Coundon | |
---|---|
Location within the West Midlands | |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | West Midlands |
Fire | West Midlands |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
Coundon is a predominantly residential suburb in north-west Coventry, in the county of the West Midlands, England. [1]
Along with the neighbouring Keresley, Coundon was originally a village in the Warwickshire countryside. By the 1930s it had been incorporated into the city of Coventry after mass housebuilding took place to accommodate the city's growing population. [2]
Coundon was one of the few villages that are now part of Coventry to be mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086). [3] Holy Trinity Church had land in Coundon from at least the early 14th century. In 1410–11 Coundon was divided into Old, or Little Coundon, and New Coundon and it was part of the Knightlow Hundred until 1451. [4]
Coundon was described as a parish in 1801 and 1811 and as a hamlet until 1881. [4] The cycle manufacturer George Singer of Singer & Co built Coundon Court on land that was formerly part of Coundon Farm in 1891. It was constructed in the Victorian Gothic style. [5] The house is now part of the site of Coundon Court Secondary School and is referred to as 'The Old House'.
Alvis Motors opened its first factory on the Holyhead Road in Coundon, in 1919 and originally produced stationary engines and motor scooters. It expanded to produce four-cylinder engines, six-cylinder engines, and large six-cylinder cars so a larger car factory was built on a 29-acre site. During the Coventry Blitz in World War Two the larger factory was severely damaged by the German Luftwaffe's bombing [6] and car production was then suspended until 1946. In 1965 Alvis came under the control of Rover, and production was moved out of Coventry in 1999. Alvis employed around 2,400 people at its peak. [7] The site of the former factory in Coundon is now the Alvis Retail Park.
Coundon was formerly in the parish of Holy Trinity, [8] until 1866 when Coundon became a separate civil parish. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Coventry and Keresley. [9] In 1931 the parish had a population of 364. [10]
The Rialto picture house was opened on Moseley Avenue in 1928, showing silent films with accompaniment by a pianist and small orchestra of two violins, two double bass, trumpet, trombone and drums on one level of the building, and with a ballroom on another level of the building. [3] The cinema was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz but the ballroom survived and became the Rialto Bingo Club, then the Rialto Plaza which hosted live music events. [11] It now operates as the Neighbourhood Social. [12]
The Holyhead Pub began operating in 1929 on the Holyhead Road, the coaching road from London to Holyhead. [13] The Nugget Pub was built in 1938 in anticipation of housing development on Coundon Wedge, which never happened. [14]
From 1951 to 2005, Coundon was the location of the Browns Lane Jaguar car factory, which for its first 47 years was the carmaker's only plant. Upon its closure in 2005, production of cars was split between factories in Castle Bromwich and Halewood. The Browns Lane plant was largely demolished in 2008, although part of the site remains under Jaguar ownership, some is now used by a vehicle interiors manufacturer, and the American company Amazon has set up a distribution warehouse on the site. [15]
Several schools are situated in the suburb of Coundon. These are Coundon Primary School, Hollyfast Primary School, Moseley Primary School, Christ the King Infant and Junior Schools (separated into different locations) and Coundon Court Secondary School. The playing fields of Bablake School, an independent school, are located in Coundon. [20]
Coundon is split across two wards, Sherbourne ward to the South West and Bablake ward to the North. [21] Three councillors represent each ward, three of whom are members of the Labour Party. In Bablake ward, there are two Conservative Party Councillors and one Independent.
In general elections Coundon falls within the constituency of Coventry North West, which returns one Member of Parliament; currently Taiwo Owatemi of the Labour Party. [22]
Coventry is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centuries. Founded in the early Middle Ages, its city status was formally recognised in a charter of 1345. The city is governed by Coventry City Council, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised in 1975, when the UK government created a holding company called British Leyland, later renamed BL in 1978. It incorporated much of the British-owned motor vehicle industry, which in 1968 had a 40% share of the UK car market, with its history going back to 1895. Despite containing profitable marques such as Jaguar, Rover, and Land Rover, as well as the best-selling Mini, BLMC had a troubled history, leading to its eventual collapse in 1975 and subsequent part-nationalisation.
Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England, grew to become one of the most important cities in England during the Middle Ages due to its booming cloth and textiles trade. The city was noted for its part in the English Civil War, and later became an important industrial city during the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the centre of the British bicycle and later motor industry. The devastating Blitz in 1940 destroyed much of the city centre, and saw its rebuilding during the 1950s and 60s. The motor industry slumped during the 1970s and 80s, and Coventry saw high unemployment. However, in the new millennium the city, along with many others saw significant urban renaissance and in 2017 it was announced that the city had been awarded the title of 2021 UK City of Culture.
Coventry North West is a constituency in the city of Coventry represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Taiwo Owatemi of the Labour Party.
Bablake School is a secondary co-educational private day school located in Coventry, England. It was founded in 1344 by Isabella of France, widow of Edward II, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. It is a part of the Coventry School Foundation, a registered charity, along with King Henry VIII School, King Henry VIII Preparatory School and Cheshunt School. As of January 2021, Bablake is a selective, fee-charging independent school and a member of the HMC.
Keresley is a suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry, West Midlands, England, about 4.5 miles (7 km) north of Coventry city centre and 3.5 miles (6 km) southwest of Bedworth. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 791 falling to 713 at the 2011 Census, although the 2018 population was estimated at 783.
Allesley is a suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry metropolitan borough, West Midlands, about 3.5 miles west-northwest of Coventry city centre and 4 miles (6.5 km) east-south-east of Meriden. Located in the Arden area of historic Warwickshire, the parish population according to the 2001 census was 805, which rose to 837 at the 2011 census, and as of the 2021 census, the population was 908. Until 1998, Allesley contained the main Jaguar car assembly plant at Browns Lane.
The Browns Lane plant in Coventry, England was built as a Second World War shadow factory run by the Daimler Company. In 1951 it was leased by Jaguar Cars and remained the company's home until 2005. It was the site of all Jaguar production until 1998, when production of the Jaguar S-Type commenced at Castle Bromwich Assembly in Birmingham, which first produced Jaguar cars in 1977. It was also the firm's corporate headquarters and the home of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust.
Ash Green is a village in the Nuneaton and Bedworth borough of Warwickshire, England. It forms part of the Coventry and Bedworth urban area.
Exhall is a suburban village in the Nuneaton and Bedworth borough in Warwickshire, England. It forms part of the Coventry and Bedworth urban area and is contiguous with the Coventry suburb of Longford and the village of Hawkesbury Village.
The River Sherbourne is a river that flows under the centre of the city of Coventry, in the West Midlands, in England.
Radford is a suburb and electoral ward of Coventry, located approximately 1.5 miles north of Coventry city centre. It is covered by the Coventry North West constituency.
Foleshill is a suburb in the north of Coventry, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Longford, Courthouse Green and Rowley Green are to its north and Keresley is to its west. The population of the Ward at the 2021 census was 22,478.
Coundon Road railway station was a railway station in Coventry, England, built by the London and North Western Railway in 1850 when it was known as Counden Road railway station.
Coundon Court is an all-inclusive Academy in Coundon, Coventry, England. The Headteacher is Chris Heal.
Brownshill Green is a suburban hamlet 3.5 miles northwest of Coventry by road, adjacent to the suburbs of Allesley, Coundon and Keresley. It is bordered on its north side by the northern boundary of Coventry and the Warwickshire village of Corley. Its main thoroughfare is Brownshill Green Road, which runs from its junction with Coundon Wedge Drive in the north to join Keresley Road in the south.
St Mary's Priory and Cathedral was a Roman Catholic institution in Coventry, England, founded in the 12th century by transformation of the former monastery of St Mary, and destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the early 16th century. It was located on a site north of Holy Trinity and the former St Michael's parish churches in the centre of the city, on a site bordered by Priory Row to the south, Trinity Street to the west, and the River Sherbourne to the north. Excavated remains from the west end of the cathedral are open to the public.
Spon Street is an historic street in central Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. The street was once part of a route that ran from Gosford to Birmingham – a route which remained intact until the 1960s. During the construction of Coventry's Inner Ring Road, built to relieve traffic on the narrow city centre streets, Spon Street was cut in half and the route severed.
Pearl Marguerite HydeMBE was an English local Labour politician and the first female Lord Mayor of Coventry.