page_title: Berkswell
section_title: History and places of interest
hierarchical_section_title: Berkswell / History and places of interest
caption_attribution_description: English: 12th-century crypt of St John the Baptist's parish church, Berkswell, West Midlands (formerly Warwickshire)
context_page_description: Berkswell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England.
  Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is in the east of the borough, close to the boundary with the city of Coventry. It is situated about 6.5 miles west of Coventry city centre, 8.5 miles east of central Solihull and 2.5 miles north of Balsall Common.
  The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 2,843, increasing to 3,139 at the 2011 Census.
context_section_description: The parish includes a number of hamlets as well as Berkswell village. Berkswell railway station serves the village, but is actually much closer to Balsall Common than to Berkswell village.
  The Church of England parish church of St. John Baptist is a late-12th century Norman building, notable for its two-part crypt. The eastern part is a rectangular space of two bays under the chancel. The western part is an unusual octagonal space under the eastern part of the nave. Later features of the church include the Perpendicular Gothic windows of the north aisle and the two-storied wooden porch.
  Berkswell's toponym is derived from the Berks Well, a 16 ft (5 m) square, stone-walled water well just outside the churchyard. It is said to have been used for baptisms by immersion and can still be seen today.
  There are several 16th and 17th century houses in the village. The Bear Inn dates from the 16th century. The local history society runs a small museum in a 17th-century cottage near the church.
  Ram Hall, about 0.5 miles (800 m) southeast of the village, was built about 1600. The Old Rectory, now called The Well House, south of the church, is early 18th century, then replacing a rectory whose records go back to early 17th century. The almshouses were built in 1853.
  There is a village green on which are the stocks that were used for punishing petty offenders. It is claimed that these were especially built for a one-legged ex-soldier and his two drinking companions as there are only five leg holes.
  On Windmill Lane is the protected and restored Berkswell Windmill, a fine example of a tower mill with its original machinery.
  Other local features include Marsh Lane Nature Reserve. There is a small Church of England primary school near the church on Church Lane.
caption: The crypt of St John the Baptist's church
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