Attractions and Places To See around Dunchurch - Top 20

The church isn't level inside! It's well worth popping in. The VE Day memorial is very well done and worth a closer look.

Draycote Water is an artificial reservoir (23 million m3), which was completed in 1969. In addition to its function as a water reserve, it is a leisure park u.a. for anglers, sailors, hikers. The rich bird life invites also to observations. Swimming is not allowed in the lake.

These sculptures were created to remind visitors of the rich geological history of the Ryton Pools where pieces of neck, tooth and tusk of the straight-tusked elephant were found in the local sand quarries. These massive creatures roamed this area half a million years ago and the life size sculptures bring to life the ancient history of the park.

Although part of Ryton Wood was lost to sand and gravel extraction in the 1960s, the wood has been returned to its present excellence though traditional management practices, and is one of the county's largest surviving semi-natural ancient woodlands. Arguably the best of the Princethorpe Woods, Ryton Wood covers 85 hectares, has been designated as an SSSI and boasts an extensive list of notable species. Parts of Ryton Wood date back to the 11th century, so the land may have been wooded since the end of last ice age. Finding coppiced, small-leaved lime stools is evidence to support this. Once the most common tree 5,000 years ago, the species is no longer so common. Huge ditches also indicate the wood’s ancient, medieval boundaries. Forty or so species of tree and shrub have been identified, with oak the dominant tree. An abundance of honeysuckle, our county flower, scrambles through the lower-growing hazel - enjoy its sweet perfume on summer days.

Excellent 8km cycling with great views and rest areas.

The parish church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, on the west side of the main street, stands in a small churchyard on the slope of a hill, the ground falling from east to west, its eastern boundary being the outer ditch of the castle. It consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, west tower, and north and south porches; the south porch has been converted into a vestry. It was rebuilt about the end of the 15th century and all that remains of the earlier church is the chancel, parts of the north aisle walls and possibly the staircase to the roodloft. The chancel is built of a mixture of limestone and sandstone rubble patched with bricks and tiles and has a modern steep-pitched tiled roof, modern coping and cross finial, and rebuilt buttresses. It is lighted on the east by a modern window of three pointed lights with a hood-mould and head-stops. The south side has a central buttress, and west of it are two restored lancet windows with a narrow doorway between them. The lancet to the west is divided by a transom to form a low side window. The doorway has a restored pointed arch, the splay carried down the jambs. The north side has a central buttress and another butting against the aisle wall, with a restored lancet window between them. The south aisle is built of red sandstone ashlar with a plinth of one splay, stepped down to conform with the slope of the ground. The wall is diminished in thickness by a weathered offset at sill level. It has a low-pitched lead-covered roof with a plain low parapet, with a moulded coping projected on a moulded stringcourse. The east gable is lighted by a partly restored traceried window of three cinquefoil lights under a hollow-moulded four-centred head. The south wall has buttresses at the angles, two intermediately, and a porch towards the western end. It is lighted between the buttresses by three windows similar to the one in the east wall. The porch has been rebuilt in brick and stone with a tiled roof and the entrance blocked to form a vestry. The south door, which has a four-centred arch under a square head, has been mutilated. The west end is similar to the east, but the coping is carried up as a lean-to instead of a gable. The buttress at the angle is diagonal, splayed to a point. The north aisle is built of rubble similar to the chancel and has a lean-to roof covered with lead, a battlemented parapet with trefoil panelled pinnacles at each end and crocketed finials. Originally there were two intermediate pinnacles, of which only the bases remain. The north side has diagonal buttresses at the angles, one intermediate and, towards the west, a porch. It is lighted by two three-light traceried windows with splayed fourcentred heads, the centre light trefoiled, the two outer cinquefoil; by a similar window on the east; and on the west by a trefoiled single light with a square head. The porch is timber-framed with a tiled roof, and the entrance has been fitted with a pair of modern doors. On both sides the timbering has been concealed, externally with roughcast and internally with plaster. The front retains its timbering, the entrance having a heavy moulded frame and four-centred head, carved spandrels and lintel, and a timber-framed gable plastered between the timbers. The door has a moulded four-centred head, square hood-mould, carved spandrels, and trefoil-panelled soffit and reveals which have been badly mutilated. In the centre of the hood-mould there is a shield with three swords (for Clarke). The tower is built of light-coloured sandstone ashlar with a moulded plinth and battlemented parapet on a coved string-course; at each angle there are bases for pinnacles. It rises in four stages, diminished at each stage by weathered offsets on the north and south, and on the east and west at the first and half-way up the third only. At the angles there are diagonal buttresses rising in five stages and splayed off to a sharp edge, except at the third stages on the west side which have gabled trefoiled niches. The west doorway, in a deep wave-moulded splay, is constructed of red sandstone and has a moulded four-centred arch under a square head, with carved spandrels. It is flanked by wall aracading in two tiers of trefoil-headed roll-moulded panels. Above the doorway is a tall pointed traceried window of three cinquefoil lights with a hood-mould, the tracery and mullions being modern, and in the second stage a clock dial. The tower staircase is in the south-west angle, with a loop-light to each stage and a square-headed doorway opening on to the aisle roof. The belfry is lighted on each face by pointed traceried windows of two trefoil lights, and the ringing chamber by similar windows on the north and south. Internally the floor of modern tiles has been laid to a continuous fall from east to west, probably taking the place of a series of steps, as the bases of the arcade pillars and windows are stepped down following the slope. The walls, except the arcades and tower, are plastered, the plaster being finished round all the aisle windows with scalloped edges. The chancel (28 ft. 4 in. by 15 ft. 6 in.) has four steps from the nave and three to the altar in addition to the slope of the floor. The east wall has a dado of modern coloured embossed tiles, and the window a segmental pointed rear-arch. At the east end of the south wall there is a shallow recess with a segmental pointed stop-chamfered head, probably a blocked piscina. The lancet windows have splayed recesses with square heads, and the doorway a segmental pointed rear-arch. The roof is a modern hammer-beam, its trusses supported on carved stone corbels. It is continued under the chancel arch with twin trusses, panelled between with pierced panels and supported on slender stone shafts with carved capitals and moulded bases resting on moulded corbels. The nave (48 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft. 7 in.) has a modern open roof with curved trusses resting on moulded timber corbels. Both arcades consist of five bays of pointed arches, of two splayed orders, supported on lozenge-shaped roll-moulded pillars, the arch splays dying out on the mouldings, which terminate in splayed stops on plain lozenge-shaped pedestals. At the junction of the south arcade with the chancel there is a circular stair up to a square-headed doorway which gave access to a rood, and half-way up there is a pointed opening to the aisle. It is lighted from the east by a small square-headed two-light window. The chancel arch is a modern pointed one, of two splayed orders, dying out on the north wall and on the south resting on a floriated corbel. The tower has a pointed arch of two splays to the tower and three to the nave, the inner order supported on three-quarter-round responds with moulded capitals and bases. The arch is of red sandstone with capitals of a light-coloured stone, and on the tower side in the apex there is a carving of an angel. The south-west angle is corbelled out in three steps for the tower staircase, the upper step being trefoiled, and below it there is a square-headed doorway. The pulpit and reading desk, of stone, are modern. The south aisle (49 ft. by 12 ft. 9 in.) has a lowpitched open roof of five bays with moulded members and carved bosses in the centres of the tie-beams. It probably dates from the early 16th century; the boarding and some rafters are modern. The trusses rest on stone corbels on the south wall, and on the north the outer roll mouldings of the arcade pillars are carried up with capitals in place of corbels. At the east end, the north-east angle is splayed to accommodate the staircase to the rood. The windows have hollowmoulded reveals with four-centred rear-arches, the window to the east having its arch extended eastwards and carried down to form a recess. The east wall has an offset at sill level with a chamfered stone capping, and the window reveals are carried down as a recess. In the east window there are some fragments of early coloured glass consisting of two chalices and parts of a canopy. The north aisle (45 ft. 7 in. by 9 ft. 11 in.) has a lean-to roof of five bays, of which two retain some of their original moulded members, probably early-16thcentury. The trusses are supported on stone corbels on the north wall and on square blocks of stone as capitals to the outer roll moulding of the arcade pillars. Over the door there is a painted coat of arms of George IV. The font, with a lead-lined basin, is built into the west side of the north arcade pillar opposite the door. It is of stone, with an octagonal moulded basin with paterae, and octagonal stem and base which has been rendered in cement. It has been re-dressed but is probably contemporary with the arcade. Near the door there is a small 17th-century oak chest with three hasps and fitted with lifting rings at each end. In the centre and east windows there are a few fragments of early glass, including a peacock and portions of a castle. The tower (15 ft. 10 in. by 13 ft.) has a window with widely splayed reveals, and a rear-arch of two splayed orders; the recess is carried down to include the doorway. In the chancel and aisles there are a number of 18thand 19th-century wall memorials. There are five bells, all of 1705, by Joseph Smith of Edgbaston. The registers begin in 1558.

Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund the Dunsmore Living Landscape scheme aims to restore the most significant area of ancient woodland in Warwickshire, increase landscape connectivity through the restoration of hedgerows, grasslands, ponds and heritage sites and engage local communities in a programme of natural  and heritage-related activities. These metal sculptures were created and installed to help bring to life the geological history of the Dunsmore Living Landscape Scheme area at Ryton Pools, where pieces of neck bone, tooth and tusk of the Straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, were all found in the local sand quarries. The sculptures were a collaboration between Spencer Jenkins, a green wood and metalwork artist (designer, and project manager), and Artfabs Ltd, a specialist fabrication contractor who will assist with larger construction challenges. These creatures would have roamed the area around half a million years ago. The life size sculptures will bring to life the ancient history of the park and reflect important palaeontological finds made on the site during quarrying.

As part of the creation of a new UK Mail facility at the Prologis Park Ryton, our client Prologis had created a temporary borrow pit as part of the works and inadvertently, created the perfect new home for a colony of Sand Martins Riparia riparia which moved in and successfully bred (2015). The birds were left to nest in peace after a wide exclusion zone was implemented but realising that the site was on the birds’ migration route together with the fact that the borrow pit couldn’t stay on site long-term, we worked with Prologis, Whiting Landscapes and the park rangers at nearby Ryton Pools Country Park to create a brand new permanent and purpose-built nesting site in this 100 acre site managed jointly between Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The Sand Martin nesting wall was completed in March 2016 and this year has already had a couple of pairs taking an interest. As well as providing a large and safe nesting habitat, the 15m long structure also has a number of pre-formed swallow nest sites and a rear door inspection hatch so that the rangers can keep an eye on the nesting progress and carry out any necessary maintenance. To prevent predation by other wildlife such as stoats, an anti-predator baffle has been installed below the tunnels which have been constructed of plastic pipes. We also helped create the new information board which has been installed opposite the nesting wall to inform the local visitors to the country park about the new nesting site. It’s hoped that grizzled skipper butterflies will also benefit from the new structure as one of the food plants of the larvae stage – strawberries – are to be planted on the aggregate roof in the near future! Sand Martins are gregarious and therefore tend to nest in large colonies. They are Europe’s smallest hirundine (martins and swallows) and the insectivorous birds are summer visitors to the UK, over-wintering in Africa.