English language, so is considered an ancient Celtic word. By the 14th century, the old village was known as Draycot Cerne, in part to differentiate it from similarly named villages in other areas of England. The suffix Cerne is the French surname of the lords of the manor. The ancient parish of Draycot Cerne comprised three manors: Draycot Cerne, Knabwell and a detached part to the southeast at Avon, near Kellaways. The old village of Draycot Cerne, close to the church and Draycot House, was removed by Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley after 1865 and Upper Draycot was renamed Draycot Cerne. All of the cottages and farms of Draycot Cerne were within the Draycot Estate, belonging to Draycot House. The parish of Draycot Cerne, together with Seagry parish to its north, was added to Sutton Benger civil parish in 1934. In 1971 all land north of the newly built M4 motorway, including part of the former Draycot parish, was transferred to a recreated Seagry parish. It is possible that Draycot Cerne lent its name to the town of Dracut, incorporated in 1701 in Massachusetts.
St James's Church, a Grade II* listed building, was built around 1260 and has a 16th-century tower. It was declared redundant in 1994 and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The benefice was united with Seagry in 1939 but in 1954 the union was dissolved, and for church purposes the village is now within the parish of Kington Langley.
Draycot House
A medieval manor has occupied the site since the 14th century. Old Draycot House was probably built for John Long in the mid 15th century. The house was extensively re-modelled, over the years, by the Long family. In 1773–75 Sir James Tylney-Long added a new south front, and east and west wings around the core of the medieval manor. Further work was undertaken in 1864, after Lord Cowley's inheritance. The house was demolished in 1952-4.
The Long family of Draycot Cerne
The following family members were active in English politics:
Catherine Tylney-Long, inherited the estate in 1805
William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington, son of Catherine
The Draycot Estate
The Draycot Estate covered at its most, covering as landlord all but a small minority of land of Draycot Cerne, Kellaways, Sutton Benger and Seagry, parts of Startley, Little Somerford, Christian Malford and Kington Langley. It was the third-largest holding of the Tylney-Long baronets.
Notable people
John Buckeridge, theologian, was born in Draycot Cerne.
John Aubrey, antiquary, natural philosopher and writer, was a frequent visitor to old Draycot House. His biography, by Ruth Scurr, was illustrated on the front cover with a watercolour of Aubrey and Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet of Draycot hunting together. Some of the correspondence between Aubrey and Sir James Long, at the Bodleian Library, is published in Early Modern Letters Online. Other letters were directed to Aubrey via Robert Hooke at Gresham College.
John Britton, antiquary, was educated at Draycot House school, although he later complained about the quality of the teaching.
Francis Kilvert, the diarist, was a frequent visitor to Draycot Cerne.
Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley inherited the former Long family estate of Draycot Cerne in 1863 from his cousin the 5th Earl of Mornington, and lived there in retirement until his death in 1884.
