Rowington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. It is five miles north-west of the town of Warwick and five miles south-west of the town of Kenilworth. The parish, which also includes Lowsonford, Pinley and Mousley End,[1] had a population of 925 according to the 2001 UK Census.
The Grand Union Canal runs just south of the village and the M40 motorway is also close by. The Heart of England Way for long-distance walkers passes through the village. The parish church of St. Laurence which dates from medieval times is found on a hill in the centre of the village. In Tudor times Rowington manor was owned by Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England.[2] Possibly the most famous building however is Shakespeare Hall where a branch of William Shakespeare's family is reputed to have lived at the same time he was alive.[3] It was rumoured he wrote As You Like It there.
There were once several windmills in the village but only one remains and its sails have been removed and the building converted into a house. At one time Rowington quarries supplied sandstone for several important buildings including St Philip's Cathedral in Birmingham, the parish church of St Laurence and nearby Baddesley Clinton manor house. No quarries remain in Rowington.[4] The village is home to several farms and livery yards.
James Blyth, Baron Blyth of Rowington once lived in the village and became a life peer in 1999.[5]
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