Temple Grafton, Warwickshire

Description
Grafton, Temple, a parish in Warwickshire, near Icknield Street, 3 miles SE by E of Alcester, and 2 E of Wixford station on the M.R. It contains the hamlet of Hillborough and part of that of Ardens Grafton, and its post town is Alcester, under Redditch. Acreage, 2050; population, 388. The name Temple Grafton was given under the idea that the manor anciently belonged to the Knights Templars. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Worcester; net value, £110 with residence. The church is ancient, and was rebuilt in 1875. Grafton Court is the chief residence. In the episcopal registers at Worcester there is a record of a marriage licence between "William Shaxpere and Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton." The date and all the names, with the exception of " Whateley " for Hattway or Hattaway (not a very unlikely error in those days), point to the probability that Shakespeare was married here.