Aston Cantlow is a very old village, an Anglo-Saxon burial ground having been found there, being mentioned in the Doomsday Book. From this we learn that the pre-conquest owner was Earl Alfgar, son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, with Aston Cantlow being rated at “five hides with room for ten ploughs”. It is also listed as having “nine Flemings, sixteen villeins, one priest, and ten bordars”. The mention of a priest means that there must have been a church in the village in Anglo-Saxon times. The Flemings mentioned probably came to England in the train of Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, and they would have made a sizeable colony in the village as the “nine” referred to would have been families; that is, nine Flemings with their wives and children. Why they chose to live in Aston Cantlow is a different question!

Aston Cantlow is a pretty village in the warwickshire countryside located in the middle of the triangle formed by the towns of Henley-in-Arden, Alcester and Stratford upon Avon.

It is bounded on one side by the Rough Hils and on the other side by the River Alne.

It has about 120 houses, located along the Bearley to Wilmcote road that runs through the village, or down one of the few roads off the Bearley Road, or heading out of the village towards the mill and Island Meadow Caravan Park. Around the village are several farms that manage the countryside in the parish.

Aston Cantlow parish is a beautiful place to walk in the countryside and it is excellent exercise to help to keep you fit & healthy.

On this page you can download lots of local walks from Aston Cantlow in PDF format that were produced in conjunction with the Aston Cantlow Parish Path Volunteers.

There are three sets. The first set of 4 walks all start in Aston Cantlow and include maps and detailed walking route instructions. Click on any of these links to open a 2 page printable walk leaflet in PDF format. Either print this double sided or put the 2 separate pages back to back then fold it into 3 to make a handy pocket sized guide to the walk.

The village and neighbouring Parish of Wilmcote is just 2 miles from Aston Cantlow. It is at least twice the size of Aston cantlow with a population of around 1,200. It has a church, with associated primary school, a village hall and youth centre, a sports and social club, one small hotel, a shop and a pub.

Wilmcote also has one major tourist attraction, Mary Arden’s House, and sees many visitors because of this. It is also a popular stop on the Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham Canal, and is on a National Cycleway.

The local churches, the Warwickshire Parish Clerks and in particular the Warwick County Records Office are all good sources for anyone tracing their family history in this area.

Not all church memorials and gravestones are fully recorded online, so you may want to look around the churches in the parish. Many early memorials that are inside the church are more readable than those outside on graves.   Don’t forget to look down, as many will be set into the floor and may be partly covered by church furniture. The Edkins are a local family with a long history in the parish. The memorial stone to Thomas and Elizabeth Edkins shown here is inside Aston Cantlow church. An Edkins family tree is available at this link.