Merevale, Warwickshire

Description
Merevale, a parish in Warwickshire and Leicestershire, on Watling Street, the Coventry Canal, and the river Anker, and 1 mile W by S of Atherstone. Post town, Atherstone. Acreage of the Warwickshire portion, 890; population, 103; of the whole parish, 193. Merevale Hall stands on an eminence about 400 feet above sea-level, commanding a fine view, and is surrounded by a beautiful park. A Cistercian abbey was founded in 1148 by Robert, Earl of Ferrers, and is now represented by some interesting fragments and foundations of its buildings. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Worcester; gross value, £26. The church, it is supposed from the style of the architecture, must have been built after the Reformation; contains three stone coffins, several ancient brasses, a fine alabaster tomb of Lord Ferrers, and monuments of the Stratfords and the Dngdales.