Human settlement in England
Baginton
is a village and
civil parish
in the
Warwick district
of
Warwickshire
, England, and has a common border with the City of
Coventry
/
West Midlands county
.
[1]
With a population of 801 (
2001 Census
), Baginton village is 4 miles (6.4 km) south of central Coventry, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast of
Kenilworth
(its post town) and 7 miles (11 km) north of
Leamington Spa
. The population had reduced slightly to 755 at the
2011 Census
.
[2]
The Lucy Price playing field is situated centrally in the village.
Geography and administration
[
edit
]
Coventry Airport
(built 1936), the
Lunt Roman Fort
and the ancient "Baginton oak" tree are within the village, whilst the
Midland Air Museum
is just outside Baginton. The road from Baginton to southern
Coventry
(the city's
Finham
district) passes over the
River Sowe
near an old mill, which now is inhabited by a
restaurant
and
hotel
called The Old Mill. Baginton is often misspelt / mispronounced as 'Bagington'.
History
[
edit
]
Baginton was populated since at least the
Iron Age
, and the
Domesday Book
of 1086 records that in the 11th century, Baginton consisted of 15 households and a mill.
Baginton Castle
was built around 1397 on the site of a house built during the 6th century, and 15th-16th century earthworks from the former village also survive.
Archaeology
[
edit
]
In December 2019,
Roman
and
Anglo-Saxon
artifacts, including
pottery
,
jugs
, and
jewelry
, were unearthed from burial grounds by archaeologists led by Nigel Page. The team of researchers believed that two of the graves belonged to a "high-status" rank officer and a Roman girl aged 6?12 years old. Findings from the Roman
cremation
burial site of a young girl included four
brooches
, a ring with an image of a
cicada
and a
hair pin
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Coventry Airport
[
edit
]
Baginton is the site of
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.
[6]
With the
Second World War
it became a fighter airfield. By October 1941,
No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron
was located at Baginton.
[7]
The
Midland Air Museum
on Rowley Road is adjacent to the northern boundary of Coventry Airport.
Landmarks
[
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]
The remains of the ancient
Roman
Lunt Fort
have been found in Baginton on the north 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. 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 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.
Henry Percy
was imprisoned at
Baginton Castle
following his son
Harry Hotspur
's defeat at the
Battle of Shrewsbury
.
[8]
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 before this house, there is no sign of its ruins. Baginton Castle and Fish Ponds constitute a
Scheduled Monument
.
[9]
The vestiges of the castle are a
Grade II
listed building.
[10]
The site was opened to the public in 2009.
[11]
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
The Baginton oak in summer
-
The Baginton oak in summer
-
The Lucy Price playing field
-
St John the Baptist Church, Baginton
-
Reconstructed main gate (inner aspect) of Lunt Fort
-
The ruins of a fourteenth-century house, possibly also the site of the former
Baginton Castle
-
Baginton Oak tree, with The Oak public house in the background
-
Earthworks of the
Medieval
village at Baginton,
c.
15th-16th century
-
Earthworks of a 7th century house at Baginton
References
[
edit
]
- ^
AA Street by Street. Coventry Rugby
(2nd edition (May 2003) ed.). AA Publishing. 2 January 2004. pp. 53?4.
ISBN
0-7495-3973-9
.
- ^
"Civil Parish population 2011"
. Archived from
the original
on 23 December 2015
. Retrieved
23 December
2015
.
- ^
"Roman and Anglo-Saxon Graves Uncovered in England - Archaeology Magazine"
.
www.archaeology.org
. Retrieved
16 August
2020
.
- ^
"
'Breathtaking' Roman artefacts found near airport"
.
BBC News
. 25 December 2019
. Retrieved
16 August
2020
.
- ^
Joel Day (29 December 2019).
"Archaeology shock: Ancient Roman and Anglo-Saxon artefacts found near UK airport"
.
Express.co.uk
. Retrieved
16 August
2020
.
- ^
Evans, Ann. "Remember when: Sheep grazed quietly in Baginton's lanes",
Coventry Telegraph
, 13 January 2004
- ^
James Hutchison, "
Thomas, Forest Frederic Edward Yeo-
(1902?1964)", rev.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2010
- ^
Bean, J. M. W. (2004). "Percy, Henry, first earl of Northumberland (1341?1408)".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
. Oxford University Press.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Baginton Castle, associated settlement remains, ponds and mill sites (1011193)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
21 January
2018
.
- ^
Historic England
.
"Ruins of Castle 160 yards west of Church of St John (Grade II) (1035269)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
21 January
2018
.
- ^
"Bagot's Castle"
. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Domesday Book
- Dugdale, Sir W.
1730
The Antiquities of Warwickshire
, 2nd Ed. (ed. W. Thomas), London
- Edwards, J.H. 1953 'Baginton Castle Excavations', Trans. Birm. Warwicks. Arch. Soc., 69 (1951), 44?49.
- Smith, W. 1829 A New and Complete History of the County of Warwick, Birmingham
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Baginton
.
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