St John Baptist, the parish church
Berkswell
is a village that has successfully retained much of its character
and rural charm. It was built on clay which was dug for bricks in
the past. Flax was an important local crop and the associated weaving
provided employment for the villagers.
In 1086
the manor was held by the Count of Meulan and subsequently passed
to his brother, Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick. The over-lordship
continued with the Earls of Warwick until it fell to the Crown in
the 15th century. It was granted to Thomas Marrow in 1557 and descended
through the male line for four generations.
The church
lies to the north-west of the triangular village green, where the
ancient five-socket stocks still stand. Near the churchyard gate is
the well from which, in conjunction with the name of the Saxon landowner,
Beorcol or Bercul, the village is believed to get its name.
Around
1150 the church consisted of a chancel, with a crypt below, and an
aisle-less nave. Much of this remains today. Later in the 12th century
an octagonal crypt was added, to the west of the other and probably
on the site of an earlier Saxon crypt reputed to have been the shrine
of St Mildred. The north aisle was also built at about this time.
Additions
were made in the 14th century including the south aisle, and a north
chapel to the chancel to which the north aisle was extended. Some
rebuilding and strengthening took place in the 15th century, and later
in the century the west tower was built. It has an embattled parapet
and a large 18th century sundial on the south face dwarfs the clock
on the eastern side.
The attractive
oak-beamed south porch, with delicate arcading on each side, and the
timber-framed room above, are from the early part of the 16th century.
The last major work was the addition of the clerestory to the nave
and the construction of the timbered roof, probably around the turn
of the 17th to 18th century.
An unusual
memorial to the dead of the 1914-18 war stands just inside the churchyard.
It is a red sandstone chapel with an open archway on three sides,
a vaulted roof and an altar, with a crucifix.
