Roman

Atherstone has a long history dating back to Roman times: The Roman road, the Watling Street (most of which later became part of the A5) ran through what is now Atherstone, and an important defended Roman settlement named Manduessedum existed at Mancetter near the site of modern-day Atherstone. It is widely believed that the forces of the rebel Queen Boudica were defeated in their final battle against the Romans at a location near Manduessedum in around AD 60. This was suggested as the most likely location of the battle by among others, the eminent archaeologist Graham Webster, although no firm evidence has emerged to confirm this to be the case.^[3][4][5]

Medieval

The Domesday Book of 1086, records that Atherstone (then named Aderestone) was held by Countess Godiva.^[6] The name likely originated from the Old English Aedelred's tun 'tun' meaning farmstead or town.^[7] After the Norman Conquest, the manor of Atherstone was given to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester who bestowed it to the monks of Bec Abbey of Normandy. In 1246 the monks of the Abbey obtained a charter from Henry III to hold a weekly market at Atherstone, thus transforming the settlement into a market town. In the 14th century, the town flourished, and Ralph Basset founded a house of Augustinian friars here in 1375, although this never became very important.^[8][9]

St Mary's Church

The ancient St Mary's Church in Atherstone dates from the early 12th century. The chapel was granted to Henry Cartwright in 1542, then left abandoned and neglected until 1692 when Samuel Bracebridge settled a yearly sum for the parson of Mancetter to preach there every other Sunday in the winter season.^[10] After this, St. Mary's Chapel seems to have experienced something of a revival. Its square tower being rebuilt in the fashionable "Gothic" style in 1782, and then was further redesigned in 1849 by Thomas Henry Wyatt and David Brandon.^[11]

Tudor period

In Tudor times, Atherstone was a thriving commercial centre for weaving and clothmaking. The town's favourable location laid out as a long ‘ribbon development’ along Watling Street, ensured its growth as a market town. While it remained an agricultural settlement in medieval times, attempts were made to encourage merchants and traders through the creation of burgage plots, a type of land tenure that provided them with special privileges. A manuscript discovered by Marjorie Morgan among the muniments of Cambridge's King's College (Ms. C9), refers to the creation of nine new burgage strips from land belonging to seven of the tenants in Atherstone vill.

By the late Tudor period Atherstone had become a centre for leatherworking, clothmaking, metalworking and brewing. Local sheep farmers and cattle graziers supplied wool and leather to local tanners and shoemakers (an industry that continued until the 1970s), while metalworkers, locksmiths and nailers fired their furnaces with local coal and the alemakers supplied thirsty palates on market days.

The surviving inventories from 16th century Mancetter provide a fascinating glimpse into Atherstone's Elizabethan merchants and traders, before the town was economically overshadowed by the bustling cities of Coventry and Birmingham. They show Atherstone at this time as a typical Midlands market town, taking full advantage of its location and agricultural setting.^[17]

17th century to present

Long Street: Atherstone's main shopping street in the centre of the town, and also the historic route of Watling Street

The argument that Altherstone declined in favour of emerging cities in the 18th century has been challenged. In the 1750s, Altherstone was very much still a vibrant settlement, possessing both a book club and a bowling-green. It was regularly frequented by the leisure-seeking gentry, including Sir Roger Newdigate and his circle of friends.^[18]

The Coventry Canal reached Atherstone in 1769, and the railways arrived in 1847, with the opening of the Trent Valley Railway, upon which Atherstone has its station. These transport links helped the industrialisation of the town.

Atherstone was once an important hatting town, and became well known for its felt hat industry. The industry began in the 17th century and at its height in the early 20th century there were seven firms employing 3,000 people.^[19][20] Due to cheap imports and a decline in the wearing of hats, the trade had declined substantially by the 1970s with just three companies remaining, Denham & Hargrave Ltd, Vero & Everitt Ltd and Wilson & Stafford Ltd. The production of felt hats in the town ceased altogether with the closure of the Wilson & Stafford factory in 1999.^[21] As of 2018 the factory received the go-ahead to be redeveloped into canalside residential apartments. However, the remains of the town's last hat manufacturing site, on Coleshill Road, were scheduled for demolition in 2022, after the local council decided it could not be safely redeveloped for residential use.

Shrovetide Ball Game

The ball played in the 813th Atherstone Ball game Shrove Tuesday 21 February 2012.

An annual tradition in Atherstone is the Shrove Tuesday Ball Game played on a public highway with large crowds. The game celebrated its 800th anniversary in 1999.

The game is a complete free-for-all played along Watling Street (the old Roman road) at the point where it forms the main street of Atherstone town. The ball is decorated with red, white and blue ribbons that are exchanged for money by who ever is able to obtain one and is made of thick leather to make it too heavy to kick far. The match starts at 3:00pm when the ball is thrown from the balcony of the local Conservative Club (since the closure of the local branch of Barclays Bank, from whose upper floor the ball was previously thrown, in 2019) and continues until about 5:00pm. However the ball may legitimately be deflated or hidden after 4:30pm. There are no teams and no goals, though in the last century the match was played between a team from Warwickshire and one from Leicestershire. There is only one rule: players are not allowed to kill one another. Whoever is able to hang onto the ball at the end of the game not only wins the game but is allowed to keep the ball as well. The game is controlled by a number of "marshalls" some of whom are former winners. Police are present but for the two hours the game is in progress stand back and allow the action to continue. Legend has it that many an old feud is settled on Ball Game day. This Shrove Tuesday ball game has been held annually since the early 12th century and is one of Atherstone's claims to fame. The 2019 edition of the game was noted for being extremely violent with several videos of the event being uploaded to social media.^[33] Event organisers disputed the accounts of violence as "nothing new".^[34]

HMS Atherstone – Ship's badge

The origin of the game, in the reign of King John, is thought to have been a "Match of Gold that was played between the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads on Shrove Tuesday".^[35]

The 'ball' used is specially made each year and is 'thrown out' by a prominent sporting or show business personality. Shop windows are boarded-up and traffic is diverted on the afternoon whilst the game, in which hundreds of people take part, progresses along the town's main streets.

History links

• Atherstone History : A comprehensive history of Atherstone and the surrounding area from the Romans up until the 20th century
• Atherstone 16th-century inventories and map of the township printed in John Nichols' Antiquities of Leicestershire
• Archdeaconry court case from Atherstone Fair with 18th-century Bracebridge estate map of the town showing the market square
• 1100s–2007 Atherstone Ball Game from Atherstone History