RoutesHiking trails & RoutesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireStratford-On-AvonClifford Chambers and Milcote CP
View of Alscot Park Mansion loop from Clifford Chambers
RoutesHiking trails & RoutesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireStratford-On-AvonClifford Chambers and Milcote CP
View of Alscot Park Mansion loop from Clifford Chambers
Easy
4.8
(8)
53
hikers
View of Alscot Park Mansion loop from Clifford Chambers
01:55
7.31km
60m
Hiking
Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Waypoints
A
Start point
Bus stop
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1
488 m
St Helen's Church, Clifford Chambers
Highlight • Historical Site
The church of ST. HELEN is a small building of rubble with a Cotswold stone roof, heavily restored in 1886, comprising nave, chancel with north vestry and organ chamber, west tower, and south porch. The church was rebuilt in the mid-12th century with chancel and nave. The north doorway of that date, later blocked, is of two square orders, with doublechamfered hoodmould and plain tympanum. The south doorway, also built in the 12th century, has a chamfered hoodmould with unusual beaded ornamentation, shafts with scalloped capitals, and a plain tympanum, on which a scratch-dial can be seen. A small plain 12th-century chancel arch was removed in 1886. In the 13th century a north transeptal chapel was added to the nave. Part of a blocked 13th-century arch opening to the chapel can be seen in the north wall of the nave, where a singlelight window has been reset, with a 13th-century attached shaft with moulded capital in the eastern splay. A small lancet, probably from the chancel, has been reset in the west wall of the organ chamber, and on the south side of the chancel a pillar piscina with octagonal shaft and plain capital and base is also of the 13th century.
A west tower was probably added in the late 14th century, of two stages with a moulded string-course and buttresses at the west angles of the lower stage. The battlements, pinnacles, and gargoyles, and the west window of the lower stage, of three trefoilheaded lights with quatrefoil tracery, were added later. The second stage has on three sides windows of two lights with blind tracery.
One of the south windows of the chancel was replaced in the 14th century with two trefoiled ogeeheaded lights. In the 15th century some of the windows of the chancel and nave were replaced and it was probably then that the chapel was removed. The south porch was built of timber in the 15th century, and the south doorway retains an apparently contemporary door. About 1600 the roof was rebuilt. A west gallery and pews were added c. 1650. By 1886 the building was thought unsafe and extensive rebuilding took place to the design of J. Cotton of Birmingham. The chancel was rebuilt and lengthened, the 12th-century chancel arch being replaced by a much larger one in a Victorian Gothic style, the south porch rebuilt, and the vestry and organ chamber were added. The roofs were renewed, buttresses added, a window inserted in the north wall of the nave at the west end, and other windows restored. The gallery was removed and the church reseated.
The font, with no pedestal, is thought to be of the 12th century, and to have been cut into a septagonal shape in the 15th century. The communion table, the communion rails, and the wooden pulpit are of the 17th century. In the vestry is a 16th-century chest. A large mural monument in alabaster and marble to Sir Henry Rainsford (d. 1622) and Anne his wife was removed from the west end of the chancel to its original position on the north side of the chancel at the rebuilding of 1886. A floor slab placed upright in the north wall of the chancel (perhaps the one said to be on the south side of the chancel c. 1700), has small brass effigies of Hercules Rainsford (d. 1583) and Elizabeth his wife, and another has a brass effigy of their daughter Elizabeth. Fragments of old painted glass were reset in the window of the vestry. In the 17th century the church had four bells, which were replaced or recast in 1771, and a fifth bell was added in 1773. The organ was installed in 1931, replacing an earlier one. The church plate includes a chalice and paten dated 1494 which are among the oldest known examples of church plate in the country. The chalice, which bears traces of enamel, has a representation of the Crucifixion; the paten does not appear to have been enamelled. They have the same hall-mark and date. A 16th-century German almsdish was presented to the church in 1935, (fn. 307) and a flagon and two cups are of the early 18th century. A red velvet embroidered altar cloth and two cushions are probably of the early 16th century. The parish registers begin in 1538, and are virtually complete.
A west tower was probably added in the late 14th century, of two stages with a moulded string-course and buttresses at the west angles of the lower stage. The battlements, pinnacles, and gargoyles, and the west window of the lower stage, of three trefoilheaded lights with quatrefoil tracery, were added later. The second stage has on three sides windows of two lights with blind tracery.
One of the south windows of the chancel was replaced in the 14th century with two trefoiled ogeeheaded lights. In the 15th century some of the windows of the chancel and nave were replaced and it was probably then that the chapel was removed. The south porch was built of timber in the 15th century, and the south doorway retains an apparently contemporary door. About 1600 the roof was rebuilt. A west gallery and pews were added c. 1650. By 1886 the building was thought unsafe and extensive rebuilding took place to the design of J. Cotton of Birmingham. The chancel was rebuilt and lengthened, the 12th-century chancel arch being replaced by a much larger one in a Victorian Gothic style, the south porch rebuilt, and the vestry and organ chamber were added. The roofs were renewed, buttresses added, a window inserted in the north wall of the nave at the west end, and other windows restored. The gallery was removed and the church reseated.
The font, with no pedestal, is thought to be of the 12th century, and to have been cut into a septagonal shape in the 15th century. The communion table, the communion rails, and the wooden pulpit are of the 17th century. In the vestry is a 16th-century chest. A large mural monument in alabaster and marble to Sir Henry Rainsford (d. 1622) and Anne his wife was removed from the west end of the chancel to its original position on the north side of the chancel at the rebuilding of 1886. A floor slab placed upright in the north wall of the chancel (perhaps the one said to be on the south side of the chancel c. 1700), has small brass effigies of Hercules Rainsford (d. 1583) and Elizabeth his wife, and another has a brass effigy of their daughter Elizabeth. Fragments of old painted glass were reset in the window of the vestry. In the 17th century the church had four bells, which were replaced or recast in 1771, and a fifth bell was added in 1773. The organ was installed in 1931, replacing an earlier one. The church plate includes a chalice and paten dated 1494 which are among the oldest known examples of church plate in the country. The chalice, which bears traces of enamel, has a representation of the Crucifixion; the paten does not appear to have been enamelled. They have the same hall-mark and date. A 16th-century German almsdish was presented to the church in 1935, (fn. 307) and a flagon and two cups are of the early 18th century. A red velvet embroidered altar cloth and two cushions are probably of the early 16th century. The parish registers begin in 1538, and are virtually complete.
Tip by
2
4.01 km
St. Mary the Virgin Church, Preston-on-Stour
Highlight • Monument
The church of ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, anciently of St. Peter the apostle, comprises chancel, nave, and tower. The church is of ashlar, except for the south wall of the nave; that wall is medieval in origin, containing masonry of several different builds, but there are no identifiable medieval features in it. Below one of the windows are signs of a former south doorway. There was also a north doorway with a porch, demolished in 1757. The tower was built in the late 15th century; it has a high plinth and three stages above, separated by moulded string-courses. The belfry stage is lit by pairs of cinquefoil pointed lights in two-centred heads; the roof has battlements and angle pinnacles; and the buttresses, straight on the east, diagonal on the west, rise to the level of the belfry floor. In 1753 James West began the rebuilding of the church. The work was done by Edward Woodward of Chipping Campden, and the result is 'remarkable as one of the earliest churches of the Gothic revival.' The chancel was rebuilt in 1753–4. It was given a roof of three small gabled bays, tiled and surrounded by a parapet broken on each side by a pinnacle. The segmental vaulted ceiling is plastered and divided into ribbed and painted panels, and has an enriched frieze and cornice. The east window, in the style of the early 14th century, and the north and south windows, in the style of the 15th, have on the inside enriched plaster architraves. The chancel is hardly narrower than the nave, and the chancel arch is almost the full width of the chancel. The interior of the chancel was said, in 1868, to indicate 'the careful munificence of a wealthy resident family at an earlier period than the ecclesiastical movement'. In 1756 the main doorway into the church was made through the west face of the tower, with a window like the side windows of the chancel above it. In 1757 the north wall of the nave was rebuilt, with two windows similar to the east window of the chancel. The late 15th-century roof of panelled timber with carved bosses was restored; it is covered with lead and surrounded by a parapet. Two windows were inserted in the south wall, to match those in the north. A gallery was built at the west end of the nave in front of the tower arch; on its front was placed the royal arms, carved and painted, of the period 1603–88. The chancel was restored in 1904, when a small north door was added below the window.
In the windows of the chancel and tower is a quantity of painted glass acquired by James West. The pieces in the east window, and some removed thence to the tower window in 1904, came from the Netherlands and Germany, and some of them are dated 1605 and 1632. The remaining glass in the tower window, mostly heraldic, is English, of the 16th century and later. The glass depicting heads, in the north and south windows of the chancel, allegedly taken from Evesham Abbey, is probably 17th-century and perhaps also from the Netherlands. The small cup-shaped font was made in the 18th century. The organ was given in 1895 by James Roberts West. In the chancel are two groups of mural monuments in marble to members of the West family, including one by Peter Mathias Vangelder (1800) and one by Richard Westmacott the younger (1838); also mural monuments to members of the Mariett family, and one with figures, brought apparently from St. Mary's chapel, Islington, to Sir Nicholas Kempe (d. 1624). There were three bells c. 1700; two by Henry Bagley, 1635, survive, and the third is by Abraham Rudhall, 1713. The plate includes a chalice with base and stem of c. 1500 and a remade bowl and paten-cover given by Sarah, wife of James West, 1747; also an Elizabethan chalice and paten-cover. The registers begin in 1540 and are virtually complete.
The churchyard was enlarged in 1885 and 1926. In the early 18th century each landowner was responsible for a specified section of the fence round it. The fence was later replaced by a wall, and there are two pairs of large 18th-century stone gateposts with wrought iron gates. One pair opens on an avenue of ancient yews.
There is said to have been a medieval chapel at Alscot, on the site of which Alscot Park was built. No documentary evidence of this has been found; the possibility that the moulded stones found at Alscot were brought from elsewhere is the stronger because of James West's antiquarian interests.
In the windows of the chancel and tower is a quantity of painted glass acquired by James West. The pieces in the east window, and some removed thence to the tower window in 1904, came from the Netherlands and Germany, and some of them are dated 1605 and 1632. The remaining glass in the tower window, mostly heraldic, is English, of the 16th century and later. The glass depicting heads, in the north and south windows of the chancel, allegedly taken from Evesham Abbey, is probably 17th-century and perhaps also from the Netherlands. The small cup-shaped font was made in the 18th century. The organ was given in 1895 by James Roberts West. In the chancel are two groups of mural monuments in marble to members of the West family, including one by Peter Mathias Vangelder (1800) and one by Richard Westmacott the younger (1838); also mural monuments to members of the Mariett family, and one with figures, brought apparently from St. Mary's chapel, Islington, to Sir Nicholas Kempe (d. 1624). There were three bells c. 1700; two by Henry Bagley, 1635, survive, and the third is by Abraham Rudhall, 1713. The plate includes a chalice with base and stem of c. 1500 and a remade bowl and paten-cover given by Sarah, wife of James West, 1747; also an Elizabethan chalice and paten-cover. The registers begin in 1540 and are virtually complete.
The churchyard was enlarged in 1885 and 1926. In the early 18th century each landowner was responsible for a specified section of the fence round it. The fence was later replaced by a wall, and there are two pairs of large 18th-century stone gateposts with wrought iron gates. One pair opens on an avenue of ancient yews.
There is said to have been a medieval chapel at Alscot, on the site of which Alscot Park was built. No documentary evidence of this has been found; the possibility that the moulded stones found at Alscot were brought from elsewhere is the stronger because of James West's antiquarian interests.
Tip by
3
5.12 km
View of Alscot Park Mansion
Highlight • Viewpoint
Alscot Park is an English Grade I listed Georgian country house in Preston on Stour, some 3 miles (5 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. It was built in a Rococo Gothic style for James West in the early 18th century.
The house itself is built of limestone ashlar to a T-shaped plan with a hipped slate roof and has a two-storey frontage of 7 bays. It stands in 4000 acres of park and farmland, which is Grade II listed and bisected by the River Stour. Several other associated buildings, such as stables and entrance lodges, are also listed. A number of former features of the estate, such as pleasure grounds, an obelisk and a Chinese pavilion have since been lost.
In 1747 James West bought the manors, then secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the MP for St Albans. Pending his retirement from his final post as Secretary to the Treasury in 1762 he created the present house in two stages from an older house on the site. The north wing was remodelled in 1747 and the south wing added in 1762. Stables and a conservatory were added between 1762 and 1766.[3]
A gothic entrance porch was later (1815 to 1820) designed and added to the south front. Gothic lodges at the Stratford Road entrance were built in 1838.
James West the younger, the only son of West and his wife Sarah Steavens, heiress of a wealthy timber merchant, died in 1795, predeceasing his mother. Alscot Park thereby passed to James West the younger's son, James Robert West, who died in 1838 and has passed down in the West family until the present day (2018). Currently occupied by Emma Holman-West and her family, the estate has been developed to house residential properties, offices, studios and industrial space, winning the Bledisloe Gold Medal in 2011 from the Royal Agricultural Society for estate management.
The house itself is built of limestone ashlar to a T-shaped plan with a hipped slate roof and has a two-storey frontage of 7 bays. It stands in 4000 acres of park and farmland, which is Grade II listed and bisected by the River Stour. Several other associated buildings, such as stables and entrance lodges, are also listed. A number of former features of the estate, such as pleasure grounds, an obelisk and a Chinese pavilion have since been lost.
In 1747 James West bought the manors, then secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the MP for St Albans. Pending his retirement from his final post as Secretary to the Treasury in 1762 he created the present house in two stages from an older house on the site. The north wing was remodelled in 1747 and the south wing added in 1762. Stables and a conservatory were added between 1762 and 1766.[3]
A gothic entrance porch was later (1815 to 1820) designed and added to the south front. Gothic lodges at the Stratford Road entrance were built in 1838.
James West the younger, the only son of West and his wife Sarah Steavens, heiress of a wealthy timber merchant, died in 1795, predeceasing his mother. Alscot Park thereby passed to James West the younger's son, James Robert West, who died in 1838 and has passed down in the West family until the present day (2018). Currently occupied by Emma Holman-West and her family, the estate has been developed to house residential properties, offices, studios and industrial space, winning the Bledisloe Gold Medal in 2011 from the Royal Agricultural Society for estate management.
Tip by
4
5.37 km
Church of St Mary, Atherstone on Stour
Highlight • Religious Site
The Church of St Mary which was built during the Imperial period. Some of the building material within the walls of the church is 14th century stone that has been reused. The church is located in Atherstone on Stour.
Tip by
B
7.31 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
2.20 km
1.74 km
1.46 km
1.01 km
888 m
Surfaces
2.42 km
1.87 km
1.41 km
870 m
472 m
244 m
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Thursday 9 July
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