This is the latest of a series of articles written by popular historian Arthur Tomlin more than 25 years ago. Mr Tomlin sadly died a couple of years ago. He was extremely well-known in the area as an artist and historian

COTESBACH is a very small but pleasant village two miles south of Lutterworth.

On these very rich pastures many prize cattle have been fed. It is believed that there was a settlement here long before the Romans came.

We are quite sure the Anglo Saxons settled here. Originally, the village had a number of different names such as Cotesbege, Cotesbeech, Cottesbatch and Codesbech which suggest that it was very early English.

The word “cotes” implies that it was a dwelling place and “bach” indicates that a brook existed in the village. It may have meant a settlement by a brook.

Nichols, in his history, was quite wrong to record that “neither brook nor rivulet is to be found within the precincts of this parish”. In the centre of the village a brook passes under the road in a culvert and shortly afterwards flows into the river Swift.

Many people deny that a water mill ever existed in the village. But, after three hours of searching I eventually came across the very few remains of the mill on a rivulet which joins the River Swift at Braunceston Bridge. This is undoubtedly one of the oldest in the county as it was valued at three shillings in the Domesday survey.

It was situated in a small wood and is adjacent to an osier bed where willows were grown for a basket making industry.

There could possibly have been a small settlement in this area.

Basket making was carried on by Mr Payne of Lutterworth until quite recently, using willows which were grown here. The osier bed no longer exists and the basket industry has closed down.

In 1110, Bertram de Verdum owned much land in Leicestershire and neighbouring counties, including the villages of Newbold Verdon and Cotesbach. His son was sheriff of the county from 1150 to 1163. In 1280 Cotesbach, Lutterworth and Bitteswell answered collectively as one village. Cotesbach in 1436 came into the Devereux family by a female heir. The succession of the Devereux family ended when the Earl of Essex was executed by Queen Elizabeth.

One of the most important events in the history of Cotesbach took place in 1607 when the land was being enclosed; 5,000 men, women and children from neighbouring counties gathered here to fill in ditches and cut down hedges in protest of what was being done.

The revolt was eventually put down by the army before it could spread to other parts of the county.

In 1630, George Bennett became the first freeholder in the village. He was granted the manor of Cotesbach by the Crown. George Bennett bought the land and built and elegant mansion known as the Manor House.

It was built with bricks made in the brickyard which existed in the village at that time. An interesting feature of the manor is a very heavily studded door.

Under mysterious circumstances, George left the village and it was some years later that the Marriott family first came to live at Cotesbach. In 1759, the Rev Marriott bought the patronage of the living as well as all the surrounding land.

Previous to the Rev Marriott a remarkable person named the Rev Dr Wells was vicar of Cotesbach. He was a noted mathematician and theologian and wrote many books.

He built Cotesbach Hall on the site of the original Elizabethan rectory which had been used by all the previous rectors. The church was also rebuilt by him in 1700, using bricks which were made in the village.

To ad to this, he also built a school at the rear of his residence where pupils paid one penny per week. The Rev Dr Wells died in 1727 and is buried in the churchyard.

In later years the outbuildings at the manor were used as kennels for the South Atherstone Hunt. In 1952, the south and north Atherstone packs amalgamated and the hounds at Cotesbach were transferred to the kennels at Witherley and are now known as the Atherstone Hunt.

In the hall garden there is an ash tree which is claimed by a member of the Forestry Commission to be 700 years old and probably the oldest in the country.

A short distance away stands a massive monkey puzzle which is reputed to have been grown from imported seed in 1850. At the edge of the garden are a number of yew trees which are all over 400 years old.

At the present time, there are masses of daffodils which cover the ground between the trees like a carpet. The school is no longer in being but was down graded as Sam Towers kept his poultry in it.

Sam and his wife had kept the post office in the village for 34 years. It must surely have been the tiniest post office in existence as it only measures 6ft x 4ft.

The post box was built in the wall and the post was from Lutterworth.

The church of St Mary the Virgin dates back to the 11th century and a part of the tower could be Norman structure. At one period there were two bells, one was a saint’s bell and the other was a parish bell. Only one exists now.

Within the tower is a spiral staircase which leads to the belfry and the clock. The clock is a wonderful structure and possibly one of the nicest I have encountered. It was built and erected in 1919 and is made almost entirely of brass and is an eight-day clock.

The interior of the church is immaculate and very pleasing to the eye as you entre. The font is probably Elizabethan.

The windows on the south side are square and on the north are narrow, piqued arches. The chancel dates back to the 14th century.

Over the communion table is a great piece of wainscot work. The east window of the chancel is ancient and was made in the region of Edward I. In the past the church was heated by a stove which was situated at the foot of the tower. A brick chimney was built into the tower to take away the fumes and smoke.

The stained glass in the east window is in memory of three members of the Marriott family who lost their lives in World War One. A total of five of the same family were killed in the two World Wars. A wooden cross hangs on the east wall. It was located on the battlefield in France in a much deteriorated condition, bearing the name and rank of one of the Marriott brothers who was killed in 1915.

The Marriotts were also a very sporting family. Charles played cricket for Oxford University and later became Captain of Leicestershire. He and his brother John attained their greatest achievement in 1889 by beating the Australians at Leicester.

The Rev John Marriott wrote that well known and much loved hymn “Thou Whose Almighty Word”. It was unfortunate that it was not published until after his death.

Although the Rev Dr Wells rebuilt the church in 1700, red bricks were used for the extension in 1812.

Recently the rendering has been removed from parts of the tower and this has revealed that the lower part of the tower is made up of various types of stone, including round ones which are usually found in the bed of a stream. Above this is brick work.

In the churchyard under the huge yew trees which are over 400 years old, large clusters of miniature daffodils, snowdrops, violets and cowslips line the path to the church entrance. It is recorded that the church had its first rector in 1220.

A number of 17th century houses still exist in the village but the most interesting building was erected behind Hall Farm.

This building was a built as a bath in 1790. It was 9ft deep and was filled by a spring in the hillside. It was later used as a sheep dip but not longer exists. Some of the greatest treasures in the country are to be found at Hall Farm.

Mr R Vernon and his son had, in 1990, the largest collection of traction engines, steam cultivating engines and vintage tractors that can be found in the country.

A number of engines were originally owned by Mr Tom Powers of Barwell. The massive collection of tractors had been obtained from all over the world.

The farm itself, and also this wonderful collection, were all kept in immaculate condition. The opening of the A426 bypass has returned to Cotesbach the peace and tranquillity that had hitherto existed in the village.