Baginton

Baginton

View along Coventry Road, Baginton showing buildings about three miles away in Coventry City centre on the horizon
Baginton

 Baginton shown within Warwickshire
Population 801 (2001)
OS grid reference SP3474
Parish Baginton
District Warwick
Shire county Warwickshire
Region West Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town KENILWORTH
Postcode district CV8
Dialling code 024
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament Rugby and Kenilworth
List of places: UK • England • Warwickshire

Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry of the West Midlands county.[1] With a population of 801 (2001 Census), Baginton village is four miles (6.5 km) south of Coventry city centre and seven miles (11 km) north of Leamington Spa. The Lucy Price playing field is situated centrally in the village.

Contents

Geography and administration

Coventry Airport (built 1936), the Lunt Roman Fort and the ancient "Baginton oak" tree are within the village, whilst the Midland Air Museum and Coventry Railway Centre are just outside Baginton.

The road from Baginton to South Coventry passes over the River Sowe near an old mill.

History

The Domesday Book records that in the 11th century Baginton consisted of 15 households and a mill.

Coventry Airport

Main article: Coventry Airport

Baginton is home to Coventry Airport, which lies just southeast of the village. First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome, it has been used for general aviation, flight training, and commercial freight and passenger flights. It had a grass surface for aeroplanes to land and take off.[2] With World War II it became a fighter base. By October 1941 308 Polish squadron were based at Baginton.[3]

The Midland Air Museum on Rowley Road is adjacent to the northern boundary of Coventry Airport.

Landmarks

Lunt Fort

Main article: Lunt Fort

The remains of the ancient Roman Lunt Fort have been found in Baginton on the south side of the village. Parts of the fort were reconstructed in the 1970s, and it has become a popular site for school visits, as well as holding activity days during the summer.

Church of St John the Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is situated in the old part of Baginton. A scenic footpath starts near the church and leads to Stoneleigh.

Baginton Castle and Fish Ponds

Henry 'Hotspur' Percy was imprisoned at Baginton castle following his defeat at the Battle of Shrewsbury. [4] The ruin that can be seen is of a late fourteenth-century house, but it is not well known due to its location in an area of woodland on private land. If Baginton Castle did exist here prior to this house, there is no sign of its ruins. The area was fenced off in 2006, and now the ruins and former Fish Ponds can be viewed by arrangement with the local farmer who owns the land.

Baginton Castle and Fish Ponds are Ancient Scheduled Monuments (Numbers: 21540-1 and 21540-2).

Baginton oak tree

Baginton is the site of an old oak tree which is often called the Baginton oak. It is about 300 – 350 years old and is thought to be one of the oldest trees in Warwickshire. A nearby public house is called The Oak.

There is also an old proverb about a boy called Elliott who sits under the tree when he has to contemplate decisions.

Gallery

References

  1. ^ AA Street by Street. Coventry Rugby (2nd edition (May 2003) ed.). AA Publishing. pp. 53–4. ISBN 0749539739. 
  2. ^ Evans, Ann. Remember when: Sheep grazed quietly in Baginton's lanes Coventry Telegraph 13 January 2004
  3. ^ James Hutchison, ‘Thomas, Forest Frederic Edward Yeo-(1902–1964)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2010
  4. ^ J. M. W. Bean, ‘Percy, Henry, first earl of Northumberland (1341–1408)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005

External links

Warwick district towns, parishes and settlements
Towns
Parishes, settlements