in the Domesday Book, where it is noted as already being held by Wulfric in the Saxon period. By 1086, its eight households rendered only £0.5 a year and its lord of the manor was Edwin who held under Thorkil of Warwick, its overlord, a relatively unusual name being strongly norse rather than a hybrid or Norman. It had an additional listing of one household, held under Robert of Vessey that rendered 2s (£0.1) a year. However, Whitacre was in the early medieval period recorded as 'Witecore', which still means 'white acre' thus 'white field'. Whitacre Hall, the manor house, perches next to the village on the northwestern slopes and is a double moated hall. The present structure dates from the Tudor period. At the height of the Industrial Revolution this was the home of the Jennens family, who were some of the early Ironmasters. John Jennens supplied Birmingham blacksmiths with iron bars and then sold their products. Its extent has within it about half a dozen stone built buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as Church House, the Old House and the Malthouse in Hoggrill End. Nether Whitacre has a cricket club which was established officially in 1887. Four public houses in this area host an array of evening entertainments: The Swan The Railway The Gate The Dog All of these were established in the late 1800s. The hamlet of Furnace End, Over Whitacre probably derives its name from iron smelting furnaces owned by the Jennens. Charles Jennens was a friend of Handel, the composer. An Earl of Aylesford, the noble Finch family of Packington Hall in the county, was a cousin to the Jennens and obtained an organ for Handel, which was installed at Great Packington church. Very rural, the population of the was: 1911, 606; 1921, 726; 1931, 748 Church The Parish Church is St Giles's Church. It contains some 14th century glass and a 16th-century West Tower but most of the church is of 1870s restoration. The Parish Register dates from 1439, making it one of the earliest in the area. This was held with its advowson (right to name a priest) at least until 1545. In 1580, however, Sir John Throckmorton died holding it of the Queen as of the manor of East Greenwich. It passed to the Crown on the attainder of his Catholic son, Sir Francis Throckmorton, in 1584, thereafter for