Wellesbourne
Encyclopedia
Wellesbourne is a large village
and civil parish
in the county of Warwickshire
, in the West Midlands
region of the UK. In the 2001 census
the parish, which also includes the village of Walton
, had a population of 5,691 (2008 est. 6,400).
With the rapid increase in new housing and industrial developments since the 1990s, Wellesbourne is increasingly referred to as a small commuter town
servicing its larger neighbours such as Stratford-upon-Avon
, Warwick
, Leamington Spa
and Banbury
, and a little further afield, the cities of Coventry
and Birmingham
.
Wellesbourne sits on the A429 road
, and is located around seven miles south of Warwick
and five miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon
. Nearby are the villages of Walton
and Kineton
.
.
In May 1140 Wellesbourne was hit by a tornado
- one of the earliest recorded in the British Isles. It damaged several buildings and killed a woman.
Wellesbourne was once two villages – Wellesbourne Mountford and Wellesbourne Hastings, the two villages being divided by the River Dene
. In 1947 the two parishes were merged, and are now considered to be a single village. For these historical reasons Wellesbourne has two village centres, Chestnut Square and the Precinct respectively.
Following a Boundary Change most of Wellesbourne is now in the Parliamentary Constituency of Kenilworth and Southam. Two roads, Hammond Green and Ramsay Green built west of the old Parish Boundary are currently still attached to Stratford.
Perhaps the most significant event in Wellesbourne's history was the founding in 1872 of the first trade union
for agricultural workers by Joseph Arch
– an event once celebrated by an annual parade, which it was hoped to be revived in 2010. There was little interest from the Trade Unions which once featured quite prominently, but the Wellesbourne Action Group still organises a walk from Barford
to Wellesbourne around the 9th of June each year along the Joseph Arch Way. There is a somewhat unusual memorial in the form of a plaque in the village bus shelter.
With the 3 Stratford-upon-Avon branches of the University of the Third Age (U3A) at capacity a new group was needed for Wellesbourne and the surrounding area, so the Dene Valley U3A was formed in 2009. Now 2 years old its numbers have passed the 300 mark and new Interest Groups are being formed every month.
The needs and wants of the people of Wellesbourne and Walton are under periodic review, particularly housing and recreation facilities. A survey was undertaken in 2010 resulting in a new Plan. Vision for Wellesbourne was part of this, and set up a website to marshal ideas, but this has now run its course and been allowed to lapse. There is a new proposal, put forward by Commercial Estates Group (CEG) to take forward the idea of putting 175 houses on land off Ettington Road as well as bring back the Football/ Recreation Centre which has fallen into disrepair.
Just outside the village is one of the sites of Horticulture Research International
, formerly the Institute of Horticultural Research and, before that, the National Vegetable Research Station. This is partly operated by the University of Warwick
.
Wellesbourne gained recent publicity when Chedham's Yard, a historic agricultural building featuring a blacksmith
's and wheelwright
's workshops, won BBC TV's Restoration
series in 2006. The Yard is currently undergoing restoration work and a new visitor centre is being built, it will be opening in April 2012.
near Wellesbourne is now a small civil airfield called Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
, also the site of a large market held every Saturday and bank holiday Mondays.
The airfield hosts a Wings and Wheels event each year. In 2009 the event took place on the 19th August and featured the Avro Vulcan XH558
, Avro Vulcan XM655
, Red Arrows
and a number of classic vehicles and military
vehicles. Events took place on Sundays 20 June 2010 and 26 June 2011.
There is also a wartime Museum
which includes a number of aircraft
and a wartime emergency underground bunker
.
, the Roman Catholic and Methodist churches.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the county of Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
region of the UK. In the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
the parish, which also includes the village of Walton
Walton, Warwickshire
Walton is a small hamlet just south of Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, England. It is next to the River Dene and is most notable for Walton Hall which is now an hotel and spa. It is home to the Hamiltons who own the land...
, had a population of 5,691 (2008 est. 6,400).
With the rapid increase in new housing and industrial developments since the 1990s, Wellesbourne is increasingly referred to as a small commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
servicing its larger neighbours such as Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
, Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
and Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, and a little further afield, the cities of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Wellesbourne sits on the A429 road
A429 road
The A429 is a main road in England that runs in a north-northeasterly direction from junction 17 of the M4 motorway to Coventry in the West Midlands, by way of Malmesbury, Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, east of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and Kenilworth.For much of its length...
, and is located around seven miles south of Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
and five miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. Nearby are the villages of Walton
Walton, Warwickshire
Walton is a small hamlet just south of Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, England. It is next to the River Dene and is most notable for Walton Hall which is now an hotel and spa. It is home to the Hamiltons who own the land...
and Kineton
Kineton
Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278....
.
History
The name was first recorded in 862 as Wallesburam. It was later referred to as Walesborne in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
In May 1140 Wellesbourne was hit by a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
- one of the earliest recorded in the British Isles. It damaged several buildings and killed a woman.
Wellesbourne was once two villages – Wellesbourne Mountford and Wellesbourne Hastings, the two villages being divided by the River Dene
River Dene
The River Dene is a small river in Warwickshire, England.It is a tributary of the Avon, which it joins at Charlecote Park. The headwaters of the River Dene rise on the western slopes of the Burton Dassett Hills and flow westward towards Kineton...
. In 1947 the two parishes were merged, and are now considered to be a single village. For these historical reasons Wellesbourne has two village centres, Chestnut Square and the Precinct respectively.
Following a Boundary Change most of Wellesbourne is now in the Parliamentary Constituency of Kenilworth and Southam. Two roads, Hammond Green and Ramsay Green built west of the old Parish Boundary are currently still attached to Stratford.
Perhaps the most significant event in Wellesbourne's history was the founding in 1872 of the first trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
for agricultural workers by Joseph Arch
Joseph Arch
Joseph Arch was an English politician, born in Barford, Warwickshire who played a key role in what Karl Marx called the "Great awakening" of the agricultural workers in 1872.-Biography:...
– an event once celebrated by an annual parade, which it was hoped to be revived in 2010. There was little interest from the Trade Unions which once featured quite prominently, but the Wellesbourne Action Group still organises a walk from Barford
Barford, Warwickshire
Barford is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, about three miles south of Warwick. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,171...
to Wellesbourne around the 9th of June each year along the Joseph Arch Way. There is a somewhat unusual memorial in the form of a plaque in the village bus shelter.
With the 3 Stratford-upon-Avon branches of the University of the Third Age (U3A) at capacity a new group was needed for Wellesbourne and the surrounding area, so the Dene Valley U3A was formed in 2009. Now 2 years old its numbers have passed the 300 mark and new Interest Groups are being formed every month.
The needs and wants of the people of Wellesbourne and Walton are under periodic review, particularly housing and recreation facilities. A survey was undertaken in 2010 resulting in a new Plan. Vision for Wellesbourne was part of this, and set up a website to marshal ideas, but this has now run its course and been allowed to lapse. There is a new proposal, put forward by Commercial Estates Group (CEG) to take forward the idea of putting 175 houses on land off Ettington Road as well as bring back the Football/ Recreation Centre which has fallen into disrepair.
Features
lJust outside the village is one of the sites of Horticulture Research International
Horticulture Research International
Warwick HRI, formerly part of Horticulture Research International, is an United Kingdom organisation tasked with carrying out horticultural research and development and transferring the results to industry in England....
, formerly the Institute of Horticultural Research and, before that, the National Vegetable Research Station. This is partly operated by the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
.
Wellesbourne gained recent publicity when Chedham's Yard, a historic agricultural building featuring a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
's and wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
's workshops, won BBC TV's Restoration
Restoration (TV series)
Restoration, Restoration, Restoration is a set of BBC television series where viewers decided on which listed building that was in immediate need of remedial works was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund...
series in 2006. The Yard is currently undergoing restoration work and a new visitor centre is being built, it will be opening in April 2012.
Airfield
The former RAF Wellesbourne MountfordRAF Wellesbourne Mountford
RAF Wellesbourne Mountford was a Royal Air Force station located in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, England, east of Stratford-on-Avon.RAF Wellesbourne Mountford was operational from 1941 to 1964...
near Wellesbourne is now a small civil airfield called Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield
Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield is located in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, England, east of Stratford-on-Avon.It was formerly RAF Wellesbourne Mountford Royal Air Force station, operational from 1941 to 1964...
, also the site of a large market held every Saturday and bank holiday Mondays.
The airfield hosts a Wings and Wheels event each year. In 2009 the event took place on the 19th August and featured the Avro Vulcan XH558
Avro Vulcan XH558
Avro Vulcan XH558 The Spirit Of Great Britain is the only airworthy example of the 134 Avro Vulcan V-bombers that were operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. Vulcan XH558 served with the RAF between 1960 and 1985 in the bomber, maritime reconnaissance and air-to-air refuelling roles...
, Avro Vulcan XM655
Avro Vulcan XM655
Avro Vulcan XM655 is one of two remaining taxiable Avro Vulcans. XM655 is currently owned and maintained by the 655 Maintenance & Preservation Society who keep the plane in a taxiable condition.-History:...
, Red Arrows
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...
and a number of classic vehicles and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
vehicles. Events took place on Sundays 20 June 2010 and 26 June 2011.
There is also a wartime Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
which includes a number of aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and a wartime emergency underground bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
.
Churches
There are three churches in Wellesbourne, St. Peter's parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, the Roman Catholic and Methodist churches.
Sport at Wellesbourne
Wellesbourne plays a variety of sports via established clubs, notably in football (in which Wellesbourne Wanderers FC have won several awards in recent years), cricket and rugby.External links
- BBC News Article
- Chedhams Yard website
- Dene Valley U3A
- Ettington Road, Wellesbourne: CEG's proposals for housing
- History of the National Vegetable Research Station
- Photos of Wellesbourne and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
- St Peter's Church website
- Wellesbourne Action Group website
- Wellesbourne Airfield website
- Wellesbourne CofE Primary School website
- Wellesbourne Parish Council website
- Wellesbourne Village website
- Wellesbourne Wanderers FC website
- Wellesbourne Cricket Club website
- Wellesbourne RFC website