Arley, Old

Settlement in Warwickshire North Warwickshire

England

Arley, Old

St Michael's Church, New Arley The Arley Colliery Company began mining coal locally in 1905. In the 1920s it built a company village of six hundred houses, called New Arley, and, in 1928, a company church to serve it, the Church of England parish church of St Michael. The style could perhaps be called colliers&#039; baroque. See the Victoria County History of Warwickshire, Vol. 6 pp8-12, which doesn&#039;t give the name of the architect <span class="nowrap"><a title="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol6/pp8-12" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" href="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol6/pp8-12">Link</a><img style="margin-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="https://s1.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/></span> . — St Michael's Church, New Arley Credit: A J Paxton

Arley is a small village located in the historic county of Warwickshire, England. Situated in the heart of the Forest of Arden, it is surrounded by picturesque countryside and lush green landscapes. The village is part of the civil parish of Old Arley, which also includes the neighboring village of New Arley.

With a population of around 2,000 people, Arley is a close-knit community known for its tranquility and charm. The village is characterized by its traditional English architecture, with timber-framed houses and thatched roofs adding to its rustic appeal. The centerpiece of Arley is St. Wilfrid's Church, a beautiful medieval structure that dates back to the 12th century.

Arley offers a range of amenities to its residents, including a primary school, a village hall, and a handful of local shops and pubs. The village is well-connected to larger towns and cities in the region, with easy access to the nearby towns of Nuneaton and Coventry.

Nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts are drawn to Arley for its idyllic surroundings. The village is located near the Coventry Canal, offering opportunities for scenic walks and boating. Additionally, the nearby Arley Arboretum and Gardens provide a peaceful retreat for visitors, showcasing a variety of plant species and vibrant flower displays.

In conclusion, Arley, Old, Warwickshire is a charming village nestled in the heart of the Forest of Arden. With its rich history, beautiful architecture, and stunning natural surroundings, it is a delightful place to visit or call home.

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Arley, Old Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 52.513358/-1.5839647 or Grid Reference SP2890. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

St Michael's Church, New Arley

The Arley Colliery Company began mining coal locally in 1905. In the 1920s it built a company village of six hundred houses, called New Arley, and, in 1928, a company church to serve it, the Church of England parish church of St Michael. The style could perhaps be called colliers' baroque. See the Victoria County History of Warwickshire, Vol. 6 pp8-12, which doesn't give the name of the architect Link

A J Paxton

Catholic church of St Joseph, New Arley

The church stands at the western end of the former mining village, an area known as Gun Hill or Spring Hill. It was built in 1996 to designs by John D Holmes. It replaced a nearby timber church of the 1920s. See the Taking Stock site, which describes the new church as 'flexible in character and modest in architectural aspiration.' Link

A J Paxton

Arley industrial estate and Arley Wood

The industrial units are viewed from the path from Spring Hill to Daffern's Wood; they occupy the site of Arley Colliery, which closed in 1968. Arley Wood blankets the horizon. This ancient woodland was replanted with conifers in the 1960s, apparently to provide pit props for the mine; see SP2891 : A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood.

A J Paxton

Daffern's Wood, New Arley

Situated on the western edge of New Arley, Daffern's Wood is roughly triangular in shape and about three hectares in extent. According to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust it is an ancient semi-natural wood which has been documented back to around 1600. It is a Local Nature Reserve. Link

. A public footpath passes below the wood, which can be entered from the stile visible at the left of the picture.

A J Paxton

Birch and hazel in Daffern's Wood

For more information on this Local Nature Reserve see SP2889 : Daffern's Wood, New Arley.

A J Paxton

New Arley seen from Gorsy Spinney

From the birch trees of the spinney a footpath runs southwards to Wood End, following the edges of fields and passing the eastern tip of New Arley village.

A J Paxton

Birch trees at Gorsy Spinney, Arley

A path runs through the wood on the edge of the football ground at Hill Top. public footpaths lead from here to Astley and Wood End.

A J Paxton

New Arley reflections

The path from New Arley to Wood End runs along the edge of a large field, which was very wet after heavy autumn rain.

A J Paxton

Birmingham Road, Ansley

The 'Slow down think!' sign is labelled 'Warwickshire Police' and 'Warwickshire County Council'. The speed limit here is 30mph.

Stephen McKay

Old Arley with church tower

So named to distinguish it from the neighbouring mining village of New Arley, Old Arley predates the modern coal industry by centuries. St Wilfrid's church was built in the 14th century and was restored in 1873; see the listing at the Historic England site Link

A J Paxton

Former village school, Old Arley

Arley acquired a free school in 1875, according to Wikipedia Link

; this was presumably the building, now converted into housing.

A J Paxton

Yew arch, Arley churchyard

Two yew trees growing to either side of the gates to St Wilfrid's churchyard form a pointed arch. The tree to the right seems to be having a bad hair day (or perhaps a bad hair epoch, since these are yews and very long-lived).

A J Paxton

A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood

Arley Wood belongs to the Forestry Commission and is a PAWS or Planted Ancient Woodland Site, an ancient woodland that was largely destroyed and turned into a conifer plantation some time in the mid to late twentieth century. According to Arley Parish Council the replanting was carried out in the 1960s to provide pit props for Arley Colliery. The mine was closed in 1968, owing to falling demand for coal as a household fuel, so the destruction was for nothing (though the nearby colliery at Daw Mill continued in production until 2012). The wood is slowly being returned to a more mixed and quasi-natural state, with oaks and other broadleaved trees planted in clearings. See SP2891 : Oak tree in Arley Wood, also the sites of the Woodland Trust Link

and Arley Parish Council Link

A J Paxton

Oak tree in Arley Wood

Arley Wood, an ancient broadleaved wood, was turned into a conifer plantation in the 1960s by the Forestry Commission, with great loss of wildlife habitat for little commercial gain. The Commission now recognises this and is gradually planting broadleaved trees. A young oak is growing among the ranks of conifers, with a birch off to the right. "For its first twenty-five years, the Forestry Commission had little direct impact on woodland; but after 1945 foresters acquired woods and treated them as if they were moorland, trying to poison or otherwise destroy the existing vegetation and to replace it by plantations, usually of conifers. This was justified by a crude kind of cost-benefit analysis... a third of our ancient woods have been the victims of this habit of thought. Successful replanting destroys not only the trees of a wood but the herbaceous plants as well, which succumb to evergreen shade or are buried by heavy leaf-litter." (Oliver Rackham, The History of the Countryside, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp95-96). See also SP2891 : A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood.

A J Paxton

Path through Arley Wood

The ancient Arley Wood was turned into a conifer plantation in the 1960s, with a great loss of wildlife; note the ranks of trees of a single species and the dense undergrowth of bracken. It is now slowly being replanted with native broadleaved species such as oak. See SP2891 : A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood and SP2891 : Oak tree in Arley Wood. Though the loss is greatly to be regretted, it remains a peaceful place, beautiful in its way, the rustling of the trees blotting out human noise, apart from the occasional passing of aircraft overhead or the hooting of a train on the nearby railway.

A J Paxton

The northern edge of Arley Wood

Though Arley Wood was turned into a conifer plantation in the 1960s, its edges remain those of an ancient wood: sinuous, curving or zigzag, as described by Oliver Rackham, with broadleaved trees and a woodbank and ditch. The slight rise of the land outside the wood to the ditch along the edge can be seen very clearly here. The field beyond the wood is very muddy and has been reseeded by the farmer; a large puddle has formed after heavy rain. The land falls away to the Bourne Brook, with more fields and woodland beyond, as the land rises again towards Ansley. See also SP2891 : A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood and SP2891 : Oak tree in Arley Wood.

A J Paxton

North Eastern edge of Arley Wood

The edge of the wood looks well-trimmed here, and the boundary ditch is clearly visible, crossed by a plank footbridge. See SP2791 : The northern edge of Arley Wood, also SP2891 : A young oak tree among the conifers, Arley Wood and SP2891 : Oak tree in Arley Wood.

A J Paxton

South Eastern gate to Arley Wood, with snail bench

The bench was installed on the route of an Arley parish walk, an offshoot of a longer North Warwickshire Heritage Trail. It carries a couplet from the poem 'Leisure', by the Welsh poet and tramp W H Davies. The whole poem can be seen at his Wikipedia entry Link

; for the footpaths, see the North Warwickshire council site Link

A J Paxton

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Arley, Old is located at Grid Ref: SP2890 (Lat: 52.513358, Lng: -1.5839647)

Administrative County: Warwickshire

District: North Warwickshire

Police Authority: Warwickshire