Maxstoke


Maxstoke is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, England.

History

Maxstoke and the parish of Maxstoke were established in the hundred of Hemlingford.

Maxstoke Priory

The Priory was established by Sir William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon in 1331 when he endowed a College of Priests consisting of five chaplains and a warden. It was built adjacent to an earlier moated farmstead, south of his castle towards Packington village. In 1336 it was expanded to a full Priory for Augustinian Canons and was completed in 1343. It was dissolved in 1536, when the buildings and lands were granted to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
Today only ruins remain with the exception of the Inner Gatehouse. This was a farmhouse in the Elizabethan period and is now a bed and breakfast establishment. Inside is a room with painted armorial shields.
The entrance to the farm is by the Outer Gatehouse. The two niches are now empty of statues. On the ends of the drip mouldings over the central window are two busts, one of a knight with his visor down and another of a monk.
In the fields around the priory can be seen traces of medieval earthworks for fish farming and water control.

Maxstoke Church

The Parish Church of St Michael is of the same age as that of the Priory. The remains of a 14th-century preaching cross can be seen in the churchyard.

Maxstoke Castle

To the north of Maxstoke, about half way towards Shustoke, is Maxstoke Castle. It was built by Sir William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1345. It is of a square plan with a broad moat. Additions were made by Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham who acquired it in 1437 by exchanging it for other manors in Northamptonshire.

Railway

A station was opened on Maxstoke Lane. The station was on the Stonebridge Railway. It connected Birmingham with Derby and Hampton-in-Arden. The station had closed in 1930s along with the connection line. The site of platform and sign can still be seen. It also was located near the town of Coleshill.

Maxstoke Hill Challenge

The Maxstoke Hill Challenge is a cycling time trial measured from the bottom of Maxstoke Hill to the very top of the hill. The long-standing record held by Mr N Wiggin was beaten by Mr J Allen on his return to the UK in April 2012. The record now stands at 4 minutes 37 seconds.

Handley Page o/400 crash

On 19 August 1918 a Royal Air Force Handley Page O/400 from No. 14 Aircraft Acceptance Park RAF took off from Castle Bromwich Aerodrome on a test flight. While flying over North Warwickshire, the pilots lost control of the aircraft and crashed into a field at Maxstoke, North Warwickshire, killing all seven crew onboard. The pilots were Canadian Lt Robert Edward Andrew MacBeth and Lt Frederick James Bravery. The other crew members were air mechanics Charles William Offord, J May, Albert J Winrow, H Simmons and G Greenland. MacBeth and Simmons were buried in St. Michaels's Church graveyard.
The cause of the accident was determined to be loss of control due to wing failure when the aircraft lost fabric from a wing. It was the deadliest accident involving the Royal Air Force at the time.