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Wootton Wawen is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The village is on the A3400, about from Birmingham, about south of Henley-in-Arden and about north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The soil is a strong clay and some arable crops are grown, but the land is mainly in pasture. The common fields were inclosed in 1776, but some inclosures had already been made about 1623. The scenery is wooded and undulating, rising from about , in the south to , in the north-west at College Farm, above Forde Hall. Near here is Mockley Wood, which, with May's Wood in the centre of the parish and Austy Wood near Edstone, is one of the larger blocks of woodland. The older part of the village straddling the A3400 is designated as a Conservation Area because of its open, rural character and many historic buildings. ==History== The toponym "Wootton Wawen" means "farm near a wood, belonging to Wagen". ''Wagen'' or ''Waga'' is an Old Norse name. The oldest surviving record of Wootton is from when Æthelbald, King of the Mercians, gave to the Earl Aethilric 20 hides of land for a minster between the years 723 and 737. The first wooden church was built at Wootton as a direct result of this charter of land, (about ) on which to build a monastery or minster of Saint Mary. The first church may have been burnt and pillaged by Viking invaders, but between about 970 and 1040, Wagen, an Anglo-Danish landowner, established the present church. This land was in the district of the ''Stoppingas'' near the river ''Aeluuinnae'', now called the Alne.〔 The ''Domesday Book'' records, "in Pathlow Hundred in Wotton (Wawen) 7 hides. Land for 9 ploughs. 23 villagers with a priest and 22 smallholders who have 6 ploughs. 2 mills at 11s and 8 sticks of eels; woodland 2 leagues long and one league wide. Value £4. Waga held it freely." Waga was one of the witnesses to Earl Leofric's foundation of the monastery at Coventry in the first year of the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–43). His lands extended beyond those at Wootton Wawen, but, after the Norman conquest of England, Wootton was bestowed by the Conqueror on Robert de Stafford, descended from the de Tonei family and who had fought stoutly with Duke William against King Harold. He made Stafford Castle his principal seat and took his surname thence. Charles II passed through Wootton on his travels while escaping from England after the Battle of Worcester. Here, the king, disguised as the man-servant of the daughter of one of his supporters, Jane Lane, met with a party of Parliamentarian troopers: ''before we came to Stradford upon Avon we espied upon the way a Troop of Horse whose riders were alighted, and the Horses eateing some grass by the wayside, staying there (as I thought) while their Muster-Maister was provideing their Quarters; Mrs Lanes Sisters Husband (who went along as far as Stradford) seeing this Troop of Horse just in our way, sayd that for his part he would not goe by them, for he had once or twice been beaten by some of the Parliament Soldiers, and he would not run the venture again. I heareing him say soe begged Mrs Lane softly in her Eare that we might not turne back but goe on, for that Enemy would certainly send after us to enquire who we were if they should see us turne. But all she could say in the world would not doe, but her Brother in law turned quite round and went to Stradford another way the troop of Horse being there just getting on Horse-back about twice 12 score off, and I told her we did meete the Troop just but in the Towne of Stradford.'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wootton Wawen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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