 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2018) |
Whitley is a suburb of southern Coventry in the West Midlands of England and a major centre of the British automotive corporation Jaguar Land Rover. The name Whitley is said to mean "from the white meadow". [1]
From 1938 to 1951, Church of England worship had been held in the chapel in the grounds of Whitley Abbey. Prior to that, services had been held in several temporary locations. In 1951 a dual-purpose church/community hall was constructed and opened on Abbey Road. In 1967, work on a new St James' Church and vicarage was started, alongside the previous building. The new church opened in 1968, the old church becoming the church hall.
Until the turn of the 19th century, Whitley had its own identity based around a principal grand house which was built in the 14th century. Contrary to popular belief, it was this house which bore the name "Whitley Abbey" and not a monastic residence. Several changes and additions to the house took place over the following centuries until the entire estate was sold in 1924, and the house fell into disrepair. Planning permission was granted during the 1950s to build Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School on the site, which was later demolished to make way for Whitley Abbey Community School later named Whitley Business & Enterprise College, but was recently re-opened by Princess Anne and is now called Whitley Academy. It is one of the seven RSA Academies in the country, all in the West Midlands. [2]
Whitley Academy (formerly Whitley Abbey Community School) opened on 13 October 2000, replacing the former Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School built in the 1950s, which was one of the first comprehensive schools in Coventry. In July 2007, Whitley Abbey Community School gained specialist status in Business and Enterprise and was renamed Whitley Abbey Business and Enterprise College. On 1 July 2011 Whitley Abbey Business and Enterprise College became an Academy and was renamed to 'Whitley Academy'. The new academy was formally opened on 13 March 2012 by Anne, Princess Royal and is part of the RSA. [3]
The original factory of the Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft company was at Whitley. In the late 1930s, the buildings and associated airfield were found to be too small for modern aircraft and the operation moved to nearby Baginton Airfield, now Coventry Airport. [4] The Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber aircraft was named after the plant in 1935. [5]
During the Second World War, Whitley Common was used to safely dispose of unexploded bombs dropped by the German Air Force. In October 1940, British Army Officer Sandy Campbell died here while disposing of a bomb after the Coventry Blitz.
Whitley was the home to Coventry Zoo from 1966 until 1980. A David Lloyd Leisure complex, originally built in 1983, currently occupies the site. [6]
Coventry is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by Coventry City Council.
Nuneaton is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, located adjacent to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east. Nuneaton's population at the 2021 census was 94,634, an increase from 86,552 at the 2011 census making it the largest town in Warwickshire.
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Alongside the Vickers Wellington and the Handley Page Hampden, the Whitley was developed during the mid-1930s according to Air Ministry Specification B.3/34, which it was subsequently selected to meet. In 1937, the Whitley formally entered into RAF squadron service; it was the first of the three medium bombers to be introduced.
This article is about the history of Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England.
John Davenport Siddeley, 1st Baron Kenilworth, was a pioneer of the motor industry in the United Kingdom, manufacturing aero engines and airframes as well as motor vehicles.
Coventry Airport is located three nautical miles south-southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England. The airport is operated and licensed by Coventry Airport Limited. Its CAA Ordinary Licence allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
Walsgrave on Sowe, or simply Walsgrave, is a suburban district situated approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of central Coventry, West Midlands, central England. Although it now experiences very little flooding, it was built on marshlands. However, due to urban growth, it is now an outer suburb of Coventry, south-west of the villages of Ansty and Shilton. Walsgrave on Sowe neighbours the Potters Green, Clifford Park, Woodway Park, Wyken, Henley Green and Mount Pleasant areas of Coventry, and is in the Henley ward of the city, although Walsgrave-on-Sowe was formerly in the Wyken Ward prior to ward changes made in 2003 by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).
Whitley may refer to:
Berkswell railway station, in the West Midlands of England, takes its name from the nearby village of Berkswell although it is located on the northern edge of the village of Balsall Common. The station originally opened in 1844 as Docker's Lane, changed to Berkswell on 1 January 1853, then to Berkswell & Balsall Common on 1 February 1928 before reverting to Berkswell again in 1955.
Berkswell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England. Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the western city boundary of Coventry, at Eastern Green. It is situated about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Coventry city centre, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) east of central Solihull, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Meriden and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Balsall Common.
Willenhall is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England.
Stivichall or Styvechale is a suburb of the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England. It is a mainly residential area in the south of the city.
The Whitley plant, situated in Whitley, Coventry, United Kingdom, is the headquarters and one of the engineering centres of Jaguar Land Rover. The facility is a fully integrated design, research and development centre and is used for the design and development of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
Foleshill is a suburb in the north of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. Longford, Courthouse Green and Rowley Green are to its north and Keresley is to its west. The population of the Ward at the 2011 census was 19,943.
Whitley Academy was a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Whitley, Coventry, England. The school was rebuilt and opened on 13 October 2000, replacing the former Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School built in the 1950s, which was one of the first comprehensive schools in Coventry. As of 28 January 2021, the school is permanently closed.
Royal Air Force Long Marston or more simply RAF Long Marston is a former Royal Air Force station, that was opened in 1941 in the county of Warwickshire.
Royal Air Force Llandwrog or, more simply, RAF Llandwrog is a former Royal Air Force station located at Llandwrog, southwest of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales. The site opened in January 1941 as a RAF Bomber Command airfield for training gunners, radio operators and navigators and closed after the end of the Second World War in 1945. It reopened in 1969 and remains in civil operation today as Caernarfon Airport.
Royal Air Force Ansty or RAF Ansty is a former Royal Air Force station located 5 miles (8 km) east of Coventry city centre, Warwickshire, England, 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Rugby, Warwickshire. The airfield was opened in 1936 and after training many pupils closed in 1953.
Royal Air Force Bitteswell or more simply RAF Bitteswell is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located 2.0 miles (3.2 km) west of Lutterworth, Leicestershire and 6.1 miles (9.8 km) north of Rugby, Warwickshire, England.