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Long Lawford

Coordinates: 52°23′03″N 1°18′07″W / 52.384088°N 1.30203°W / 52.384088; -1.30203
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Long Lawford
Main Street, Long Lawford
Long Lawford is located in Warwickshire
Long Lawford
Long Lawford
Location within Warwickshire
Population3,180 (2011)
OS grid referenceSP 472 755
Civil parish
  • Long Lawford
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townRUGBY
Postcode districtCV23
Dialling code01788
PoliceWarwickshire
FireWarwickshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Warwickshire
52°23′03″N 1°18′07″W / 52.384088°N 1.30203°W / 52.384088; -1.30203

Long Lawford is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England, located just west of Rugby, around 1.75 miles (2.82 km) west of Rugby town centre. in 2001 the parish had a population of 2,863, increasing to 3,180 at the 2011 census.[1]

Geography

The village is situated on a ridge overlooking the valley of the River Avon to the north. It is one of four Lawfords in the locality, and is named long because, historically, the village ran along the road between Rugby and Coventry. The other three Lawfords are Church Lawford, to the west, Little Lawford to the north, and Lawford Heath to the south (which is within the parish).[2]

The village sits just north of the A428 road between Rugby and Coventry. The Rugby to Coventry railway line runs through the village, but it has never had its own station.

History

Recent archaeological excavations have found evidence that Long Lawford has been used as a settlement for 2000 years. Excavations of a Celtic Iron Age Village uncovered an iron age sword.[3]

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book referred to as Lelleford (the ford by the elders).[4] By 1332 the name was recorded as Longa Lalleford.[5] Long Lawford and Little Lawford were anciently within the parish of Newbold-on-Avon, but both became separate civil parishes in the 19th century.[6]

The monks of Pipewell were the lords of the manor for over 400 years from 1160, until the monasteries were dissolved, and then their lands here were granted to Edward Boughton in 1542. The Rouse-Boughton family established themselves at nearby Little Lawford Hall, and dominated the life of the village, until Sir Theodosius Boughton, the last male heir of the Boughtons was allegedly murdered there by his brother-in-law in 1780, after which Little Lawford Hall was demolished.[5]

Their lands were then sold to the Caldecott family in 1793, who built a new manor house at Holbrook Grange closer to Long Lawford on the opposite side of the Avon in 1803.[7] Although the house has now changed hands, the influences of the Caldecotts remain, with one of the two village public houses being "The Caldecott Arms".[5]

The village underwent considerable expansion in the 1960s with the construction of a large housing estate to the east of the old village,[8] which turned the village into an effective suburb of Rugby. The village was further expanded with another housing development called Avon Pastures in the 2000s, just off the A428 road. The primary road in this development, 'Tee Tong Road', was named by a Malaysian bidder, who made the highest bid in a Children in Need auction in 2005.[9]

Parish Council

Long Lawford is governed by Long Lawford Parish Council, which consists of currently seven councillors. They meet monthly at the Memorial Hall on Railway Street, on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm.[10] The public and press are allowed to attend these monthly meeting to ask question or watch discussions and proceedings of the Long Lawford Parish Council. All the agendas and minutes are published digitally on their website for all members of the public.[11]

The current Chairman of the Long Lawford Parish Council is Cllr. S. Jones.[12]

Amenities

Long Lawford has a primary school,[13] and a playing field called King George’s Field with a skate park which opened in 2013.[14] It also has a Co-Op Food store situated on Townsend Lane.[15] The two village pubs are the "Lawford Arms" and the "Caldecott Arms" both on Main Street.[16] The village hall and main community centre is the Memorial Hall on Railway Street.[17]

Notable buildings

St John's Church of 1839, disused since 1995.

Holbrook Grange just north of the village is grade II listed.[7]

The main village church of St John, was built in 1839 as a chapel of ease for the main church at nearby Newbold-on-Avon. It was built mainly for the use of servants at nearby Holbrook Grange. The church has been disused since 1995, having been declared unsafe due to structural faults. It is however grade II listed and still standing.[18] Instead the church services now take place at the church hall of 1939 next door.[5] There is also a Methodist Church on School Street, called the Lawford Light House[19]

Folklore

The village and surrounding area is reputedly haunted by a one-armed spectre, known as One-handed Boughton.,[20]

References

  1. ^ "LONG LAWFORD Parish in West Midlands". City Population. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Parish Council - Long Lawford Parish Council". www.longlawfordparishcouncil.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Iron Age items found during Long Lawford dig". The Rugby Advertiser. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  4. ^ "D-block GB-444000-273000 - Long Lawford Village". BBC - Domesday Reloaded. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d The Warwickshire Village Book. Countryside Books. 2000. pp. 111–112. ISBN 1-85306-652-4.
  6. ^ "Parishes: Newbold-on-Avon". British History Online. 1951. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "HOLBROOK GRANGE, LONG LAWFORD". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Long lawford". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. ^ Rob, Ian. "Long Lawford-Tee Tong Road". Geograph.org. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Contact Us - Long Lawford Parish Council". www.longlawfordparishcouncil.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Document Archive - Long Lawford Parish Council". www.longlawfordparishcouncil.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Councillor Details - Long Lawford Parish Council". www.longlawfordparishcouncil.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Long Lawford Primary School". Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Long Lawford Skatepark". skateparks.co.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Co-Op, Long Lawford". Co-Operative Group Ltd. Retrieved 10 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Rob, Ian. "Long Lawford". geograph. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ "The Memorial Hall, Long Lawford". Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Church of St John A Grade II Listed Building in Long Lawford, Rugby, Warwickshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Lawford Light House". www.lawfordlighthouse.org.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Lawford Hall, Little Lawford - Mysterious Britain & Ireland". Mysterious Britain & Ireland. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.

Further reading

Judge, Keith (c. 1996). A History of the Parishes of Long Lawford and Little Lawford, 1754-1995. Privately published. p. 148.

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