Gaydon

Gaydon

Gaydon
Gaydon

 Gaydon shown within Warwickshire
Population 376 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid reference SP370540
District Stratford-on-Avon
Shire county Warwickshire
Region West Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STRATFORD-ON-AVON
Postcode district CV35
Dialling code 01926
Police Warwickshire
Fire Warwickshire
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament Stratford-On-Avon
List of places: UK • England • Warwickshire

Gaydon is a parish and village in Warwickshire, England, close to Leamington Spa. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376.[1]

The village is at the junction of the B4100 (former A41) and B4451 roads, a mile from Junction 12 of the M40 motorway, and is two miles north-east of Kineton.

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Motor Industry

Close by, on the site of former RAF V bomber base of RAF Gaydon, is the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre, one of the Jaguar Land Rover engineering centres (another being at the Whitley plant in Coventry) and the headquarters of Land Rover. Alongside is the Heritage Motor Centre, home to the largest collection of historic British cars in the world, charting the history of the British car industry from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Adjacent to the site is the headquarters of Aston Martin.

Film archive

A disused military base near Gaydon is also home to special vaults housing the highly flammable nitrate film elements of the British Film Institute's BFI National Archive, the world's largest archive of film and television.

Gaydon Village

Gaydon parish is crossed by only two roads of any importance—the Kineton-Southam road, which runs in a north-easterly direction, and the Warwick and Banbury road which crosses it at right angles. The Gaydon Inn stands close to the point of intersection of the two roads, and the main part of the village of Gaydon is disposed along a short loop south of the junction. The Gaydon Inn was famous in the 18th century for its association with violent highwaymen. Unusually for a village of only 300 inhabitants, Gaydon has two pubs, the Gaydon Inn and the Malt Shovel.

Although Gaydon has become something of a commuter village because of its proximity (half a mile) to the M40, which was completed in January 1991, it is undergoing a revival which is looking back to its roots, agriculture and community spirit. There are plans to revive allotments in Gaydon with the backing of the local Parish Council. Just as significant and more advanced is the establishment of a local village shop in the centre of the village to provide local produce to local residents.

The section of the M40 passing Gaydon was considered as the site of a possible motorway service station, with plans first being drawn up in 1986 before being scrapped in 1990 a few months before the motorway's completion.[2]

See also

References

External links