Warwickshire

Last updated

Warwickshire contains a large expanse of green belt area, surrounding the West Midlands and Coventry conurbations, and was first drawn up from the 1950s.[ clarification needed ] All the county's districts contain some portion of the belt.

Places of interest

Warwickshire
Kenilworth Castle (cropped).jpg
George Eliot statue cropped 6.19.jpg
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon - geograph.org.uk - 3112763.jpg
Warwickshire UK locator map 2010.svg
Ceremonial Warwickshire within England
Warwickshire - British Isles.svg
Historic Warwickshire in the British Isles
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region West Midlands
Established Ancient
Time zone UTC+0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
UK Parliament 6 MPs
Largest town Nuneaton (ceremonial) Birmingham (historic)
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant Timothy Cox
High Sheriff Sophie Elizabeth Hilleary [1] (2023–24)
Area
[2]
1,975 km2 (763 sq mi)
  Rank 31st of 48
Population 
(2022) [2]
607,604
  Rank 39th of 48
  Density308/km2 (800/sq mi)
Ethnicity
92.8% White
4.6% Asian
1.5% Mixed
0.8% Black
0.4% Other [3]
Warwick Castle Warwick Castle May 2016.jpg
Warwick Castle
Chesterton Windmill Chesterton Windmill, Chesterton.jpg
Chesterton Windmill

Economy

Warwickshire has a strong and growing economy with the automotive industry being a major contributor. In the north, BMW's Hams Hall plant employs over 1,000 people, [16] while Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda have headquarters, including a giant advanced production creation centre, [17] at Gaydon in the south.

Warwickshire is also establishing a growing reputation as a global hub of the video game industry. [18] One of Britain's oldest still-running game studios, Codemasters, has operated out of Southam for decades; the greater "Silicon Spa" [19] area, including Southam, Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick, is now home to dozens of game studios which employ a combined total of over 2,000 highly skilled people, equating to more than 10% of the UK's games development workforce. [20]

Increasingly the region is establishing itself as one of the leading areas in battery technology with major developments announced in 2021 that include a £130 million UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) [21] based in Coventry.

Tourism is also a key area of employment with country parks, rural areas and historic towns across the county. It generates a total business turnover of over £1 billion to the local economy and supports almost 20,000 jobs. [22]

Settlements

Warwickshire UK location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
BHX

Red pog.svg 18 of the 20 largest settlements of Warwickshire, see the green section for Bidford and Wellesbourne. District centres in yellow.
Orange pog.svg Cities which were historically in (or partially in) the county of Warwickshire. [23] [24]  – Orange.
Green pog.svg Settlements which have recently been targeted for planned population growth to become larger, suburban villages/towns, across the current and historic county boundaries. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]  – Green.

Main Warwickshire towns and villages, with a population of at least 5,000:

History

Warwickshire in 1832 Warwickshire Administrative 1832.png
Warwickshire in 1832
Stratford-upon-Avon StratfordAvon20040717.jpg
Stratford-upon-Avon
Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle gatehouse landscape.jpg
Kenilworth Castle

Warwickshire came into being as a division of the kingdom of Mercia in the early 11th century. The first reference to Warwickshire was in 1001, as Wæringscīr, named after Warwick. The prefix wara- is the genitive plural of the Old English noun waru, which means "those that care for, watch, guard, protect, or defend". It was used as an endonym by both Goths [a] and Jutes. [b] The suffix -wick is an Old English cognate (-wic) for the Latin word for village, vicus. Near Warwick are the villages of Long Itchington and Bishop's Itchington along the River Itchen. [c]

During the Middle Ages Warwickshire was dominated by Coventry, at the time one of the most important cities in England because of its prominence in the textiles trade. Warwickshire played a key part in the English Civil War, with the Battle of Edgehill and other skirmishes taking place in the county. During the Industrial Revolution Warwickshire became one of Britain's foremost industrial counties, with the large industrial cities of Birmingham and Coventry within its boundaries.

Boundary changes

Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick from Church Street St Mary's church in Church Street, geograph 6862602 by Steve Daniels.jpg
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick from Church Street

Local government

The coat of arms of Warwickshire County Council Arms of Warwickshire County Council.svg
The coat of arms of Warwickshire County Council

Like most English shire counties, Warwickshire has a two-tier local government of a county council, and five districts each having a district or borough council. These districts are: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford, and Warwick (see map). The county and district councils are responsible for providing different services.

Atherstone is the headquarters of the North Warwickshire district, Nuneaton is headquarters of the Nuneaton and Bedworth District and Leamington Spa is the headquarters of the Warwick district.

Warwickshire County Council, based in Warwick is elected every four years. The last election was the held on 6 May 2021 and resulted in a Conservative majority. The county council operates a cabinet-style council. The county council is made of 57 councillors, who decide upon the budget and appoints the council leader. The council leader selects 8 councillors and together they form the cabinet. The Leader assigns portfolios on which cabinet members make decisions. Key decisions are made by the whole cabinet while others are made only by the portfolio holders for relevant areas. [36]

In addition many small towns and villages have their own town council or parish council as the most local tier of local government.

Warwickshire is policed by the Warwickshire Police. The force is governed by the elected Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Proposed local government reorganisation

In August 2020 Warwickshire County Council put forward proposals for the five district and borough councils in the county to be abolished and replaced with a single county-wide unitary authority. [37] This prompted a backlash from the district and borough councils who commissioned their own report, which argued in favour of Warwickshire being split into two unitary authorities, one for the north of the county, covering the current districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rugby, and one for the south of the county, covering Warwick and Stratford districts. [38] In September 2020, it was agreed that both proposals would be sent for consideration to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. [39]

Education

In the state sector, children start school in the school year in which they turn five. They stay at primary school for seven years (although this varies even within the county, as some people have previously gone for four years and then spent another four years at a 'middle school') until they are eleven. Warwickshire is one of 36 local authorities in England to still maintain the grammar school system in two districts: Stratford-on-Avon and Rugby. In the final year of primary school, children are given the opportunity of sitting the 11-plus exam to compete for a place at one of the 5 grammar schools: Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls; King Edward VI School, a boys' school from year 7–11 with a mixed Sixth-Form; Lawrence Sheriff Grammar School for Boys; Rugby High School for Girls and Alcester Grammar School (mixed). The Warwickshire 11+ selection test consists of two papers, each containing a mixture of verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning multiple-choice questions. [40]

Warwickshire contains four colleges of further education: North Warwickshire & Hinckley College, King Edward VI Sixth Form College (K.E.G.S) in Nuneaton, Stratford-upon-Avon College and the Warwickshire College Group an institution made up of six main separate colleges that have merged (Leamington Centre, Rugby Centre, Moreton Morrell Centre, Pershore College, Henley-in-Arden Centre and the Trident Centre in Warwick).

There are also six independent senior schools within the county, namely: Rugby School, Warwick School, Princethorpe College, Kingsley School, Arnold Lodge School (both in Leamington Spa), and the King's High School For Girls (in Warwick).

A number of the Warwickshire grammar and independent schools have historical significance. King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon still uses 13th century school buildings and is the likely school of William Shakespeare, Rugby School was founded in 1567 and Warwick School was founded c.914 AD, which makes it the oldest surviving boys' school in the country. Rugby School is one of nine schools that were defined as the "great" English public schools by the Public Schools Act 1868, and is a member of the Rugby Group. Rugby School, Princethorpe College and Warwick School are HMC schools, with the Headmaster from each school attending the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

There are no universities per se in Warwickshire, though the University of Warwick forms part of the border with Warwickshire on the southern edge of the city of Coventry. Some areas of the University of Warwick are within the boundaries of Warwickshire including Lakeside Village and Warwick Business School [41] The university has a small campus near Wellesbourne which houses the Warwick Horticultural Research Centre and an Innovation Centre. [42]

Transport

Roads

Several major motorways run through Warwickshire; these are:

Other major trunk routes in Warwickshire include:

Railway

The West Coast Main Line at Rugby Rugby railway station MMB 23 390XXX.jpg
The West Coast Main Line at Rugby

Main line routes

Two main railway lines pass through Warwickshire:

Other lines

Other railway lines in Warwickshire include:

Between 1965 and 2018, the only major town in Warwickshire without a station was Kenilworth. The Leamington to Coventry line passes through the town, but the station was closed as part of the Beeching cuts. Kenilworth railway station was rebuilt and opened in April 2018, [43] with an hourly service to Coventry and to Leamington provided by West Midlands Trains.

High Speed 2

HS2 construction near Leamington Spa in August 2021 HS2 construction near Leamington Spa, aerial 2021 (3), geograph 6947416 by Chris.jpg
HS2 construction near Leamington Spa in August 2021

The new High Speed 2 (HS2) line is a long-distance route that is being constructed through Warwickshire; however, there will be no stations in the county. It will pass south of Southam, then between Kenilworth and Coventry, before running into the West Midlands towards Birmingham. [44]

Air

Coventry Airport is located in the Warwickshire village of Baginton.

Canals and waterways

The Oxford Canal at Napton-on-the-Hill Oxford Canal from Napton.jpg
The Oxford Canal at Napton-on-the-Hill

Canals and navigable waterways in Warwickshire include:

Media

Television

The county is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central from its studios in Birmingham. Television signals are received from either the Lark Stoke or Sutton Coldfield TV transmitters. [48] [49]

Radio

BBC Local Radio for the county is served by BBC CWR which broadcast from its studios in Coventry. However, the North Warwickshire area is served by BBC Radio WM. County-wide commercial radio stations are Capital Mid-Counties, Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire, Fresh (Coventry & Warwickshire), Heart West Midlands and Greatest Hits Radio Midlands.

Sport

Cycling

Warwickshire's rural roads, canal towpaths and historic towns are increasingly popular with cycling enthusiasts. [50] Its reputation as a major cycling destination has been bolstered in recent years having hosted a stage of the Women's Tour since 2016 [51] and the Men's Tour of Britain in 2018 and 2019. [52]

In 2022, St Nicholas Park in Warwick hosted the Elite Men's and Women's Road Race as part of the Commonwealth Games that took place in Birmingham. [53]

Association football

Warwickshire has no Football League clubs. As of the 2022–23 season, the highest-placed team is Leamington, who play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. A level below, in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, are Nuneaton Borough and Stratford Town. Other clubs include Rugby Town, Bedworth United, Southam United, Racing Club Warwick, Coleshill Town, Atherstone Town and Nuneaton Griff; all of these are affiliated to the Birmingham FA.

Aston Villa, a Premier League team, and Football League clubs Birmingham City and Coventry City are located within the historic boundaries of Warwickshire; National League club Solihull Moors and Southern League Division One Central club Sutton Coldfield Town are also sited in this area.

Parkrun

There are six Saturday morning 5 km parkruns in Warwickshire for all ages and abilities: Leamington, Stratford upon Avon, Rugby, Bedworth, Southam and Kingsbury. There are also three Sunday 2 km junior events at Stratford upon Avon, Rugby and Warwick. [54]

Cricket

Warwickshire County Cricket Club play at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, which was historically part of Warwickshire. Notable English players for the side have been Eric Hollies, M.J.K. Smith, Bob Willis, Dennis Amiss, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes. Overseas players have included Alvin Kallicharran, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock. In 2014, the club partly severed its links to the county by renaming its Twenty20 side the Birmingham Bears , much to the chagrin of many supporters. [55]

Other grounds in modern-day Warwickshire which have hosted first-class cricket matches are:

Gaelic sports

The Warwickshire County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (or Warwickshire GAA) is one of the county boards outside Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic games in Warwickshire. The county board is also responsible for the Warwickshire inter-county teams. They play their home games at Páirc na hÉireann.

Polo

The Dallas Burston Polo Club is a six-pitch polo club located near Southam.

Water polo

Warwick Water Polo club play in the Midland League, and train in Warwick, Banbury and Coventry. [56]

Freedom of the county

In March 2014 the freedom of the county was bestowed on the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The honour was officially bestowed following a parade through Warwick on 6 June 2014. [57]

People

Warwickshire was the birthplace of William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon. Road signs at the county boundary describe Warwickshire as "Shakespeare's County". The county has produced figures such as Aleister Crowley (from Leamington Spa), George Eliot and Ken Loach (from Nuneaton), Rupert Brooke (from Rugby), and Michael Drayton (from Hartshill). The poet Philip Larkin lived in Warwick (born in nearby Coventry). Folk musician Nick Drake lived and died in Tanworth-in-Arden. Frank Whittle the inventor of the jet engine was born in Coventry and was closely associated with Warwickshire, growing up in Leamington Spa, and carrying out much of his work at Rugby. [58] [59]

See also

Notes

  1. Warmia and Warsaw.
  2. Meonwara.
  3. Itchen derives from Ytene, the genitive plural of Yte the exonym of "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". [35] Various place-names identify locations as Jutish. These include Bishopstoke (Ytingstoc), the River Itchen (Ytene) and the Meon Valley (Ytedene).

References

  1. "Warwickshire 2023/2024". High Sheriffs' Association of England and Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Mid-2022 population estimates by Lieutenancy areas (as at 1997) for England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  3. "2011 Census: Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales" (XLS). Ons.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  5. "Warwickshire | county, England, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. Plumplot. "Warwickshire population stats in maps and graphs". www.plumplot.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. Proceedings of the Cotteswold Naturalists' Field Club, v.14, (1903), p.217
  8. Muir, Jonny (2011). The UK's County Tops: Reaching the top of 91 historic counties. Cicerone. ISBN   9781849655538.
  9. Bathurst, David (2012). Walking the county high points of England. Chichester: Summersdale. pp. 98–104. ISBN   978-1-84-953239-6.
  10. "2011 Census – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  11. "Where was Shakespeare's Forest of Arden?". National Trust. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  12. www.abcounties.com (22 April 2021). "Warwickshire Day – 23rd April". Association of British Counties. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  13. "Warwickshire County Cricket Club". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  14. "UK Flag Registry- Warwickshire". Flag Institute. 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  15. "British County Flags – Warwickshire". British County Flags. 2016. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  16. "Careers". www.bmwgroup-werke.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  17. "Jaguar Land Rover opens giant Advanced Production Creation Centre". Autocar. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  18. Kersley, Andrew. "How a small town in the Midlands became a gaming powerhouse". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978 . Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  19. "Leamington Spa: At the heart of the UK games industry". MCV/DEVELOP. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  20. "home | Silicon Spa – Leamington Spa Gaming Cluster". backspaceuk.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  21. "Background". UKBIC. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  22. "Tourism in South Warwickshire | Stratford-on-Avon District Council". www.stratford.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  23. UKBMD. "Birmingham Registration District". ukbmd.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  24. UKBMD. "Coventry Registration District". ukbmd.org.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  25. "Garden villages: Locations of first 14 announced". BBC News. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  26. Kenilworth Nub News. "Where are the 12 potential new settlements in South Warwickshire?". kenilworth.nub.news. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  27. The Business Magazine UK. "Stratford-upon-Avon's garden village development takes shape". thebusinessmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  28. Solihull Observer. "Balsall Common villagers planning for future growth by 60%". solihullobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  29. Bishop's Tachbrook Parish Council. "Bishop's Tachbrook Neighbourhood Plan". bishopstachbrook.com. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  30. The Business Magazine UK. "Construction underway of local centre in Bishop's Tachbrook, Warwickshire". thebusinessmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  31. Wellesbourne Airfield. "Wellesbourne Airfield: Outline Proposals for a Sustainable Urban Extension to Wellesbourne" (PDF). wellesbourneairfield.com. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  32. Bidford-On-Avon Parish Council. "Bidford-On-Avon Parish Neighbourhood Plan 2011–2031" (PDF). bidfordonavon-pc.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  33. Bishop's Tachbrook.com. "South Warwickshire Local Plan – Update 1". bishopstachbrook.com. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  34. Warwick District Council. "Interactive map published for SWLP Preferred Options Consultation". southwarwickshire.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  35. Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-0-19-280139-5.
  36. "How the County Council makes decisions". Warwickshire County Council. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  37. "Local councils in Warwickshire could be scrapped". Coventry Telegraph. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  38. "Warwickshire could be split into north and south councils". Rugby Advertiser. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  39. "After a seven-hour long meeting, councillors decide on the next step for the future of local councils in Warwickshire". Rugby Advertiser. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  40. Tuckwell, Paul. "About the 11+ test". Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  41. "Taxis to and from campus | University of Warwick". warwick.ac.uk.
  42. "Wellesbourne Innovation Campus". warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  43. "Kenilworth gets its first train service in more than half a century as new station opens | West Midlands Rail Executive". www.wmre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  44. "The route of Phase 1 of the HS2 using an Ordnance Survey map". TheHS2. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  45. "Avon Navigation Trust" . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  46. "Plans to restore River Avon boat route to Warwick". BBC News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  47. "Avon Navigation Scheme fails to win district council support". Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  48. "Full Freeview on the Lark Stoke (Gloucestershire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  49. "Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  50. "Cycling in Warwickshire | Cycling UK". www.cyclinguk.org. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  51. "Stage Three". The Women's Tour. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  52. "Warwick Racecourse hosts OVO Energy Tour of Britain in September". Tour of Britain. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  53. "Warwick's St Nicholas Park to host start and finish of cycling road race at 2022 Commonwealth Games". Stratford Herald. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  54. "Find a Parkrun: Warwickshire". findarace Ltd. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  55. Halford, Brian (25 February 2014). "Warwickshire's T20 'Birmingham Bears' name is confirmed". Birmingham Mail . Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  56. "Home page". Warwick Water Polo Club. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  57. "Royal Fusiliers honoured with Freedom of Warwickshire". BBC News . BBC. 28 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  58. "Sir Frank Whittle, Inventor of the Jet Engine". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  59. "Frank Whittle (1907–1996)". History. BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
Template:Attached KML/Warwickshire
KML is from Wikidata