| Summary : A farmhouse largely of 18th century date built of red brick but incorporating the remains of the church of the village of Smite (NMR AMIE number 337880, SP 48 SW 2), consisting of chancel, nave and south aisle built of red sandstone ashlar, which survives to first floor level and in places up to the eaves. The church is recorded in the early 13th century as a possession of Kenilworth Priory and later came to be owned by the nearby Combe Abbey (AMIE NMR number 337563, SP 47 NW 1), where it remained part of that estate until after the Dissolution. |
More information : (SP 41158075 ) Peter Hall
St. Peter's Ch. (GT) (Remains of) (1)
"Peter Hall, a farmhouse largely of 18th century red brick but
incorporating the remains of the church of Smite, consisting of
chancel, nave, and south aisle built of red sandstone ashlar,
which surives to first floor level and in places up to the eaves".
After the Dissolution when the estates of Combe Abbey were granted
to Mary, Duchess of Richmond, she leased a messuage adjoining
Peterchurche. The church is recorded in the early 13thc. as a
possesion of Kenilworth Priory and must have come into the hands
of Combe Abbey later (2)
The farmhouse is as described above and is still occupied. See
photograph. (3)
¿The earliest known settlement at Coombe has not been evaluated, although there is scattered evidence for Roman settlement [NMR AMIE number 337568, SP 47 NW 2] since the Roman period or possibly earlier. The survival of two possible prehistoric barrows [NMR AMIE numbers 889195, SP 37 NE15 and 337576, SP 47 NW 8] indicates remnant survival from the prehistoric landscape. Romano-British finds have been made at a number of locations in the parish, and the site is located in close proximity to the Roman Road the Fosse Way. Less than a kilometre to the North East at Peter Hall [NMR AMIE number 337883, SP 48 SW 3] is the location of the remains of a medieval parish church which is believed to provide the nucleus settlement for the medieval village of Lower Smite [NMR AMIE number 337880, SP 48 SW 2]. The village and manorial complex at Lower Smite are believed to have been part of the endowment of the Cistercian abbey [NMR AMIE number 337563, SP 47 NW1] at Coombe, and were incorporated into the demesne estates resulting eventually in their depopulation.¿ (4)
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