Fenny Drayton

Fenny Drayton
Fenny Drayton
	Church Lane, Fenny Drayton
	Fenny Drayton Location within Leicestershire
Civil parish	Witherley ;
District	Hinckley and Bosworth ;
Shire county	Leicestershire ;
Region	East Midlands ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NUNEATON
Postcode district	CV13
Police	Leicestershire
Fire	Leicestershire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Bosworth ;
	List of places UK England Leicestershire 52°34′01″N1°29′06″W / 52.567°N 1.485°W

Last updated July 31, 2023

Fenny Drayton (once Drayton-in-the-Clay) is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherley, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England.^[1] It lies near the Warwickshire boundary, three miles south-east of Atherstone in the Coventry postcode area, just off the A444, the Roman Watling Street. Another Roman road crosses at the end of the scenic Fenn Lanes. The village is four miles from Stoke Golding, where Henry VII of England was crowned after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The reinterment of Richard III of England on 21 March 2015 started along Fenn Lanes, near the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 125.^[2] On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Witherley, parts also went to Hartshill, Mancetter and Caldecote.^[3] The name means "farm/settlement for portage" or "farm/settlement used as a dragging place". "Fenny" reflects the fen-like ground along the Roman road.^[4]

Education

School children mostly attend St Margaret's Church of England Primary School in Stoke Golding or Higham on the hill Church of England Primary School and St Martin's Catholic Academy in Stoke Golding or the independent Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth.

Church

The Grade II listed Anglican Church of St Michael and All Angels in the Diocese of Leicester is in Gothic style with 12th-century Norman features and a 13th-century bell tower. It is surrounded by one of the oldest circles of giant yew trees in the United Kingdom. There are two monuments of the Purefoy family dating back to 1543 in the church grounds. One has an incised slab, which is rare. The church is open free of charge by appointment.^[5]

George Fox

George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends, or children of light, was born in Drayton-on-the-Clay in July 1624. His father, Christopher Fox, was a weaver and churchwarden.^[6] Fox is reputed to have been baptised in the older of the two fonts in the church. There is a large monument to him where two roads, George Fox Lane and Old Forge Road, meet. Quakers from all over the world sign the church visitors' book.

Centre of England

The Ordnance Survey in 2002 defined Lindley Hall Farm on the village outskirts as the geographical centre of England.^[7] ( SP362964 ) Coordinates are 52°33′42.942″N 1°27′53.474″W Grid Reference SP36373.66 96143.05. It was previously thought to be Meriden in Solihull.^[8]

Related Research Articles

Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which is here formed by the River Anker. It is only 4+1⁄2 miles from Staffordshire. It lies between the larger towns of Tamworth and Nuneaton. Atherstone is the administrative centre of the North Warwickshire district, with the offices of North Warwickshire Borough Council located in the town.

Hinckley and Bosworth is a local government district with borough status in south-western Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Its only towns are Hinckley, Earl Shilton and Market Bosworth. Villages include Barwell, Burbage, Stoke Golding, Groby, Shackerstone and Twycross. The population of the Borough at the 2011 census was 105,078.

Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.

Sutton Cheney is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dadlington and Sutton Cheney, in the borough of Hinckley and Bosworth, in the county of Leicestershire, England, near the county border with Warwickshire. In addition to the village of Sutton Cheney itself, the civil parish also contains the villages of Dadlington and Shenton, a number of farms, and the location of the Battle of Bosworth. Its closest large towns are Nuneaton and Hinckley. Its closest market town is Market Bosworth.

Meriden is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. Historically, it is part of Warwickshire and lies between the cities of Birmingham and Coventry. It is located close to the North Warwickshire district border within a green belt of the countryside known as the Meriden Gap and is in the ecclesiastical parish of the Diocese of Coventry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaydon</span> Village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England

Gaydon is a civil parish and village in the Stratford-on-Avon District of Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376, increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census and 530 residents at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre points of the United Kingdom</span>

There has long been debate over the exact location of the geographical centre of the United Kingdom, and its constituent countries, due to the complexity and method of the calculation, such as whether to include offshore islands, and the fact that erosion will cause the position to change over time. There are two main methods of calculating this "centre": either as the centroid of the two-dimensional shape made by the country, or as the point farthest from the boundary of the country. These two methods give quite different answers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillington, Warwickshire</span> Human settlement in England

Lillington is a suburb of Leamington Spa, in the civil parish of Royal Leamington Spa, in the Warwick District in the county of Warwickshire, England. Historically a village which existed before the time of the Domesday Book (1086), it was incorporated into the borough of Leamington in 1890. Lillington is a ward of Warwick District Council and Royal Leamington Spa Town Council.

Morton is a civil parish and village, three miles north of Alfreton in North East Derbyshire, Derbyshire, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 1,195.

Witherley is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The civil parish of Witherley includes Atterton, Fenny Drayton, and Ratcliffe Culey as well as the village of Witherley itself. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,373.

Ratcliffe Culey is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherley, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in Leicestershire, England, near the county boundary with Warwickshire. In 1931 the parish had a population of 184.

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2011 census had a population of 15,313. Together with West Bletchley, it forms the Bletchley built-up area.

Stoke Golding is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England, close to the county border with Warwickshire. According to the 2001 census, the total population was 1,721 in just over 700 houses. The population at the 2011 census was 1,684 in 723 households. The village is 16 miles (26 km) from the city of Leicester, about 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Hinckley and 4 miles (6.4 km) from Fenny Drayton. The village is bordered on one side by the Ashby Canal, well-used for recreational purposes.

Exhall is a village and suburb of Bedworth in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It forms part of the Coventry and Bedworth urban area and is contiguous with the Coventry suburbs of Longford and Hawkesbury Village.

Shenton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dadlington and Sutton Cheney, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, situated 2.20 miles (3.54 km) south-west of Market Bosworth. Shenton was formerly a chapelry and township of the parish of Market Bosworth. The settlement is almost entirely agricultural, containing several farms. Much of the land has been in the same family since William Wollaston purchased the manor in 1625. It is essentially a privately owned estate village and has seen comparatively little modern development. It has been designated a conservation area. The settlement lies either side of the Sence Brook, which is crossed by a picturesque Victorian bridge. The area is fairly flat, and subject to flooding. In 1931 the parish had a population of 154.

Minshull Vernon is a hamlet and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The hamlet lies 3 miles (5 km) to the north west of Crewe, south east of Winsford and south west of Middlewich. The parish also includes the small settlements of Bradfield Green, Eardswick, Hoolgrave, Minshull Hill, Walley's Green and Weaver Bank. The total population of the civil parish is somewhat over 200, measured at 391 in the Census 2011. Nearby villages include Church Minshull, Warmingham and Wimboldsley.

The River Sence is a river which flows in Leicestershire, England. The tributaries of the Sence, including the Saint and Tweed, fan out over much of western Leicestershire from Charnwood Forest and Coalville in the north-east to Hinckley and almost to Watling Street in the south and south-west. Its watershed almost coincides with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough of Leicestershire, which was formed in 1974 by amalgamation of Market Bosworth Rural District and Hinckley Urban District. It flows into the Anker, which in turn flows into the River Tame. It is part of the wider River Trent catchment, which covers much of central England. In 1881, Sebastian Evans wrote that the usual names for this river were Shenton Brook and Sibson Brook.

Congerstone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shackerstone, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in Leicestershire, England. It is three miles north west of Market Bosworth, of which it was historically a daughter parish. It is near the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal and the A444 road. In 1931 the parish had a population of 209.

Lindley Hall Farm is a farm in Leicestershire, England, in close proximity to Fenny Drayton and Higham on the Hill. The farm is owned by Stephen Farmer. It has been best known as the geographical centre of England since the Ordnance Survey's investigation in 2002. A plaque has been erected by the Ordnance Survey denoting the geographical central point and disputing the historically believed idea that Meriden was the geographical centre.

References

↑ OS Explorer Map 232: Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000): ISBN 0 319 46404 0
↑ "Population statistics Fenny Drayton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 26 December 2022.
↑ "Relationships and changes Fenny Drayton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
↑ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
↑ "Listing text. Retrieved 24 October 2020". Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
↑ Nigel Smith: Introduction. In: (George Fox: The Journal, p. 3, London: Penguin Books, 1998), p. x. "My father's name was Christopher Fox; he was by profession a weaver, an honest man; and there was a seed of God in him. The neighbours called him Righteous Christer."
↑ Haran, Brady (22 October 2002). "A tale of two centres". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
↑ "Meriden: Centre of England" (PDF). meridenparishcouncil.org.u. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

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[EX240-1] OS Explorer Map 232: Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000): ISBN 0 319 46404 0

[2] "Population statistics Fenny Drayton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[3] "Relationships and changes Fenny Drayton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[4] "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

[5] "Listing text. Retrieved 24 October 2020". Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.

[6] Nigel Smith: Introduction. In: (George Fox: The Journal, p. 3, London: Penguin Books, 1998), p. x. "My father's name was Christopher Fox; he was by profession a weaver, an honest man; and there was a seed of God in him. The neighbours called him Righteous Christer."

[BBC_2-7] Haran, Brady (22 October 2002). "A tale of two centres". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2009.

[8] "Meriden: Centre of England" (PDF). meridenparishcouncil.org.u. Retrieved 13 December 2021.

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