Church Lawford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Church Lawford | |
  Church Lawford shown within Warwickshire |
|
| Population | c.750 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Rugby |
| Shire county | Warwickshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | COVENTRY |
| Postcode district | CV23 |
| Dialling code | 024 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Rugby and Kenilworth |
| List of places: UK • England • Warwickshire | |
Church Lawford is a village in Warwickshire. It is located just under 4 km west of the town of Rugby and 7 km west of Coventry. The village lies north of the railway between the two and is also north of the main road, the A428. To the north is the River Avon.
The first reference to the village is in the Domesday book of 1086 when the manor house and the mill (now disused) are mentioned. The first parish church, dedicated to St Peter, was built in the 13th century. The current parish church, also St Peter's, was built in 1874. It was earlier in that century that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem "The Village Blacksmith". Church Lawford along with Cambridge, Massachusetts is said to be the inspiration for the poem as the poet visited England for a three-year trip. There was a Royal Air Force training base located 2 km south of the village between 1941 and 1955. There were primary schools in the village between the early 1900s and 1996. The first closed in 1964 and was replaced by a second school which itself shut just over thirty years later.
The village is often mentioned along with the neighbouring village of Long Lawford to the east and the hamlet of King's Newnham to the north although they are completely separate settlements. The population of Church Lawford and King's Newnham combined is around 800. There is an industrial unit business centre to the south of the village. It was opened in 1990. Units range in size from 55 to 218 square metres. The village plant nursery is quite well known locally.
